Why should I be ashamed? A rant by a Mexican.

[J a c k]

This is a subject dear to my heart. My ethnic background is Syrian/ French Canadian. I grew up in Boston, Ma. When I was 11 we moved to Phoenix, Az. My folks rented a home in Phoenix from Boston without seeing it first. We moved right into the barrio.

This is a recent photo of a Dia de los Muertos celebration at my old Junior High School:



I learned something valuable about Mexicans. Before 1860 this was Mexico:



So, you have to take into consideration the Chicano. Mexicans who were here before it was the U.S. They did not go away because the gringos won a few wars. They continued speaking Spanish, making chorizo and tamales, celebrating their daughters Quinceaneras. They continued making music and art. The "Mexicans" are just as much a part of the USA as the Cajuns.Just as much as part of USA as the French are a part of Canada. There is no way to disentangle Mexico from the US of A. Viva la Raza!

Viva!

There are Mexicans that “forget” our language, because they want to cut anything that ties them to Mexico. They don’t teach their kids our history and they pretend to not know. I’m not one of them. I won’t say I’m latina, to not have to say I’m Mexican. I am what I am. Yo soy lo que soy.