I never thought of myself as Hispanic. Then I moved to the US
Categories of race and class may be social constructs, but how others see you affects how you see yourself, writes María Meléndez. The post I never thought of myself as Hispanic. Then I moved to the US appeared first on Mexico News Daily
I never thought of myself as Hispanic until I moved to the United States. A recent Pew Research Center analysis examined who qualifies as Hispanic, revealing that for many Mexicans, the answer only appears after crossing the border, often shouted by strangers. My mother and I were having a conversation in Spanish when a woman, upset, called me "f—ing South American."
I corrected her by saying "North American," but I understood that she was referring to my culture, not my exact origin. I am Mexican, but I am also North American, Latin American, and chilanga from Mexico City. My identity as Hispanic only became apparent once I crossed the border.
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