Tu Nombre
You were born with the body you were given. It wasn’t your choice, this body. But you accepted it as yours. It became you. You didn’t give much thought to your body until years later, when the time came to leave home. When you reached the door of your new home, you were stopped. “Why do you look like that?” the person asked. You didn’t know what to say at first. “This is who I am.” They glared at your response. “There’s too much of you. None of us here are like that.” They presented you with a saw. “If you’re going to live with us, you’re going to have to do things our way.” You couldn’t understand. You came all the way here, searching for a new home. You loved yourself, you didn’t want to to give half of yourself up! But you couldn’t go
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The Origin of the Confusion
Mi padre se llama Armando Antonio Patiño Arias. When he immigrated to the US, his name became Armando Antonio Patino. Mi madre se llama Lina Maria Orrego-Sanchez. No estoy tan claro con las prácticas de asignar apellidos en Colombia cuando se trata de matrimonio, pero yo creo que si ellos se hubieron casado en Colombia, su nombre sería Lina Maria Patiño Orrego. However, that doesn’t really matter, because they were married here in the United States, and so her name became Lina Maria Patino. And then my sister was born, and then I was born; we became Melissa and Diana Patino. No Melissa y Diana Patiño Orrego, como la cultura de nuestros ancestros dictaba, but by how our culture dictated.
In America, there is no borderland. There is no hyphen or de la or multiple apellidos. The patriline swallows up the matriline whole, making half your history disappear, as if your mother and her side of the family were of no importance to you. But they are important to me.
. So, despite what the United States says I am, I used to say that I was Patiño, and an Orrego-Sanchez.
The Ñ isn’t on my keyboard
A veces no soy nada ni nadie.
Pero hasta cuando no lo soy, lo
In the countries of immigrants like the united States, people from different cultural backgrounds bring their own cultures and traditions to live and work together. In the normal situation, one kind of culture will hold a dominant position. It is good for the people who have the dominant cultural background. However, that makes people from another cultural backgrounds confuse, especially for second or third generations of the non-dominant cultural background people. For these people, cultural assimilation and retroculturation are two necessary processes. They will influence non-dominant culture of people and their next generations. In Manuel Munoz’s work “Leave Your Name At The Border”, he points out the cultural assimilation by discussing the changing of Hispanic people’s names. Name is very important because it is the symbol of the culture, but many Hispanic people change their names to the American style in order to get the better lives in the united States. The interesting phenomenon is that, after several generations, the descendants of the first immigrants start to interest in their original culture because their own cultural symbols make them special. The different traditions are the representatives of different cultures. In Julia Alvarez’s work “Once Upon a Quinceanera”, she talks about retrocultration and the very important celebration of Hispanic girls, Quinceanera. In her work, Quinceanera is not only an important tradition for young girls, but the tie between
Tanya Barrientos explained her struggle with her identity growing up in her writing “Se Habla Español”. Barrientos describes herself as being “Guatemalan by birth but pure gringa by circumstance” (83). These circumstances began when her family relocated to the United States when she was three years old. Once the family moved to the states, her parents only spoke Spanish between themselves. The children learned to how read, write and speak the English language to fit into society at that time in 1963. (83) Barrientos explained how society shifted and “the nation changed its views on ethnic identity” (85) after she graduated college and it came as a backlash to her because she had isolated herself from the stereotype she constructed in her head. She was insulted to be called Mexican and to her speaking the Spanish language translated into being poor. She had felt superior to Latino waitresses and their maid when she told them that she didn’t speak Spanish. After the shift in society Barrientos wondered where she fit it since the Spanish language was the glue that held the new Latino American community together. Barrientos then set out on a difficult awkward journey to learn the language that others would assume she would already know. She wanted to nurture the seed of pride to be called Mexican that her father planted when her father sent her on a summer trip to Mexico City. Once Barrientos had learned more Spanish and could handle the present, past and future tenses she still
Victoria Price could be compared to Mayella Ewell in how she behaved in the court during the testimony. Victoria Price was rude, ignorant, and lying when she was getting questioned, and so was Mayella. All she answered to try to keep herself away from getting asked was, “I don’t know,” and “No.” (“Testimony of Victoria Price and Dr. R.R Bridges”) After Atticus, the lawyer asked Mayella if she remembers Tom beat her in the face, she responded saying, “No, I don’t recollect if he hit me. I mean yes I do, he hit me.” (Lee 248) This shows that her accusation was bogus.
Daniel Hernandez had a mother, who was Peruvian, a father who was from Spain, and also a younger brother whose name was Inocencio
My birth name is Azucena Margarita Montano Macias. Although, I like my name, I prefer to go by Azucena. I was born on September 25, 1990 in Jalisco, Mexico. My parents immigrated to the United States in 1993 and brought me and my siblings along. We have resided in California since our arrival to the U.S. I am the youngest of three. My brother, Jose, is the oldest; he is thirty-four years old. My sister, Sara, is the middle child; she is turning thirty-two this year. My sister has three children, two boys and one girl; all of which are under the age of thirteen.
Born to Peggy and Edward Garcia on October 4th 1984, I am a third generation American. My grandfather was born in Mexico and my father was born in New Mexico, while I was born at Fort Lewis Washington, I am a Soldiers Son. While growing up my father was stationed at various bases throughout the United States and I was “lucky” enough to tag along.
The Spanish term for what I am is chicano; chicano is a term that can be used for Mexicans who live outside of the country, but is predominantly used for Mexicans who live in the US. Despite being chicano it becomes more strange as my mom and dad are Mexican and Norwegian, respectively. My Norwegian blood endowed me with a red-tint to my facial hair; this along with my tan skin makes for an odd pairing that becomes even more apparent in the summer.
They examine the confidential information provided on the 1995 California Birth Records for the County of Los Angeles which is composed of 176,950 cases. By creating a five point English to Spanish scale for the most popular 20 names for girls and boys preferred among Hispanic parents, the authors are able to analyze the factors influencing their choices. Previous research suggest that the longer individuals reside in the United States the more likely they are to aspire to assimilate into the American culture. Their research suggests that there are parents who can assimilate to the United States as well as feel closely linked to their ethnic backgrounds by choosing names that can be interchangeable between both languages. Greater differences can be noted when analyzing ethnicity, gender and interracial relationships suggesting that each of these factors plays a vital role in the assimilation process of Hispanics. These findings are crucial to understanding why racial and ethnic identities greatly influence decision making and can be applied to Central Americans due to the attitudes about fitting in without losing one’s
Even 5 or 6 generations ago the family could have identified as Hispano’s or even Spanish, but as times change cultures change and people have change of heart.
Growing up in a dominantly hispanic family, I had many family members, yet few names. So, it’s a wonder in my own mind, how I wound up with the name Tiffany. Built into the strong family oriented atmosphere that I still live in today, yet still sticking out of my family like a sore thumb. Worse than that, I was not even awarded the liberty of a middle name to fall back on, or for the sake of having a traditionally long name like everyone else. Yet, even though the odds were against me in this case, I still learned to appreciate my own name.
Juana’s and Adelina’s stories are slightly similar to mine but overall they are quite different. Me and my sister were born here in the United States. I was born in San
As a conquistador under the command of Hernán Cortes, Bernal Diaz witnessed some of Latin America’s most interesting and least chronicled history. He was fortunate enough to be one of a select few Europeans to experience the Aztec empire at its height and to visit Tenochtitlan prior to its downfall. In an era where personal accounts of the historical occurrences are almost nonexistent, Bernal Diaz’s The True History of the Conquest of New Spain provides virtually the only window into this period. As a result, his text has become the most significant historical document concerning the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Perhaps the most poignant excerpt from The True History of the Conquest of New Spain is Diaz’s detailed description of his first
“Racism is actions, practices or beliefs, or social or political systems that consider different races to be ranked as inherently superior or inferior to each other, based on presumed shared inheritable traits, abilities, or qualities.” (Newman, 2012) Racism has promulgated after the slavery in America, and these practices are still evident in our generations today. Oftentimes, when the word “racism” is heard by many, negative characteristics on these actions will be dominant. Many perceive racism as disrespect to one’s rich culture and heritage, thus causing a lot of hatred. Despite my strong objection on the act of racism, I believe that racism played a major role in the development and rise to
Contrary to popular belief, the death penalty’s approval ratings have decreased throughout the years, as a study executed by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg explains how only three states administer the death penalty these days. Capital punishment has worked for a few years to scare those who desire to commit a federal crime, but because the usage continually diminishes (despite in a few states), why would the government keep the death penalty if it costs them millions per year? Cleary, the best option remains: to eliminate this form of punishment once and for all.