Huh, go figure:

'Authenticity,' 'Culturally Relevant': Why Bernie Sanders Is Resonating With Latinos

By Asma Khalid @ NPR.org, Dec. 22

[...] Recent polls by the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and Latino Decisions all show Sanders as the top Democratic presidential candidate choice among Latino Democrats. He has a particular strength with young Latinos.

The story of how a man who represents one of the whitest states in the country — Vermont — came to resonate with the largest nonwhite eligible voting block in the country is multi-faceted.

Interviews with Sanders' campaign staff, volunteers, voters and activists in the key early voting state of Nevada point to a few consistent factors that explain the senator's popularity: his consistency on jobs and health care, his progressive immigration plan, his campaign outreach in Latino neighborhoods, his appeal with young people broadly (the median age for Latinos in the country is 28), and the intentional hiring of Latino staff (his campaign says it has more than 100 Latino staffers across the country).

"Tío Bernie" [....]

"He reminds us a lot in the Latinx community of your grandpa, or your tío," explained Navarro after a recent Spanish-language campaign event in Nevada. "He's kind of stern, a little grumpy at times. But, at the same time, you really know he's looking out for you."

Latinos, Navarro says, are tired of listening to talking points from Democrats who come to their neighborhoods, "speak a little bit of Spanish" and "eat tacos," but then don't deliver any real results. It's why, he says, exit polls found that Donald Trump and Mitt Romney, "who was far less offensive," performed roughly equally with Latinos in the 2016 and 2012 elections.

"There is a huge distrust among the Latinx community with the Democratic party that they're not following through on their promises," Navarro said. "Bernie is the exact opposite. He has a real authenticity."

It's a point many Sanders' supporters echo. [....]