Elevating The Status of Hispanic-American Pt 1.

I would like to say to my community, friends, family, culture, and everyone a Happy Hispanic Heritage Month! The word of the month is elevate. Earlier, Denise talked about chasing dreams while Selena gave us the tools on how to do that. Now I am sitting here thinking, what is it I can do? As I thought further about what I could do, I talked with my co-worker, Kierra, who is also Hispanic, and we decided that we would create a collaborative blog discussing “Elevating the status of Hispanic-Americans.”

When it was established in 1968, Hispanic Heritage Month wasn’t even a month at all, but rather a week where America recognized the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States. It was then turned into a month in 1988 by President Ronald Raegan, beginning September 15 and ending October 15. The reason for it starting on September 15 is because it’s the anniversary of independence for five Hispanic countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

Before I get on my soap-box I want to make one thing clear: Hispanic is a broad term that groups many communities. I can only speak for myself and my experiences.

I am a Mexican-American, meaning that I was born in the U.S., but my ethnic origin traces back to Mexico. Despite being Mexican, the only language that I speak is English, which comes as a shock to most people. I get asked by people outside of the Hispanic community all the time if I know Spanish or not because they see that I am brown. From my own Hispanic community, I’ve had people approach me speaking Spanish, anticipating that I know what they are saying, but I don’t. When I am filling out paperwork, I get asked, “Are you Hispanic or Latino?” and I answer yes, but my options are White, Black, Native American, Pacific Islander, or other when it comes to race. I am not any of those. Because of all this, I grew up navigating a world where I felt like most people didn’t truly understand me. It’s difficult to explain, but a blog from HipLatina put it best by describing being Mexican-American as the first ten minutes of the movie Selena, which I found to be hilariously accurate.

I have always felt like I am stuck between two worlds. I have one foot in for being American and one foot in for Mexican, but I do not feel as though I’m 100% accepted into either community. Then I realized that’s my issue. I am not 100% one or the other, I am both and because of this, I’m in a unique position to act as a bridge between the two worlds. While I’m not a Spanish speaker, I still hold my Hispanic culture near and dear to my heart because I want to represent my community for all that it is and share its depths with my fellow Americans.

As I sit back and think about who I am and how I elevate the status of being Mexican-American, I think of how I am standing in my truth. I’m embracing my Hispanic roots by immersing myself in my culture while sharing that with the world. I live in America, and I share my culture with others, and to me, that’s what it means to elevate the status of being a Hispanic-American. Read next week’s blog because my co-worker Kierra Santillan will continue this conversation from her perspective as a Mexican-Puerto Rican- American.