Oscar Hijuelos Quotes

I am fully present wherever I am. Why bother being in a community or neighborhood and not being fully present? I think that's colonization. I'm not interested in that.

Our cultural diversity has most certainly shaped our national character.

I'm Puerto Rican, but I represent everybody.

Montreal is just so multicultural and ethnic and diverse, and it's what makes us special. I say 'us' like I still live there, but I still do feel like a Montrealer.

I think the reason why people loved 'Jem' in the '80s was because it kind of gave them this story of a place to fit in. It's about finding your place.

We help kids and fans of all ages find their social scenes. Find their place. Find their demeanor.

The notion of someone who is fitting in or trying to become part of a larger family... It's hard to separate that from my own Jewish roots.

People have asked me about playing outsiders. I don't consider myself an outsider. Maybe that's why I'm interested in that. I'm not really sure.

I'm very happy to have the heritage that I do, but I'm not wanting to be 'the Latino actor.' I just want to be 'an actor.'

Toronto is a very multicultural city, a place of immigrants, like my parents.

I am Chinese - it doesn't matter what other people say.

Jews have had to carry around their own sense of self in a carpet bag and I think perhaps too much emphasis might be being put on nationality and on the other hand patriotism, that sort of thing.

Sometimes my ethnicity is relevant, other times not. I definitely get the best of both worlds.

I was the only black girl at my junior high school. I had an afro, a Jamaican accent, I looked really old.

I think the Lower East Side inspires me. That whole neighborhood, a lot of the people that I worked with, seeing what we've gone through in life, being given an opportunity to understand who I am; my identity, my culture, and my roots.

Community means people spending time together here, and I don't think there's really that.

I discovered that there is Indian blood in my ancestry on my father's side - a fact that had not been talked about in my family. No wonder I've often been cast in exotic roles - Indian princesses, Russian revolutionaries, Algerians, Gypsies and Greeks.

Ours is a country built more on people than on territory.

I think that's what makes many Swedes jealous of immigrant groups. You have a culture, an identity, a history, something that brings you together. And what do we have? We have Midsummer's Eve and such silly things.

I have a big thing about needing to know that I belong - in my group of friends, in my family, in my industry.

I'm pan-Latino, or whatever that phrase is. It's not a sexy phrase, but it is a sexy, cool thing. That's how I feel.

When I was in elementary school, I watched 'Cinema Paradiso' 22 times and memorized the dialogue. In the movie, everyone had a place, even the bum who thought he owned the piazza. Eccentricities were celebrated, and no one was isolated.

There are multiple levels of 'we' and multiple groups that can constitute this idea of who we are. We need to be aware of who we are including and excluding.

In Chino Hills, everybody is cool with everybody, so I had a lot of friends. My house was kind of the hang out house, where everybody would come over.

I just always wanted to be part of something where I felt like I belonged.