What's The 'Mi Gente Latino' Meme? Jennifer Lopez's 2011 Quote And The 'Stan Twitter' Memes About It Explained

The internet has been talking about American singer/actress Jennifer Lopez's heritage as a Latina woman for a long time, as her family came to New York from Ponce, Puerto Rico's largest city after San Juan. Fandom wars of JLo fans against Shakira fans have also mocked Lopez, accusing her of using her Latin American roots just for marketing purposes.

And amid all the discussions about Lopez's heritage, a 2011 video became a viral reaction image in the Stan Twitter community, which added even more fuel to the jokes about the singer using her Latin American roots for self-promotion. Here's the full story of JLo's Mi Gente Latino meme.

Where Does The 'Mi Gente Latino' Come From?

Jennifer Lopez got up to the stage to receive an award for Favorite Latin Music Artist in November 2011. At the end of her emotional speech, she raised the award and eagerly dedicated it to all the Latinos by saying "Mi Gente Latino" (My Latin People). A higher-quality video of the full speech was posted a year later, on February 8th, 2012 by JLoGreece2 on YouTube (seen below).

Why Is 'Mi Gente Latino' A Viral Clip On Twitter / X?

The video resurfaced on the internet almost a decade later, in July 2020, not because of JLo's "Mi Gente Latino" quote, but instead for the unexpected and hilarious Taylor Swift response to Lopez's speech. As the camera shifts to Swift and Selena Gomez, X user @popcultbio notices Taylor saying "She speaks Spanish?" to her friend. X user @CATBOIBOSS later reposted the video, amassing virality on the platform (shown below).

Lopez's clip and the phrase "mi gente Latino" became a viral reaction meme in the Stan Twitter community, being used to praise Latin American culture or a Latin celebrity achievement. For instance, user @vanniloner posted the clip on March 26th, 2023, as a response to a tweet about a shirtless picture of Shawn Mendes in Mexico (shown below).

MI GENTE LATINO, HE LOVES USpic.twitter.com/V4VyB0iFjy

— franco (@vanniloner) March 27, 2023

What Are Some 'Mi Gente Latino' Meme Examples?

JLo's "Mi gente Latino" became such a popular quote and reaction meme that X user @DiasporaDash posted on March 2024 that "The cynical 'Mi gente Latino' gif gotta be the most significant contribution Jlo gave to society (shown below, left). In August 2023, X user @estleaute said the memorable JLo quote in a company meeting but no one got the reference. (shown below, right)

For the full history of "mi gente latino," be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.