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Are You Aware? A Work in Translation
This is part IV in our “The Latin Experience in the States” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here. Earlier this month, I was in line at a food truck. In front of me was a young woman, about 15 years old, with her parents. As they stepped forward to order, I heard the young woman translate the menu for her parents from English to Spanish. In Spanish, she explained the menu choices and then proceeded to order for them. Watching as she helped her parents order food flooded me with memories of my own childhood. From an early age of 11 or 12, I did much…
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Are You Aware? If Language Was an American Dream
This is part III in our “The Latin Experience in the States” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here. Many immigrants to the U.S. won’t have the same experiences I’ve had, because of how I came to the U.S. My intention was to study here and to go back home. But life always plays a different tune. Growing up in a family that loved languages has been a blessing in my life. When I was a little girl, my dad invited people from all over the world to eat with us in our home in Sao Paulo, Brazil. At the age of 8, my dad asked me…
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Are You Aware? Latinx Diversity and Contributions
This is part II in our “The Latin Experience in the States” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here. NOTE: Throughout this article, the terms Latino, Latina, Latinx, and Hispanic are being used interchangeably to refer to the same group of people. I never thought that immigrating to the U.S. was going to be part of my life’s journey. I grew up hearing about the “American Dream” and the idea of what that meant through TV shows and movies. I remember hearing the “dislike” in people’s comments when they heard the word “America” was used interchangeably with the United States of America. It was accompanied by the…
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Are You Aware? A Latina in the American Kitchen
This is part I in our “The Latin Experience in the States” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here. I remember watching my grandma Josefa make corn tortillas from corn that she had planted, harvested, and prepared. Eating never felt wrong, because it was the fruit of hard work, never an indulgence. She lived a long, healthy life to 107 years old. Growing up in a Latin American country, I never knew that cooking with fresh veggies was healthy, because that was the only way to cook. Using canned food, drinking sodas, or eating desserts every day was a luxury most of us couldn’t afford. Ironically, we…
