This is a compensated campaign in collaboration with Orgullosa and Latina Bloggers Connect. However all opinions/stories are 100% my own.
I am so excited to have been selected to join the Orgullosa #InspireOrgullo campaign. I love the mission of Orgullosa which is to share and inspire Latinas throughout the transformative power of community. Make sure to check out their Orgullosa video series. (http://bit.ly/OrgullosaVideos)
Here is my story: I am a Hispanic American. My parents were both born and raised in Puerto Rico. They both came to the United States when they were 18 years old. Both were sent here to pursue a better life for themselves and their families back home. My dad got his bachelor's degree from the University of Puerto Rico in Social Work. My mother finished high school and completed one year of college.
They both met each other in Rochester, NY, fell in love and started a family. I was raised in a bilingual household. My mother spoke to us in Spanish and my father in English. They wanted us to learn both languages so there was no language barrier.
Although I went to Catholic school and my friends were predominantly white Americans, I always felt proud of my heritage and where my parents came from. My parents till this day have kept their home centered on their culture. Pictures and souvenirs of Puerto Rico, Spanish-language music playing on Saturdays when my mom cleaned and Latin cuisine served to us almost every day (occasionally my mom wanted a day off so we would go out for pizza).
My parents always reminded us to never forget where your family came from and as an adult I lived by this. I pride myself in trying to represent my culture with pride and respect. Whether it was in school or in the workplace, I want to be a role model.
When I started my blog and my Youtube channel I tried to incorporate Spanish words here and there. My goal in the future is to try to make my videos in Spanish or at least bilingual. I would need to brush up on my Spanish though. LOL!
My main focus is to inspire women to embrace who they are and where they came from. Every culture has striking features or accents and you should showcase that. My Latina features are my full brows, full lips and dark brown eyes. Tell me some of yours? Don't hide them or get rid of them. OWN IT! It makes you, YOU!
One thing I would love to try to teach other Latina women is to love one another. I know a lot of times different cultures get into a tit for tat about whose culture is better and etc but that's going backwards. Make friends from different cultures and learn from each other. We need to support each other as not only women but Latina women! Imagine how much change or difference you can make in your community with unification!
In my household we honor our culture in many different ways. I try to keep PR culture alive from the simplest of things like cooking Puerto Rican food such as arroz con gandules or listening to Latin music. My fiancé and I just recently started taking salsa lessons. I love it and it's another small piece of our culture that I don't want to die because I want to share this with my future children!
Thank you guys for reading this long post! I have always wanted to share and talk about my background with you guys. Please share with me your stories! I would love to read about where you guys are from and your cultural traditions.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Orgullosa and Latina Bloggers Connect. The opinions and text are all mine.
No comments
Post a Comment