Six months....

Today is a very sad day for me as it marks the 6th month since my "mami" aka mom passed away. She was Chicana too, not by birth but by right, she was a GUERRERA warrior. My Chicana struggles began with her, with my roots, the roots that she took with her to the grave and now lay 6 feet under but run in my 5'2 foot body even deeper. In our culture our mother is sacred, we take care of them, cherish them, and never leave them, they don't go to homes when they are weak and frail we take care of them with our life and even put our life on hold for them. When our mother dies a part of us goes with them, the bond that we form with our mothers is unbreakable, it's never ending... I learned what I know and I am what I am because of her. She was and will continue to be the air I breathe and the motor of my life. I love you and miss you Mami...

HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!!

Contrary to what many think we Mexicans or Chicanos,for that matter, DO celebrate American holidays and we know what we are celebrating contrary to so many here in the U.S. who "celebrate" Cinco de Mayo and think it's Mexican Independence day! WRONG! So we will be having a BBQ, hanging by the pool and watching fireworks at night, pretty patriotic right?

Regardless of where my parents are from I feel very American, of course never losing sight of where I came from. My Chicana struggles begin way back before I was born. Back in 1952 when an American couple "hired" a nanny for their kids from a poor family in Mexico. My mom at age 9 was that nanny, she was a child hired to help take care of 3 children barely younger than her. She wanted to help her family who struggled to put food on the table so she swallowed her tears and put up a strong front so to show my grandmother "I can do this". Little did she know that she would never be a child again...

Happy 237th Year of Independence to the United States!