Letters from a Chingona -1

I know so many people in our community, and yet, even within my own people, I sometimes feel like an outsider. “She’s too white,” they say. But let me tell you something—I am Mexican American, through and through.

So why isn’t my Spanish fluent? Because when I started Kindergarten, I wasn’t allowed to speak Spanish. I was punished if I did. The language of my ancestors, my family, my culture—taken from me before I even had a choice.

I can understand way more than I speak, and maybe my Spanish isn’t perfect, but you will hear me create magic in my Spanglish. I am still learning, still reclaiming what was once taken from me.

And that’s why I can only imagine how many young people today will feel lost, alone—questioning if they belong. Because it has taken me years to reclaim my culture, to feel at home in my identity.

Now, with this movement for the official language to be English, I see history repeating itself. They don’t want us to have our culture. They want to silence us, separate us from our roots. But we won’t let them.

So to all my Latinos, Chicanos, and every member of nuestra gente—I am asking you to stop shaming our people for not speaking perfect Spanish. Instead, let’s lift each other up. Let’s teach, let’s embrace, let’s remind our people that they are enough just as they are.

We are not less Mexican, less Latino, or less worthy because of the language we were forced to leave behind. We are still here. And we will stay connected, together.

#ReclaimingMyCulture #SpanglishIsMagic #LatinosUnidos