The ad was clever. A gloved hand picks a front door lock from the outside, while a dog and cat watch from the inside. The door opens, the dog lies there on his rug in front of the fireplace. Suddenly, the cat lets out barking and snarling like a dog. The hand retreats, the door closes. An upstairs light flicks on, and you think someone's going to come downstairs and pat the dog on the head.

Suddenly, one of those a-little-too-enthusiastic voice-overs that you get on Spanish-language TV: "Ingles sin Barreras," with an impressive array of booklets, tapes, and CDs. See? You too can learn to bark like an American!

I've been reading Jorge Ramos's The Latino Wave, and it's piqued my interests in Hispanics, and the social and political role they'll play in American society. I'm still forming an opinion about the book, but ads like these are heartening and encouraging, even in the face of groups like La Raza.