I have had many experiences in which my race has been questioned based on my skin tone. I consider myself a Mexican American girl. Many people, however, have had their opinions on what it means to be Mexican AND American. To me being Mexican American means that your roots are from Mexico but you yourself were born in America. When I walked down the street people told me that they knew I was a Mexican American. Other people, however, have had the problem of defining who I really was. All of my life I was brought up as a Mexican American girl whose parents immigrated to the United States for a better life for their family. In other words they came to the U.S. for the “American Dream.” Much of my relatives are in Chicago in which they also came for a better life. However, all of my family is not here because some are still back home in Mexico. I often visited my family in Michoacán, Mexico. I loved going there because there I was able to explore and visit my roots and where I came from. As a child my family members in Mexico called me “La Güera”. Being a child I had no idea what it meant. I thought it was cute nickname and that is why I would always respond to it. As I grew up I asked them “Porque me llaman güera cuando no soy blanca?” (Why do you call me Güera when I am not white?) My cousins answered the question with the simple answer of “Porque nacisteis en los Estados” (Because you where born in the states.) I was confused because I knew that I wasn’t white. I was Mexican and I was proud of it too. They then explained to me that it was also due to my skin color. That is what I questioned the most. My cousins are very dark skinned compared to me but I am still have a light brown complexion. I was no different than they were. I explained to them that my skin color does not really define what race I
