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I grew up in Laredo, Texas, where the Latino population has always hovered close to 90 percent. I don’t remember being conscious of that, there were no Latinos or non-Latinos, we were all just people. Everyone had rich vowels in their names, mixed Spanish with their English and had tíos and primos.

So the recent revelation that Latinos will be the majority in Texas by 2040 was, for me, a foregone conclusion. Even all these years later, living in San Antonio for more than 25 years, the announcement that Latinos are 63 percent of the city’s population is not culturally astonishing or politically sobering. It is what it is, and that’s all.

In places other than Texas the fact is surprising, as if Latinos crept from behind the woodwork to be suddenly noticed by an unsuspecting majority. The more genteel folks thinking: “It’s not so much that they’re Latinos, it’s just that there are so many of them.” And we’re young and still reproducing at a championship rate: 95 percent of the children born in Texas, according to the Census count, are Latino. But here’s the thing: They’re also Texan, and American.

There’s a wise Spanish saying that goes como me ves, te veras, as you see me you will see yourself. It applies here. As Texas is today most parts of the country will be in the not too distant future. I see it as a great opportunity. READ MORE