Because numerically we are the largest minority community in the country, yet the least powerful, we are called "the sleeping giant." But what is clear is that the giant is not asleep, he is invisible. We Latinos could adopt as an anthem the song "Mr. Cellophane" from the musical Chicago: "Mister Cellophane/ Shoulda been my name/ Mister Cellophane/ 'Cause you can look right through me/ Walk right by me/ And never know I'm there."

And we are not even visible as the film's protagonists in those moments, like last year's elections, when we get out of the hammock, beat our chests like King Kong and let out a roar to remind people of our size and power. The cameras stay focused on the little blonde lady sitting in the giant's palm.

We are the Cellophane Community simply because we do not exist in mainstream media, particularly in influential political discussion programs on cable, except for negative reports on immigrants scaling the border walls.

One of the reasons we are pushed aside and not seen as the largest minority group in the country is due to the fact that the Latino community has been a prisoner to one issue: immigration. And that issue does not help stations improve their ratings. Another reason is that Latino pundits are almost never invited to discuss other issues that also affect us, for example, health-care reform or education.

Another problem is that in terms of minorities, the media sees everything in just two colors: black and white. For example, last week the Pew Research Center released a report about social conflict in the United States. To the surprise of many, including the organization itself, most of those surveyed (55 percent) expressed that the mayor conflict is not between rich and poor (47 percent), or blacks and whites (39 percent), but between immigrants and people born in this country. However, this report has been practically ignored by mainstream media.

Aside from the successful nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, President Obama has not done much for Latinos, except to name a committee that is studying the feasibility of establishing a national museum dedicated to Latino contributions to the country. At the pace we are going, if the museum comes to pass, it will be full photographs of politicians and celebrities, but the focus will be on an enormous pedestal in the middle of the room with a statue of "The Cellophane Giant, c. 2009." Visitors will walk by it and never know it is there.