Abrazando la Diversidad en la Escritura

Embracing Diversity in Writing 
By Aurora Garcia

Being a Latina whose first language is Spanish, I prefer to read and write in Spanish.  There are a couple different reasons for this. First, I love my language. Spanish is a rich, vast, delicious, poetic and fun language. I will in English, especially when something was initially written in English. However, I believe that we often lose some of the meaning the author had intended when writing is translated. Some things just cannot be translated. Yet, when it comes to diversity, not everything needs translating, because some feelings and situations are universal.

My favorite author is Gabriel Garcia Marquez and One Hundred Years of Solitude is my favorite book. Garcia Marquez, in my opinion, personifies a perfect writer.  First, the richness of our vocabulary is overwhelming. I can’t get over how he interlaces words that can be so simple and quotidian, yet he and only he could create such magic with those common words.  I love the way he can make you look at a life in a snapshot and make you know that character with all virtues and defects.  I’m in love with his sarcasm, sense of humor and realism. He is realistic in the way he paints a character and then he adds the magical realism that allows you dream and wonder how he came up with those ideas.

I believe that we should all be exposed to diversity in reading. The world is a small place and we need to focus more on the similarities than in our differences. I have read stories about people in China or India and it always goes back to how we can relate or understand their situation. 

Regardless of the culture, we share the same feelings and situations. It probably comes natural for me to feel that way, but it may not be the case for everybody. I witnessed a lot of racism and closed minds. I have seen Caucasians with a sense of entitlement and don’t care to even consider trying to understand other cultures. Or they will travel to other countries and expect the people to adapt to their American ways, instead of enjoying the differences and the richness that each culture has to offer. 

I’ve also seen a lot of rejection in the Latino culture in terms of language. Some may say that their country speaks the best Spanish. People have a need to compare and feel superior to others. For me, loving Spanish, I see differences in language as an excuse to make it more vast and interesting.  When I hear a different Latin-American accent or wording, I find it great and enjoy listening to the different ways of speaking. If everyone were more open and more welcoming to diversity in reading, it would open more possibilities for tolerance amongst everybody.

Thank you to author Terra Trevor, who invited me to join the growing number of readers, authors, publishers and writers who are passionate about diversity and have launched an online campaign calling for more diversity in publishing, and inviting writers to answer the following questions:

Q. Why do you write what you do? And, how does your work differ from others of its genre?

My writing is informal, and sometimes I feel awkward being called a writer. I write off and on, and sometimes there are long stretches when I read instead of write. I enjoy writing, but it is a process I cannot force. Also, when I read works by great writers, I question my writing. I write personal essays, intimate writing, but I also write about society. I believe as a Latina I can write about the mistakes we make as Latinos. It’s like in a family, you feel like you can tell your family what they’re doing wrong, but you cannot stand hearing anybody else telling them the same thing.

One of the first mistakes we make as Latinos is segregation. It would make a huge difference is if every Latin American could see other Latin Americans as part of the same culture. Just like in the language, it would make a tremendous difference if we embraced the different cultures and enjoyed the differences instead of being so defensive. Yes it is great to have a sense of pride in one’s country, but I don’t think it’s contradictory to at the same time have a feeling of inclusion towards others. Embracing the multiplicities of the Spanish language will make us stronger, and offer respect from other countries when they see segregation is not an option.

Q: How does your writing process work?

I write whatever appeals to me, and I believe my passion for writing (and reading) was inherited from my father who wrote songs and poetry.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Aurora Garcia is a nonfiction writer and essayist who was born in La Piedad, Michoacan, Mexico. She moved to California in 1989, when she was 14 years old. This is about the time when she began writing, but throughout her teen and young adult years she kept her writing to herself for fear of being exposed. Although fluent in English and Spanish she instinctively writes in Spanish, as it is her native language. 

Aurora lives with her husband and son. She loves life, nature, art, music, and diversity, admiring the contrasts and richness of her homeland culture, as well as the beautiful language that Spanish is. Aurora believes her passion for writing was inherited from her father who wrote songs and poetry.

Mexico and the USA: My Motherland and Fatherland

By Aurora Garcia

The USA is the country where I live. While the United States is not my motherland, it is the country where I have lived the longest and the country that gave me a new life, and a son. It is not the country where fate would have me be born in, but where I actually and consciously chose to become a citizen. But of course without renouncing to my Mexican citizenship.

For the longest time I rejected the idea of acquiring a new citizenship. I felt like a traitor. I don’t know when it started to grow into me. At first I thought, well, nothing will change the facts. I was born in a house with the scent of Lime and Plumeria. I grew up in a home where I would quietly stare at the clouds and the leaves of the Lime tree. Nothing could erase the memories of the smell of my mother’s cooking or the smell on a rainy day in my beautiful homeland, and the games and the joy. This love will remain untouched.

When I came to the USA everything was new to me—the smells, the places, the language, and the people. I felt so alone and out of place for the first couple of years. Then I don’t know how or when it started. I began to have a sense of belonging. I learned the language, studied, worked, had wonderful friends, and all of a sudden, I didn’t feel like a traitor anymore. I understood. I was no longer confused. For the longest time I’d had a fight within myself on where I belonged, and which country I owed loyalty to. Then one day, out of the blue, it came to me, and I clearly understood that there is no reason to choose. How can you answer to the question, who do you love the most, your mother or your father? Both, and you don’t have to measure it, you don’t have to explain it or compare it.

I know the feeling of my attachment to the US started before I had my son, but it became stronger after he was born. All of a sudden we were creating memories together. His childhood moments were so different from mine, but equally beautiful, and I immersed myself into it.

Mexico/USA! Yes, I own one of each flags, but I don’t display them everywhere I go. It is my belief that you mostly carry those feelings within your heart. When I lived in Mexico, I don’t remember ever displaying the Mexican flag other than at appropriate ceremonies and at institutions, and in a very respectful manner. These beautiful countries mean and represent much more than their politics and their unfortunate situations. They represent the smells, the laughs, their beautiful scenery and their natural resources. These countries are the people who don’t make the headlines, but instead keep a low profile and spend their time raising a family and working hard.

So, let the eagle continue to devour the serpent and ask for divine power for that eagle to wide spread its wings. And let the stars shine brighter and us not be blinded by the glow, but instead hold on to some of that light. There is plenty love, space and time for everything and everybody.

Copyright © Aurora Garcia. All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Aurora Garcia is a nonfiction writer and essayist who was born in La Piedad, Michoacan, Mexico. She moved to California in 1989, when she was 14 years old. This is about the time when she began writing, but throughout her teen and young adult years she kept her writing to herself for fear of being exposed. Although fluent in English and Spanish she instinctively writes in Spanish, as it is her native language. Aurora lives with her husband and 12 year-old son. She loves life, nature, art, music, and diversity, admiring the contrasts and richness of her homeland culture, as well as the beautiful language that Spanish is. Aurora believes her passion for writing was inherited from her father who wrote songs and poetry.

From Michoacan, Mexico to California: A Latina Writer Reflects

By Aurora Garcia

We hear it everywhere “we are one.” Do we really believe it? I personally struggle with my own demons of stereotyping, pride, fear and narrow mindedness. I force myself to think of me and everything else that surrounds me as a global matter. But I have to keep reminding myself of the type of person I want to be and the kind of example I want to be for my son. Not easy.

As a kid I would fear hearing anything that had to do with news. Perhaps all the catastrophes, political affairs, personal interests, unfairness, is what has made me be so scared. As I got older I realized that I had to be informed on relevant issues. Reluctantly, I watch and read “some” news.

I hear a lot about immigration and of course being a Latina, I could not turn my back on these issues. The first time I entered the United States, I did it with my green card. Do you think racist or prejudiced people know or care about that? No, they look only at my last name.

Thankfully my wonderful father did the work it took to make sure I did not have the need to enter this country illegally. This means, I did not have to suffer what people trying to survive around the world have suffered for centuries. People around the world have been displaced countless times. Also, in the United States think of the discrimination that in past decades- Irish, Chinese, Blacks, and Native American have been through, not to mention being called the Okies. Well, now it is the Hispanics’ turn – myself included.

The Spaniards came to America. They “discovered” America. My answer to that is no need to discover us. We knew we were here. The conquistadors killed Native people. They took ships loaded with gold back to Spain. They traded mirrors for gold. They destroyed writings, and a culture. If that had not happened, I would most likely live in my hometown and my last name would not be Garcia, but most likely a Purepecha name.

I feel a right to write about all this, because it hits home. As a Mexican, I see and hear all the trouble that immigrants from Central America go through in my own country. This is a shame. I have heard all kinds of criticism because in Mexico there is a large Argentinean, Chinese, Centro-American community. Well, we are the least indicated to say a word or mistreat anybody. And I don’t even want to get started on the terrible way society has treated and continues to treat Natives in my own country. This is a whole other topic.

Yes, the world would be chaotic if we all went back to where we came from. The United States of America would be filled with only Native Americans. The Mayans and Aztecs would have emerged as the great civilizations they were. The rest of the European countries that immigrated to America and that now call it their own would have stayed where they originated. But why are we so territorial?

There is a sense of ownership that people around the world acquire, but whose world is this? At the same time, we contradict ourselves in so many ways. We need to practice what we preach. When will we learn as a civilization that the world belongs to all of us, and that it is also our obligation to make it better.

WE ARE ONE. It would make the world a better place if we helped each other and stopped segregating. When God, or nature or whomever you believe in made the universe and earth, it was created with no borders, no names and no flags. Perhaps we could try to be more instinctive, more tolerant. And learn that the way the world has been managed for centuries is not working. I don’t have all the answers, but we could try together as a planet to avoid the mistakes that we keep repeating that have not taken us anywhere. Then again, I have been called crazy many times. Or like John Lennon said, “you may say I’m a dreamer.”

Copyright © 2011 Aurora Garcia. All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Aurora Garcia is a nonfiction writer and essayist who was born in La Piedad, Michoacan, Mexico. She moved to California in 1989, when she was 14 years old. This is about the time when she began writing, but throughout her teen and young adult years she kept her writing to herself for fear of being exposed. Although fluent in English and Spanish she instinctively writes in Spanish, as it is her native language. Aurora lives with her husband and 12 year-old son. She loves life, nature, art, music, and diversity, admiring the contrasts and richness of her homeland culture, as well as the beautiful language that Spanish is. Aurora believes her passion for writing was inherited from her father who wrote songs and poetry.