The young people of Hunts Point do not recognize the name Herman Badillo, but older residents, those who have lived in this South Bronx community for a decade or more, know exactly who he is and what they think of him. What they think of Badillo has been reshaped by his recent comments on race and education.

At a luncheon on September 22 that focused on education, Badillo responded to a question on helping immigrants with little formal education. "The biggest problem we have," he said, "is that we are getting hundreds of students who are 12, 13, 14 years old from the hills of Mexico and the Dominican Republic, who have never been to any schools. The problem is that in Mexico and Central America, there never has been a tradition of education. They have education in some of the cities, but they don't in the hills."

Badillo described these students as "pure Indians, Incas and Mayans, who are about 5 feet tall with straight hair. And when they speak of La Raza [Mexican language and culture], they're not talking about the Spanish language, they're talking about the original Indian language. And, therefore, it's a far more complicated problem than the problem that we're used to dealing with." His comments do not sit well with the Puerto Rican community that once supported Badillo wholeheartedly.

A few weeks after Badillo made his comments, Brian Rodrigue, 59, said, "I started to read it, but I turned the page," so he wouldn't have to know. But Rodrigue knows, and said he forgives him: "He's not that type of person, he's good people."

Rodrigue said he moved to Hunts Point in 1969, and has worked in the Puerto Rico Used Auto Parts for the last four years. "I voted for him every time he ran," he said, "and I'd vote for him if he ran for mayor right now. He made a mistake, he's only human, it should be allowed."

"He was wrong," said Maria Mirla, 41. She stopped to talk on her way home from her job as a home attendant in Hunts Point. In a softly blurred, accented voice, Mirla said that she came to the United States from Puerto Rico 15 years ago. Badillo's comments struck her as anti-immigrant, and racist, she said. "It's hard to come here. For them," she said, referring to non–Puerto Rican immigrants, "it's even harder. ...They pass through a lot of things, and he should know that.

"I can't say it in English. We [Puerto Ricans] have a saying, something like, we cook with white beans and we cook with black beans. We have white people and black people in our country," implying an acceptance of difference. "Every country has persons who do things differently. You can't put one country over another," Mirla said.

Margarita Gonzalez, 48, added red beans to the mix, "just like we have red people. This country isn't just for white people. It isn't just for black people. It's for everyone." Gonzalez said she has lived in the United States for 45 years, after moving here with her parents from Puerto Rico. When asked about Badillo's comments, she said immediately, "When I turned 18, he was the one I gave my first vote to. I haven't voted for him again. I vote for other people. Just because he's the same race, doesn't mean I'm gonna give him my vote."

Gonzalez spoke angrily when she considered Badillo's statements. "It was very rude of him. We're in a free country. Regardless of their culture, their country, everybody's born dumb until they learn. You've got to give everyone a chance. I'm still learning," she said, referring to computer classes she takes, "languages, skills... . It's a matter of giving them a chance to learn."

Gonzalez said she is proud to speak Spanish whenever she can, and said she supported anyone's right to keep their language alive. "It's always good to conserve your culture. Learn about the one you are in, but keep your culture. ...The more languages you know in this country, the more opportunities you have."

Sam Lartigat, 63, said he thinks that Badillo takes whatever opportunities are given to him: "I've always called him the man with a double face. He goes with the tide—you help me, I'll help you." Lartigat is Puerto Rican and has lived and worked in Hunts Point for 14 years. He said he knows Badillo personally from campaigning together in the 1970s, during Badillo's first run for Congress "and even before that. ...When they [Hispanics] see a Spanish name, they think 'I'll vote for that guy.'"

Lartigat called over to Nestor Ramos, 57, who is known as Billy and spends his day standing in front of Lartigat's hardware store. "I'd be proud of him if he were a different person," Ramos said. "[But] I wouldn't vote for him if he were running for office, and I vote! He says he's P.R., but...," Ramos trailed off, shaking his head.

What has changed in the last 20 years that most older Puerto Ricans would no longer vote for Badillo? Not only has he gotten more conservative, they say, but their community has changed. Rodrigue said, that 20 years ago, nothing would have happened had Badillo made the same comments. But, he said, "it's a different era now, too many Latin people. It's a whole different ballgame."

"If he'd said something like that 20 years ago," Gonzalez said, "he wouldn't be in the position to say it today!" In her opinion, in Badillo's position as CUNY president, "He might screw up people... They might take it as an insult, and it might bring down their self-esteem. But some people will say, 'I can do better than what he says.'" Perhaps this is the attitude that has allowed immigrant groups to succeed in this country, to fight back and make it in a culture that thinks that they cannot. This attitude may have helped Puerto Ricans succeed.

"He would be dead," Mirla said, if he had made his statements 20 years ago. "Maybe because 20 years ago, there were less latinos. ...We're fighting more. You say something wrong about our country, or about us, we're gonna fight."

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