Thursday, July 15, 2010

Growing Up Spanglish: Part Uno

I am perhaps four or five years old. My father and I are watching TV. "That woman is singing in French," he says. I pause, considering this. Finally, I ask the logical question: "French in Spanish or French in English?"

2 comments:

  1. You can't say your Cuban-American if you were born in Miami,doesn't make sense.I was born in Cuba but raised in Miami so that would be more on the terms of Cuban-American.Anyway,yeah flying cockroaches are called Palmetto bugs,I remember those too clearly.And true Miami is not a paradise,wish is was though,cause I miss it though I moved out of MIA 10 yrs ago.But hey every city has it's good as well as its bad side,and Miami was never really all that bad.I miss it.

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  2. I know that I'm not technically Cuban since I was born in the U.S., but those of us who were born to Cuban parents here have always called ourselves Cuban-American. To say that we're American with Cuban parents doesn't feel right because the Cuban side is part of our identity, not a footnote. In fact, these hyphenated terms are commonly used to refer not just to American citizens born in another country, but also to American-born people who trace their nationality to another country. For example, Irish-Americans or Italian-Americans weren't necessarily born in Ireland or Italy.

    Anyway, sorry that it took me ages to approve your comment! I've been too busy for the blog lately, but I hope to get back into it. :o}

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