J Balvin Quotes

In order to be universal, you have to be rooted in your own culture.

It is not within the competence of the public authorities to determine culture. Their function is to promote and protect the cultural life of everyone, including that of minorities.

The Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife, actually, was an effort to put something on the mall in Washington so American tourists could walk through America, and in their minds everything on the mall would be American.

There are a lot of wonderful things created in our culture that have been ignored that can speak to them.

I'm not trying to represent the whole Latino community. There are too many different cultures, and Latinos will always say, 'My family doesn't do that.'

I'm not becoming western; I am still following my Pashtun culture, and I'm wearing a shalvar kamiz, a dupatta on my head.

We never wore burkas because Somalis had our own culture.

I don't have space to enter into the examples or the history of this, so I'm left with having to make the bold statement that culture is extinct.

The coming of age of Canadian culture may not depend on our ability to protect it at home, but to project it on the world’s stage.

A culture is made — or destroyed — by its articulate voices.

The one thing I won't do is sacrifice my Indian identity in my music, my clothing choices. It's something I tried to hide growing up, and I would never do that again because it's such a big part of me and I'm very proud of it.

Sometimes we make films just for our people, and it doesn't reach to anyone.

I'm looking forward to it, to be able to represent the black culture... but I'm doing my best at managing it, keeping it behind me, and that's the best thing I can do.

We must preserve our cultural identity.

This is the kind of stuff me and my friends talk about. We sit around and drink coffee, and we're really angry: We're like, 'Where's the Latino Museum?' Where can we go with our families, where can we go with our friends to learn about our history?

Doing any kind of culture in America in which you are not trying to affirm a European aesthetic is war.

I've always said that the more ethnic you become, the more international your film becomes.

We need to have a view that culture has a value in itself, not just in terms of a social and economic value.

Chinese people need to be aware of their present and ask, 'What's our culture? What can we bring to the world?' I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

I had many reasons for writing this book but among them was the hope that every Latino child and adult would find something familiar in it. And my hope is that when they finish reading the book, that they will come away with a renewed sense of pride in our culture and in who we are. We get a lot of strength from that [culture and identity] and we should be proud of it.

I had many reasons for writing memoir but among them was the hope that every Latino child and adult would find something familiar in it.

Culture has become one of the last elements of our identity. We have to act in favor of cultural diversity abroad as well as at home, we need strong cultural diplomacy but we have to create it.

I've been really fortunate and I've just tried to focus on the work and getting people to see Mexico, its food and its culture in a slightly different light. It's tricky with Mexican food because a lot of our recipes are so deeply rooted in tradition and Mexican history. That's a heavy responsibility!

Spanish is actually my first language, growing up, and I understand the culture. I understand the culture; I understand what the people want.

When I was in school, I didn't get exposed to Latino playwrights.