OIPUSA PREFACE

The Organization for
Iberian Preservation
USA
Spain

The Organization for Iberian Preservation USA (OIPUSA) is dedicated to the educational advancement of Iberian studies. It is the goal of OIPUSA to foster knowledge and appreciation of Spanish-Iberian culture and heritage among the public at large.

In modern U.S. society, most people typically associate "Hispanic" people with persons of Mexican, Cuban, or Puerto Rican nationality. However, a careful reading of the materials henceforth will provide insight into the complexity of Hispanic heritage.

In pre-Columbian times, Hispanic heritage was predominantly analogous to Spanish-Iberian culture. Today, however, Spanish-Iberian culture has been eroded by the centuries of post-Columbian ethnic development in the Northwestern Hemisphere.

"The Hispanic Reading Room serves as the primary access point for research relating to those parts of the world encompassing the geographical areas of the Caribbean, Latin America, and Iberia; the indigenous cultures of those areas; and peoples throughout the world historically influenced by Luso-Hispanic heritage, including Latinos in the U.S., and peoples of Portuguese or Spanish heritage in Africa, Asia, and Oceania."

Hispanic heritage of pre-Columbian origin in North and Latin America has been subsumed by its post-Columbian progeny of the Northwestern Hemisphere which has caused an erosion in the appreciation of Spanish-Iberian culture and heritage in the Northwestern Hemisphere. The embodiment of this contemporary problem has been perpetuated by social ignorance. This is particularly evident in the drafting of modern racial and ethnic surveys in the Northwestern hemisphere.

Every federal and state government agency in the United States continues an ignorant path in acknowledging the complexity of Hispanic culture and heritage by generalizing Hispanic diversity. Albeit the U.S. Library of Congress clearly acknowledges the vast spectrum of cultures falling within the Hispanic nomenclature yet neither the federal nor any state government has sought to properly craft survey distinctions across ethnic-specific boundaries. Consequently, these surveys cannot accurately assess Hispanic ethnicity. For example, which sub-ethnic group or groups suffer the greatest impact of historical invidious discrimination, and thus continue to reside in the lower socioeconomic strata of American society? Do we assume it is Mexican-Americans? Cuban-Americans? Central-Americans? Etc. Moreover, and most importantly, the generalization of Hispanic culture and heritage perpetuates social ignorance. We therefore urge Congress to ratify our plan of reformation in order to rectify these important issues manifest in the composition of ethnic surveys affecting Hispanic people, as they continue to be administered by government and private organizations in the United States, its possessions and territories.

Our primary mission is to promote the historical value and preservation of Spanish-Iberian culture and heritage in the United States by means of the vast educational resources on the Internet. OIPUSA does not seek to provide a formalized educational program. Rather, OIPUSA promotes growth of knowledge by means of its Web resources and links to other Web sites thereby fostering education and appreciation of Iberian culture and heritage. As a further ancillary objective, we seek to lobby for nonpartisan support in order to enact congressional legislation to govern, reform, and make uniform the various racial and ethnic surveys affecting persons of Hispanic culture and/or origin, administered in the United States by government and private organizations.

This organization is for everyone to partake. It is a place for people to learn and appreciate the complexities of ethnic diversity. We seek to preserve pre-Columbian Hispanic heritage in the United States by sharing the substantial contributions of Iberian culture and heritage in America. We must advance the cause of OIPUSA. Together we can reaffirm Iberian culture, history, and world contributions and stop the ignorance in the United States. In addition, we must work together by writing or sending email to our congressional officials demanding legislation and reform. There is simply no reason for the abounding display of ignorance regarding Hispanic culture and heritage in the Northwestern hemisphere. It is therefore incumbent upon congressional lawmakers in the United States as well as state lawmakers to rectify these issues permeating among contemporary American society.