Speak American!

by Cynthia Pleitez

As a bi-lingual Latina, speaking Spanish in America does not make me any less American than those who have the ill-fate of only being able to communicate  in English.

As a child I was never ashamed to speak Spanish. Spanish was a comfort zone and I was a magician dancing with words in one language and switching to another  effortlessly. As my native language, it took 21 years before I discovered that I had been incorrectly pronouncing the word pizza as “pixa” just as my parents always had.

But all good things come to end, and as I encountered more people outside of my own Spanish culture, I realized that not everyone was comfortable with me hablando Espanol.  It was in the workplace where I found the most animosity toward not “speaking American” which to the bigot means speaking  any other language other than English.

Time after time, helping Spanish-speaking customers resulted in burning glares from the next person in line. I felt so uncomfortable that I didn’t want to help customers in Spanish because I didn’t want to feel that discomfort and I didn’t want to get them mad.

Sometimes I gave Spanish speaking customers the respect they deserved but sometimes the discomfort was too much and so I rushed them and went on to give the glaring bigot my biggest smile and most American “Hi, how’s it going” that I could give.

Every customer had the opportunity to fill out an online survey, at a link found on their receipt, and leave comments which were then printed and posted in the break room for all to see. “Why do you guys have commercials in Spanish?” “ The day laborers in the parking lot cheapen your business,”  “This is America, Speak English!”

It angered me but I was no different than the others when I chose to not embrace mi cultura.

I began to question myself, and realized, that by denying the customer who didn’t speak English the verbal exchange in Spanish that they deserved, I was denying a part of myself. Being annoyed that they were asking me questions in Spanish, in front of (mostly white) glaring customers, meant that I was afraid of showing a part of myself to them.

Living in America, a country that has flourished from the multi-ethnic identities, languages, and races of its people, I have learned that when Latinos speak Spanish in America, we are being precisely American. I took a long look in the mirror, one that reflected all of my insecurities and I let go. I let go of my fear, my ignorance, and my inability to accept myself for who I was; Latina, Spanish-Speaking, and proud.

To learn more about Cynthia, visit her Facebook page.

______________________________________________________________

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of
the author and should not be understood to be shared by Being Latino, Inc.

______________________________________________________________

   

______________________________________________________________