I agree with you 100% and I also like the way you express yourself. You sound educated. I'm proud to say that I'm Mexican and I was reared in the US since I was 4 years old. I'm a male in my mid 30s and I've had similar experiences. Ignorance of ourselves and our race/history is a big factor in how people view other races. I've seen some of my fellow hispanics marry white women because they feel that they're marrying UP. Get it? They want their children to be lighter or have an Anglo last name. I have seen this first hand with some relatives. Some people like the one that was accussing you of being a biggot, don't know, but I don't blame them. It's not good to be a biggot, but they have to understand where we come from and what we know to understand that we aren't biggots, quite the contrary, we have nothing against another race.
In my opinion, live an let live but we all know that it's harder to deal with someone outside of your city, let alone another country. I garee, color should not be an issue. It's much easier if you can identify with the person you marry or live with.