In anticipation of Latino USA‘s upcoming show about the U.S. Latino vote (send us your voice memos), I plan to share daily historical examples of American politics and Latinos. My first post was all about Jackie Kennedy campaigning in Spanish. The second post highlighted the country’s first Latino senator. The third post focused on U.S. Latino voters and the presidency. Today’s post will focus on the very real example of Hispandering.

What is Hispandering? Urban Dictionary defines the term as “to Hispander means to pander to Hispanics.”

Who used it first? In 2002, political blogger Mickey Kaus coined the term when he was at Slate. In the last few years, several Latino political writers (including myself) have been using it whenever we see examples of politicians (or brands) reaching out to U.S. Latinos in ways that well, feel a bit staged, uncomfortable and not authentic at all. This year’s political cycle has already seen several examples of Hispandering moments. Here are my top five examples:

“I am tu Hillary.”

From The Guardian:

At Thursday’s Latinos for Hillary organizing event, Clinton walked on stage to Jennifer Lopez’s Let’s Get Loud, and stood at a podium adorned with a campaign sign that read “Estoy Contigo”.

“I gotta tell you, I love being La Hillary – I promise I will keep working on my pronunciation – but I’m not just La Hillary. I’m tu Hillary,” Clinton told the boisterous crowd.

The “tu Hillary” comment came after the Democratic candidate entered the rally while a Selena song blared.

Donald Trump’s Colombian Moment in Las Vegas
When your popularity with U.S. Latinos is at 11%, any little bit helps.

Barack Obama’s Cinco de Mayo Speech: Tequila and Immigration

Here’s hoping one day elected officials stop forcing the immigration issue during a cultural celebration.

Jeb Bush’s Cinco de Mayo Ad

Not to be outdone by President Obama, Jeb Bush also had to release a Spanish-language ad on Cinco de Mayo.

Ted Cruz Para Presidente
Considering that Cruz once said Spanish speakers live in a “language ghetto,” his campaign’s 2016 ad in Spanish earns the final slot on the Hispandering list.

Which ones did I miss? Tweet me at @julito77.