La Frontera

Being form Texas, I found Arizaldva’s text very interesting. Although I may not be Mexican, I did find some similarities in what she was saying to what I have experienced myself growing up within a Hispanic household in the big ole state of Texas.

There definitely were some cultural norms in my household which my parents learned form their parents and so forth. I wouldn’t go as far to say that culture was made by men like she does. Maybe at first, when men were seen as the dominant, things were set in place but that has changed. In my home, my mother cooks because she enjoys it. If she didn’t my dad would which he does from time to time. In addition, the chores in our home are split up, not one of them bear the bigger load. And, both of them work. Of course, I have seen the instance where this is not so. Whenever I visit my relatives in Puerto Rico. It is usually the woman who cooks, cleans, makes the house neat and tidy, and works. So, women tend to have the heavier load. Perhaps it is a cultural thing and that my parents became “americanized” to so say…I’m not sure.

In How to Tame a Wild Tongue section, I do agree that there are many people, even now, in the states that try to get rid of their accents. I remember in high school speaking to a friend whose parents were Hispanic but who refused to teach her Spanish because they thought an accent would be picked up and lessen her chances of success. When she told me this, I was in shock. I had never heard of this before. I am grateful I was raised in a Spanish speaking household, and I encouraged my parents to speak to my in Spanish and I in turn spoke to them in Spanish. It did not affect my accent in any way. In fact, having learned Spanish opened doors for me allowing me to pick up French. Although some people may feel that this is a burden, I believe we are advancing and the importance of language is becoming more and more apparent. Of course, not only language but culture.

A lot of the Spanish quotes she used were actually sayings I grew up with and still hear around the house. And I am very proud to be Puerto Rican and identify myself in that way. When people ask me where I am from, I tell them “I am from Texas and my parents are Puerto Rican” or I tell them “I am Puerto Rican”. For me both are the same and the only times I actually use the latter is when I know people are asking me where I am from because they know on some level that I am Hispanic. How would they know? From the way I speak Spanish, from the way I look, the color of my skin….but then again what is color? Eeeek.