I do not look Mexican.
Well, I don't conform to the idea that most Americans have of "Mexican," with dark hair, dark eyes, and brown skin. Of course, Latinx people are black, white, and brown, with any color hair and eye you can imagine, but trying to unpack the above stereotype is far more complex than I am capable of doing in this article.
The Latina part of me comes from my grandma and only my grandma. She met my grandpa while he was on vacation in Acapulco; they wrote letters back and forth for a year, then got married and moved to his home in Chicago. She didn’t teach her children Spanish. The only reason my mom is fluent is because she stayed with her uncle in Mexico for a few months after she graduated high school. And so there is not much Mexican in me to see… and yet, my grandma raised me like another daughter, telling me stories about our family and culture. And I grew up around many Latinx people living in Southern California. So it always felt like something I was almost a part of, but not quite.
All this time, I wanted to connect more with being a Latinx person, and so I did it the only way I knew how: through books. Mainly, Isabel Allende. I even tried to read a bit of the original Spanish, but my limited vocabulary was no match for the literary prowess that are her novels. (I did find one of my favorite Spanish words to date, la penumbra which means half light)
I felt like I was getting closer.
Then I met my wife, who is a first generation Mexican American, and I learned even more.
Now, with my in-laws being primarily Spanish speakers and my last name being Cardenas, I feel even more of a push to become comfortable speaking Spanish, but more than that, I want to know the literature, and understand some more history.
So, armed with my copies of Recollections of Things to Come by Elena Garro and the selected works of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, I am setting out to do just that.
Won't you join me?
Reading/Writing Challenge: Feel free to do one or more, and if you would like to write a reflection on your experience, you can submit them to us by clicking 'Submit an Article' above or tag us on social media. We always love to have new contributing writers!
What cultures do you feel ownership of? Maybe it is a specific country where you or your family is from, or maybe it is a group you belong to.
Reading Challenge: The Search for the Right Book
Research important or influential people or works and choose one to read. What can it teach you about being apart of that group or culture? Did you learn anything new, or did it give you any insights into the past?
Writing Challenge: Response to Literature
Writing Challenge: Short Story
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