Latina in America: My Story

I take a quick sidetrack in our blog topics this week ( Don't worry the Bride's Maid Part II will be back!), following a program that was aired on CNN called Latino in America. Following this two-part program, I thought that I needed to write about being Latino in America, as a modern millennial women. The women of today are not cookie-cutters by any means. They are individuals and have unique backgrounds and history. So I share mine and what it means to me to be "Latino in America."

I remember when I went to go visit my grandparents in Miami when I was a young teenager and had my first run-in with the fact that I really didn't know half of my culture. I was about fourteen and my grandparents had recently purchased a condo in the Latino area of Miami Gardens. My grandparents are from Nicaragua and moved here when my Mom got married in the early 80s. They, along with the rest of my Mom's immediate family moved from Nicaragua due to a civil war that really took everything from what was a very successful Nica family. Now I must note here, that I am only half Latina, and so for most of my life I was raised apart from the Latino culture. I'm biracial and my Dad is from the United States, born and raised. I like to think I have the best of both world, but that comes from a lot of soul searching and identity development (that totally isn't over). But I digress.

So Latinos like to eat and they like to get together and party. It's no secret - it's just what we do. So one day while in Miami, my aunt and Grandparents took me and my brother to a cousin's house for dinner. When we arrived we said hello and shook hands and it was awkward, but I attributed that to us having never met my Mom and aunt's cousin's kids (our second or third cousins- who knows?). Dinner was great - we had some GOOD Nicaraguan food, etc. as Latino family get togethers usually go. But when it came time to leave, it was awkward again, as we shook hands or just said goodbye. When I got in the car, I asked my aunt, why was that so awkward? Why did they kiss you on the cheeks? My aunt said, "That's what Latinos do. It's part of our culture."

I was a little confused. That's what I do? That's what you do? Am I supposed to know how to do that? Having been raised in a primarily White neighborhood, I didn't have that many run-ins with other Latinos, or half Latinos like me. Of course I kissed my Grandma - she's my Grandma and so does everyone else. So what may have been a  cultural identifier (kissing cheeks at hello) was not something I knew how to do. I never kissed anyone else on the cheek when I saw them. What I realized at that moment was I hadn't been practicing part of my culture.

When I went to college, I made it a point to develop the other half of my culture. My Latino culture. I joined a Latina-based sorority and immersed myself in the culture, which was primarily Mexican. While it wasn't Nicaraguan (and my Grandma will make fun of me because I have a Mexican accent when I speak Spanish) I am grateful for my sisters and for the opportunity I had to get to know another part of me. I learned a lot about myself, my heritage, and who I am - two parts of one whole.

An imporatnt thing to note is that :"Latino in America" is very culturally diverse story. You have half Latinos like me, and you have MexiRicans for example (Mexican and Puerto Rican) and sometimes that can be just as different as being half white and half Nicaraguan. Our culture is diverse and eclectic and needs to be recognized as such. It's important to remember that we're all on a journey to find out who we are - my journey is just beginning!