Nicole “Nico” Cisneros
USA
I know what I am! I’m Cuban-Filipino-American; first-generation Filipino on my mom’s side and second-generation Cuban on my dad’s side. I love celebrating my heritage, but what really puts a pause in my delight– and what sometimes feels like a gut-check– is when others respond with something like, “…but you’re not really Cuban” or “…okay, so you’re not totally Filipino.” Really?! Who are you to say what I REALLY am? Just because I don’t fit into a neat little box, just because you can’t pigeon-hole my ethnic background, just because you have to look twice to check for telling facial features does not give you the power or authority to tell me who or what I am. I was raised to embrace who I am, fully and wholeheartedly. Both of my parents are immersed in one another’s cultural practices and traditions. My mom speaks fluent Spanish and my dad can make chicken adobo. Both sides of the family have blended in such a way that my Filipino cousins call my Cuban cousins their own family and vice versa.
I am American. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, and you can probably tell by hearing me talk for all of 5 minutes. I vote, I sing the National Anthem at sporting events, I believe in democracy. Would you take away my American identity? Would you look me in the eye and say “You’re not really American.” Odds are that you would not. You wouldn’t take away something that is so obviously mine, so clearly apart of who I am. Why then, do you feel like it’s okay to correct me when I say I am Cuban AND Filipino. I don’t have to be just one race to truly embrace and honor it. I can be wholly Cuban, wholly Filipino and wholly American.
Don’t tell me what I am. Ask me who I am. You might learn something new.
