I am from the land of dreams

Where blood, sweat, and tears were shed to get here

I am a mix of cultures, languages, and ideas

Like two sides of a vinyl record

Where each side plays a different tune.

I am a second-generation daughter 

1Yo soy Mexicana 

 

Whenever I close my eyes I can picture the beautiful valleys that I’ve seen my whole life

2 I can hear the lady selling elote  on the corner honking her horn 

The tune of the ice cream truck that I swear is forever ingrained in my brain

My home with each wall a different shade of blue feels like comfort and childhood

 

I am Mexican at the root

I am filled with traditions passed down from generations

Christmas time in my household is filled with the delicious smell of tamales

From women's hands shaping tamales, generation to generation, every Christmas Eve

I am reminded of how special it is that I am apart of esta hermosa cultura (this beautiful culture) The taste of tamales reminds me of the sacrifice my grandparents did to give us the life we have

 

I am also part American (an outlier), which makes me an outlier

I speak my native tongue, I dance our traditional dances, I cook our traditional food

Yet, I am not like everyone else in my family

At its core I am socially deemed as a nerd and part grandma

I enjoy pop culture, marvel, reading, crocheting, and other things that aren’t typical for a Hispanic girl

I don’t wear flared pants with cowboy boots and go to ranches to dance all night long

I’m a fangirl and would rather stay at home listening to music in my Taylor Swift cardigan 

 

I get called “Guera” (white girl) because compared to my family my skin lacks melanin

At Trader Joe’s I can walk in and walk out like a ghost that is there, but never seen 

My family walks into Trader Joe’s and the people there make them feel like a sore thumbs

At the end of the day I am Hispanic, yet society and sometimes my family treats me like I am just American

 

The reality is I am Mexican-American

I am not just the girl who loves to watch Telenovelas (Latin soap operas)

Or just the girl who waited up til Midnight to listen to Taylor Swift's new album

I am Mexican-American

Both my identities make up every part of who I am

Both identities are equally as beautiful as the things that they are made up of

 

1 I am Mexicana

2 corn