According to the older generation, in the Spanish community you can not claim to be Latino if you do not speak your language.
My friend who we will call Domi for privacy sakes is Dominican and through him I have been able to learn a lot about the Latino community. He also taught me how to speak his language but I will never be as fluent as he considering it's not my native tongue. Spanish classes I took many years ago in high school helped also.
Domi invited me to his church a few times and I felt like the outcast but knowing a little bit of spanish got me in his circle a bit faster than I thought. The one thing I always remembered him saying was that he did not consider people who didn't speak their native tongue a true Latino/a because in order to fully claim that title you have to read, write, and speak the language. I thought it was a bit unfair, but since I am not part of that culture I can't really speak on it. All I could do was try to understand.
We have many mutual friends who are Latinos but didn't speak the language and the interaction was always a bit off. I realized this when he drove this idea of not being able to claim it fully because of the lack of language. Our friends that didn't speak it always felt out of place as well.
In video clip from a site called Remezcla there were interviews given to speaking Spanish members and non speaking Spanish members from different Latin communities. All of the individuals that didn't speak the language said they didn't fully feel part of the culture because they lack the ability to speak the language.
What tickled my mind the most was one individual who said that even though English is the language of America, being able to speak the language of your culture ties you to your peoples history and traditions. A solid bond to your community.
In the youtube video below you get to see the struggles of not being able to communicate with your people and how dedicated she was to get back what she had lost in the years from not speaking the language at home and in her everyday life.
