I thought they would go back
Marilyn Blotcher Mitchell, Tallahassee, FL Grew up in Miami; Cuban refugees started coming when I was in elementary school. Bumper stickers said “Will the last...
Somewhere between Salsa and Country!
Stephanie Connors Eureka, CA Music is one of my biggest reminders of the cultures that I grew up with. It fills me with nostalgia and...
Haitian Cuban fusion. Proud legacy continues.
Suzette Chaumette, San Leandro, CA. We speak of ourselves as a Caribbean family. We teach our girls about the significance of the drum, Haitian Revolution,...
Hey Boy, you don’t act Black
Anthony Strong, Pheonix, AZ. Being mixed, half black and half Cuban, my life has been a hurricane of racial confusion, offenses, and frustration. I was...
“You don’t look Jamaican or Cuban”
Michael A. Caldas, Miami, FL I’m a Cuban and Jamaican descent mix. Most people when they look at me think that I am either Cape...
I’m who I say I am!
Christina Martinez-Williams. Seat Pleasant, MD. My mother is German and English, at least third generation American born, and my father is Cuban, first generation born....
Puerto Rico’s Identity Crisis Defines Me.
Isabel Nicole Otero Hernandez, Silver Spring, MD. I was born in Puerto Rico to a Cuban Mother and a Puerto Rican Father. The summer I...
Colorblindness means you can’t see me.
Ashley Diaz Mejias, Richmond, VA. I write this as 34 year seminarian and old mom of two girls; my husband is haitian and puerto rican,...
Cafe con leche; side of bagel
Raquel Diaz, Miami, FL. I’ve used this protocol in workshops before and it was quite reflective to see that I identify with being Cuban (cafe...
You don’t look or sound Cuban.
Sergio R Velazquez, Lowell, MA. The label Latino bothers me, same as Hispanic. Both have colonial roots and do not properly represent any specific group...
What? But you don’t look Cuban!
Beatrice Miranda, Grand Terrace, CA. When I’m overheard speaking in Spanish. Really? My response… Yes, I’m Cuban and it was my first language. (As I’m...
I’m tan, but I’m not Mexican
Gabriella, Delaware, OH. Just because my skin is naturally olive, everyone thinks im foreign, I have gotten many different ethnicity such as, Puerto Rican, Cuban,...
My skintone is not my race.
Heather Lopez, Philadelphia, PA. I’m mixed, I’m half White and half Cuban. Many people think I’m just white because of the color of my skin.
CubanAmerican Gringi is not acceptable nickname.
Pamela Torres, West Palm Beach, FL. CubanAmerican daughter often teased for being light skin. It hurts.
Jubanamerican (Six syllables not six words)
Deborah Gonzalez Carmichael, CA My daughter identifies herself as a Jew + Cuban + American. Being a Jew is more than a religion; it is...
Non white American? Call me Cuban!
Heather Thompson, San Francisco, CA. While travelling to Mexico for one week, 5 separate people asked me if I was Cuban, 1 asked me if...
Are both your parents from Cuba?
Barbara Rodriguez, Florence, SC. Yes, they both are Cuban. The look of shock never ceases to amaze me. Is it because I’m blonde and have...
