In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we decided to ask our Latino Voices’ community to sound off on Facebook and Twitter about what they love most about being Latino or Hispanic.
In addition to filling us with joy, orgullo and the warm fuzzies, respondents’ answers confirmed what we’ve always known to be true: The source of our individual pride is as diverse, unique and complicated as we are. See for yourself!
Read on to see what makes our readers proud to be Latino or Hispanic, and don’t forget to share the source of your own cultural pride in the comment section below. Represent!
1. "The diversity just within or own people, every country is so different and beautiful all at once. The resourcefulness that is engrained in us that allows us to prosper anywhere/anytime. Can’t hold us down!" -Evelyn Bautista-Gutierrez
2. "I'm proud to be a Latina, because although some consider me "irrelevant" or are annoyed I even exist, I don't feed from that hate, stereotype, I was taught by my enemies their language, religion, and in my own way have used the negatives into positives my people, my culture were not even supposed to make it this far, but we have..here we are, and regardless what anyone says or thinks of me, I love and am proud of ME and my culture." -Maricela Acosta
3. "What makes me the most proud is being able to teach my culture and traditions to my children. They are deeply rooted in who I am: A Mexican-American born in the U.S. to Mexican parents. We are Catholic and proud of all our heritage has to offer; it begins with our family and our unconditional love for one another. It's extended into our language, our history, in getting to know our family tree, the food we eat, the music we dance and all the small details that make us who we are." -Connie Gomez
4. "I'm proud to be Latina because we help each other…I am part of a sisterhood of comadres. [It’s] like a new community within our communities, leaning and learning from each other. I met you today, tomorrow you are my comadre. I'm proud to celebrate our hard working padres, our amigos, our vecindad, nuestra gente linda, our struggles against ignorance and lack of knowledge to immigration, our history and our contributions to this blessed land." -Jean Hernandez
5. "My pride cannot be limited to the kind of the food that we cook, or the multitude of languages we can speak. It is the incredible resiliency of our people when we face hardship and obstacles, the sense of community we can have regardless of the color of our skin, the rich diversity of culture that is unparalleled, and the genuine love that we can have for one another, especially familia." -Mandi Gonzalez
6. "'El calor humano," nuestro idioma, la comida, la gente, la musica. La manera que valoramos la familia y el sentimiento por todo." -Margarita Yochabel Rodríguez
7. "I am proud that Mexican Texans fought and died for Texas Independence at the Alamo along with the new Settlers from the United States, even though current politicians refuse to teach that. I am proud that Sam Houston refuted slavery when Texas joined the Union, even if it cost him his political and popular following. I am proud my Mexican heritage includes Indian and Spanish blood...And I am most proud that all that humanity, all those centuries of hopes and sacrifice, reside right here in the United States of America." -Felipe Adan Lerma
8. "I love my brown skin, rich culture, and big family. I love that we aren't afraid of hard work...and that our food is amazing!" -Anita Padilla
9. "I love being able to tell stories to my grandchildren about their great-great grandparents who lived in Mexico during the Revolution. That I lived in the Rio Grande Valley when Cesar Chavez visited and got to realize my worth as a Mexican American. That I was sent to detention because I was caught speaking Spanish in high school. I just love being a brown-skinned woman and a Latina/Hispanic. I love my heritage that my grandmother would talk to me about. Love it..." -Angie Venegas
10. "I'm proud to be Xicano! I'm proud to be part of the latinoamericano community! ¡Viva la Causa! ¡Viva La/os Latina/os!" -Jesus A Benitez
11. "What makes me proud is living here in Germany and being able to walk into a Latin club and see so many people from this country that love to dance to our music and take time out to learn our language. It puts a big smile on my face Weeepaaaaa." -Kayla Rodriguez
12. "What makes me proud to be Latina is the fact that our culture is not a materialistic culture in the true sense of the word. It seems that as long we have family, friends and enough to eat and enjoy life, that's enough!" -Mallory Graf
13. "What makes me the most proud is being able to teach my culture and traditions to my children. They are deeply rooted in who I am: A Mexican-American born in the U.S. to Mexican parents. We are Catholic and proud of all our heritage has to offer; it begins with our family and our unconditional love for one another. It's extended into our language, our history, in getting to know our family tree, the food we eat, the music we dance and all the small details that make us who we are." -Connie Gomez
14. "Everything about being a Latina makes me proud." -Iluvniners Santamaria Lark
Some quotes have been edited and condensed for clarity.
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