A love letter to my heritage

In case anyone didn’t know, Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month. I look forward to this time of year. Now that I work at a newspaper, I take advantage to highlight local Hispanic-owned businesses and, this year, highlight Hispanic men and women who work for our local governments.  

However, I highlight this every day of the year because it’s a part of who I am. Being a Hispanic American has many perks like being bilingual, for example. Growing up, I spoke Spanish at home with my parents then English at school and with my friends. Being bilingual is my favorite part of who I am because I can talk with two groups of people. It’s like there’s a little switch that I can turn off and on at any moment. 

I grew up living the best of both worlds with a Mexican mom and a Salvadorian dad. My mom is originally from Chihuahua, Mexico, a beautiful state in the northern part of the country. My dad is from a little bit south and grew up in San Salvador, El Salvador, Central America. 

Both cultures are very different but also the same. There are different traditional foods, for example, Mexicans are known for their delicious tacos and Salvadorians are known for their savory pupusas. 

They also have a different way of saying things, for example my mom calls straw popote and my dad calls it pajilla. 

Over the years, I’ve seen the growth of the Hispanic population in Houston County. When I was in Elementary and Middle School, I remember being one of few Hispanic kids in my class. By the time I was in my senior year of High School, there were many Hispanics in my class.

I’ve also noticed new restaurants and businesses starting up. It’s nice seeing us planting our roots in Houston County.

I’ve seen people appreciate Hispanic culture and respecting it. I had the opportunity to cover the first annual International City Experience, attended the Perry International Festival every year since it started in 2020 and covered the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration last year in Warner Robins. 

In each festival, I’ve seen people embracing our culture and Latinos showing off their pride proudly. It’s a beautiful thing to see, especially considering the hatred that has been towards us in the past.

I’m blessed me or my family have not experienced this hatred, but my dad has told me stories from when he first migrated here from El Salvador. I’ve also seen stories on the news, studied the history of my people and even my friends have shared stories with me.

I’m still on the journey of being in touch with my culture and ancestry. I’m a big history nerd and reading about the history of both Mexico and El Salvador is tough. Indigenous lands were stolen, women and children abused and overall, their history erased. Right now, I’ve been trying to find out more about my Indigenous roots. 

Fun fact about me, I recently took a 23andMe test that showed me that I am connected to Indigenous American ancestors from central and western El Salvador. Another fun fact, every day after work over the past few weeks, I’ve been putting together and “watering” my family tree. It’s been an exciting experience seeing my family throughout different generations. It’s been beautiful “meeting” my ancestors. 

Just a piece of advice from little old me (yes, this is a Taylor Swift reference, if you know you know), instead of spewing hatred towards a group of people, it’s time to show love. Everyone has a family, everyone wants a better life and everyone deserves respect. We are better than previous generations. 

This Hispanic Heritage Month I encourage everyone to visit a locally owned Hispanic business, attend festivals and overall, get to know stories. Every story is beautiful, and I am proud of my story and Hispanic Heritage.

Keep an eye out for future editions of the paper in case anyone needs any locally owned Hispanic restaurant and business recommendations. 

I hope readers enjoyed reading a little bit about who I am.

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month from your local reporter!