What does it mean to me to be Latina?

In 2018, the Parliament of Canada proclaimed October Latin American Heritage Month in recognition of the Latin American community’s tremendous contribution to Canadian society. (Source Statement on Latin American Heritage Month - Canada.ca). I really did not know about this until a couple of years ago when I started to see celebrations and events around this topic in Toronto. For the first time as an immigrant, I felt seen.

This celebration is about our culture and our diversity, but for me it has a bigger meaning. For me this celebration represents a way to teach others about our cultural differences, similarities, and richness, and to educate others on the value we have as immigrants.

I came to Canada in January of 2006, landing at Toronto’s Pearson airport on a very chilly evening. I had decided to leave Venezuela, the country where I was born and raised and where I lived for 31 years of my life, to migrate to Canada and seek a better future. Back then I said goodbye to many people I knew – family and friends – with a sub context of guilt, as they expressed that I was choosing a different place because I did not love my country enough. They said I would come to Canada and forget who I was, and not even miss all I had left behind. I knew they were wrong; I would always miss the view of El Avila1, the sounds of the Guacamayas1, the nights filled with chicharras1 and ranitas1, the taste of Venezuelan Coffee, Caracas in December. As I look up from my computer in my home office, I see the photograph I brought from El Avila where I can almost hear the soul of my city, and familiar smells that trick my mind to believe I am there. I came to Canada not escaping, I came to Canada to build, the same way my great-grandfather left Spain, my other great-grandfather left Italy, or my grandmother left Cuba. They never escaped, they just knew that to build the life they wanted, they needed to build it in a different land.

My grandmother left Cuba at 17, a few years before all the revolution happened, she spoke very little about her childhood, but she always made sure to integrate Cuban food, music, and culture into our lives. She was devoted to the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre2, patron Virgin of Cuba, and since I can remember the statue of the Virgen was besides her bed. When I came to Canada, my grandmother surprised me and gave me this statue “to protect me in my new life”. More than having a religious significance, this statue has for me family and cultural significance. This piece of my grandmother and my family travelled in my hand luggage, moved condos and houses, and eventually I will give it to my daughter as the most valuable piece of inheritance I could ever have.

I became a mother in 2014, and my daughter Giada is first generation Canadian, the only one on the 2 sides of her family, and she is also a Latina, with a Salvadorean dad and a Venezuelan mom, she has learned how to love arepas and pupusas, dance salsa and sing the most iconic songs of Latin American pop charts; and most importantly she is fluid in Spanish. One day she asked me why her dad and I made her speak Spanish at home when we lived in Canada -  a question many immigrant children ask -  we told her it was because Spanish was the language of her culture, and most important, the only language she could use to communicate with her family – our families live in El Salvador, Spain and Venezuela – and the only language they speak is Spanish. And now when we travel to any of those countries, she is proud to be able to speak with anyone and to know what foods to eat. She is proud to be a Canadian-Latina.

When I look at her, I see what is really means to be Latina, it means never forgetting where I come from, always being proud to have been born and raised there, having the best memories and for everything that I learned that prepared me for this new life. I miss Caracas many more days than I say, I will never forget it, nor I will never hide it. I am proud of my accent, my passion for life, my people, my familia and for the mark that we Latin Americans are making in so many fields. I am also proud about the fact that you will be reading this and seeing how my Latin American soul comes to life in the imperfection of my writing in my second language.

I have dedicated time to help others that like me came to Canada with no friends, no family, and just their suitcases filled with dreams. Maybe you read about Venezuela and El Salvador and you think violence, political issues, gangs, civil wars, economic problems. I would love to invite you to see beyond the headlines and learn about our countries, our food, our folklore, and our people.

For me being Latina is who I am.

Adriana Romero

1References:

El Avila - El Ávila National Park - Wikipedia

Guacamayas – Macaws Macaw - Wikipedia

Chicharras – Cicadas Cicada - Wikipedia

Ranitas – Peepers Spring peeper - Wikipedia

2Virgen de La Caridad del Cobre - Our Lady of Charity del Cobre - Wikipedia