In Tommy Mottola’s HBO documentary “The Latin Explosion”, Gloria Estefan is quoted saying that today “Latin rhythms are in Pop, Hip Hop, and in every genre of music” in America.

“Music is always in the cutting age of new things that happen,” she explains. In her eyes musicians —way better than politicians do, I may add— “are able to reach across ethnic and cultural lines” to bring us all together.

Politics aside, America’s most radical demographic and cultural transformation in a century goes on unabated, driven largely by the 60 millions Americans of Latino descent, very prominently on the cultural ground:

Not only in connection to the music we listen to, but also the food we consume, the new films we watch over Netflix, or the sports we enjoy watching.

Beyond culture, and much less visible, are the economic contributions Americans of Latino descent are making. Just take the average income of Americans of Latino descent, which continues to climb faster than their highly publicized population numbers.

Latino Americans are projected to become a quarter of the U.S. population in 5 years, yes, with a Census 2020 fast approaching to confirm the nationwide trends.

US Latinos purchasing power has reached an unprecedented $1.7 trillion, jumping 70% faster than the non-Latino segment.

But, more importantly, their purchasing power, made possible by their entrepreneurship and hard-working habits, is growing faster and has reached an unprecedented $1.7 trillion, jumping 70% faster than the non-Latino segment.

While the overwhelming national narrative —conveniently manufactured on the eve of a presidential election, portrays Latinos like a horde that is “invading” the country— the reality is that they are already here, and have been here for centuries, blessing the land they belong to and call home.

Americans of Latino descent are blended together beautifully in the multiple layers of the cultural and economic fabric of our great nation.

In Texas, for example, Latinos have always been there, rooted in the rich culture of the Southwest, even predating the formation of the Lone Star State in 1835.

They are blended together beautifully, as they are in the rest of the entire American society from —Texas to Oregon, from New York to Pennsylvania— deep inside, and all-in, in the multiple layers of the cultural and economic fabric of each of the States of our great nation.