reflections on being Latina

by Andrea

Being Latina has many great priorities to it. There are many many different Latinos in our world. We have a different culture than others. We come from many Latin roots. It's part of our identity. What is the main priority to being Latin? Do you like being Latina? How does it feel being Latina? Those are questions people ask sometimes. 

What is the main priority to being Latina? From my experience, it includes being a part of a big caring group of people. There may be some rumors or news about Latinos and crimes.  Truth is that not all of us are like that. We really care about one another. Even when we don't have money, we pull together and take care of each other. With our families we're very close together. That's why I think just being part this culture is the number one priority for many of us.  It sets the tone for what we value and how we live.

Do I like being Latin? Of course I do. There are people out there who don't like their culture and I admit that, given some of the negativity of the media, it would be easy to have some self-hatred toward our culture. On the other hand I love my culture. Latinos have a different spice. It's a flavor that is fun and caring and respectful of family. I think we're just different from the other culture, but the other cultures are also good too. Loving my culture doesn't mean I have to hate others. I know I like being Latin and that will not change. You have to be proud of the culture you are and mine is Latino.

How does it feel being Latina? Well it just feels like any other way. In our world today there are many different cultures. Being Latino is just normal. Yeah there are other foods and different ways we dress but we're all together. We share these characteristics as a group. If we like it or not everyone is part of our world, no matter what culture we are.

So is there such thing as a cultural connection? No. The reality is that right now, in our time today our cultures aren't really connected. We have all this hate and racism. You may have thought that we had gotten over racism a long time ago but no, it's still here. People say the solution is to ignore culture.  But I think the solution is to love your own culture without hating the cultures of others.  My guess is that some of the hatred out there is because people are embaressed by their own culture. We have to learn to break the hatred. We have to try and bring ourselves together. One day we will all need each other and we can only begin to do this when we are comfortable in our own culture.

Photo Credits

Flickr Creative Commons

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lekke/89350095/