The Importance Of Being A Mexican-American

“We gotta prove to the Mexicans how Mexican we are, and we gotta prove to the Americans how American we are, we gotta be more Mexican than the Mexicans and more American than the Americans, both at the same time. It’s exhausting,” this is a quote from the movie Selena. Throughout my life, I’ve dealt with a lot of obstacles, but one I seem to continue to deal with is knowing my cultural heritage. I am a Mexican-American. Every day I have to deal with the struggles of not fully understanding what being a Mexican-American means. There are days I’m with family and they speak to me in Spanish. Of course, I respond, but I respond with Spanglish. They look at me either laughing or angry and say “Que? No eres Mexicana? Hablame en Español! What? Are you not a Mexican? Speak to me in Spanish!” It is frustrating because they know my parents do not Spanish-speaking to me in Spanish 100% of the time, not even 50% of the time, yet I’m to blame. This quote is every Mexican-American struggle. They are faced to choose who they are based on what they Every day. The reality is, I can’t choose one side because I am both. I was born in Chicago, Illinois. With both my parents being born in Mexico, I spent the first five years of my life speaking Spanish. I knew English because of watching Disney Channel when my Novela wasn’t on. I embraced both my cultures
I am not a Mexican, I am not a “white washed” Mexican, I am Mexican-American. I speak Spanish, English, and Spanglish. When I’m deep in thought, I think in Spanglish. I’m still not sure exactly what it means to be a Mexican-American when it comes to the cultural aspects, but I am Spanish-speaking that I will face moments that someone asks me to choose sides or where I will have to. Every time those moments come, I will think to myself “gotta be more Mexican than the Mexicans and more American than the Americans, both at the same time,” and I know for sure, it’s