As of 2016, there were 435,000 Latin American immigrants in Canada, with many more as of 2021 and lots more children of these immigrants growing up in Canada today. I am one of those children and until a few years ago, I was ashamed of having immigrant parents. Fortunately, I have grown to embrace my culture and ethnicity. But what made me so ashamed? And what makes so many other children ashamed? The answer lies in the racist behaviour and microaggressions that are perpetuated on us daily. I, and a few of my friends, children of two Latin American immigrants, are here to paint the picture of it all.
“You speak pretty good English”
When asking my Latine friends about their experiences with microaggressions, one that came up often was the assumption that they were less educated than their non-POC counterparts. Commenting on a child’s ability to speak English creates the idea that immigrants only speak Spanish or aren’t teaching their kids to speak anything other than Spanish. In addition to this presumption, my friends explained that they were told to feel, “lucky to have achieved higher education” considering their ethnic background, which reinforces the idea that Latinos are ‘dumb’ or ‘ghetto’ since they are thought to be unable to afford education in Canada. This demeaning form of thinking disregards the strong institutions of education that exist in Latin America.
“Are you sure you’re Latina?”
As a Mexican woman with a ‘European’ nose and blue eyes, I am no stranger to this question. Upon meeting someone, I’m usually thrown into a mediator position of ‘guess her ethnicity’ in which strangers attempt to figure out where I’m from. Once it finally surfaces that I’m Mexican, a look of shock crosses their face and I’m prodded with comments like: “but you have blue eyes”, “but you don’t look Mexican”, “so you speak Spanish then, say something”. There are several issues with these remarks; Latines come in all different skin tones and carry different facial features. Assuming that Latines only have one way of looking is ignoring the important colonial and indigenous history of several Latin American countries. While the third comment simply makes me uncomfortable, it doesn’t debilitate my capacity to give them a short sentence in Spanish, however, there are many children of immigrants who may not be able to answer. My childhood Latina friend mentioned that her inability to speak Spanish has been one of her biggest insecurities in feeling less of a Latina. While speaking the language is an important part of embracing Latine culture, it does not define just ‘how much of a Latino’ one is. Nor is it anyone’s place to point this out.
While I might not look the part in the winter, I certainly fit the description of a Latina in the summer; thanks to the sun and the level of melanin in my skin. If I’m meeting someone in this season, the reaction is less shock and more of an attempt at complimenting my looks (in a racist manner of course). Growing up, it was common for non-POC to place their arm next to mine as a measurement of how tan they were getting or exclaim that they were, “almost as dark as” me. This is problematic as it condones non-POC to adopt darker skin tones at their liberty for aesthetic reasons, yet mistreat those who carry that same skin tone during the rest of the year. As I mentioned before, I have blue eyes, and when you mix that with a ‘golden tan’, I attract several looks. Though I’m flattered by these actions, what is not okay is when it’s paired with, “you look so exotic”. I’m not a bird. There is no need to justify my beauty with the fact that I’m POC looking, as if I cannot meet the calibre of beauty of non-POCs. The old classics like, “you look nice” are still acceptable and much better received.
“How do you pronounce that?”
As I reflected on my experiences, I had various flashbacks to the anxious feeling I would get as the daily attendance was read out in elementary school. Since it is traditional for children in many Latin American countries to carry both last names, my parents decided to hyphenate my last name so that both would be used on official documents. While this was a beautiful effort of non-conformity from my parents, it was a beacon of insecurity for many years. All through elementary school, I would wish that I had a last name like my friends: ‘Brooks’, ‘Allen’, or ‘Morrison’. In class and at award ceremonies my last name was pronounced every way…except the right way. Now let me clarify, it’s not the mispronunciation of my name that was insulting, it was the lack of effort to pronounce it properly. In elementary school, I dealt with the mispronunciation, but in high school, I opted for a nickname instead. I wasn’t known by my full name but by my nickname and if asked what my last name was, many of my classmates had no clue. Though I still go by the nickname, I hadn’t realized what this meant at the time. I had resorted to conforming my name so that it was more easily recognizable and pronounceable, without declaring it was important for non-Spanish speakers to simply learn how to say it correctly.
While having to constantly hold my breath as people went to pronounce my last name, one of my Latino friends recounted years of the mispronunciation of his first name. Much like my parents who wanted to keep the integrity of their last names, his parents decided to keep the spelling of his name in the Spanish form rather than English. As one can imagine, this brought on several issues growing up in Canada. He, as I had said, wasn’t bothered by the mispronunciation of his name but more so by someone arguing that the way they were pronouncing it, was the right way. Time and time again after correcting a person, he was questioned if that was, in fact, the proper pronunciation of his own name. Much like the audacity it takes someone to question whether or not, “you’re really Latine”, this behaviour should no longer be swallowed and accepted.
“Border Hopper”
This wouldn’t be a complete list without the most common macro-aggressive comment. If I had a penny for every time the status of my citizenship was made into a joke, I would be rich. Questions about how you were, “smuggled across the border” are often shrugged off as comedic, however, when taking a closer look, these remarks only encourage the stereotype that Latin American immigrants come illegally. Even if that is the case, it is not in a non-Latinx’s position to judge someone for making a potentially life-saving decision. What follows the illegal immigrant observation is an ignorant inquiry about being friends with a drug lord. Once again, encouraging the stereotype that Latin Americans traffic substances and are part of gangs. This belief leaves immigrants in a position to be followed around in an expensive store, as one of my friends recounted, and makes many children of Latin American immigrants think that criminality is the only path set out for them.
“It was the uneducated opinions of others that made me hate that part of me.”
Whether it’s the assumption that if you’re Latine, you’re automatically Mexican, a comment about only eating tacos or a remark about a Latina’s level of ‘feistiness’ when speaking up, microaggressions exist everywhere. The effects of these aggressions are anything but positive, they cause discomfort and disdain towards their ethnicity for young Latin Americans. It is important that non-Latine and Latine themselves are aware of what is insulting and what behaviours should not be socially acceptable. It is also important for Latinx children of immigrants to decide the boundaries that they will put up for themselves and what they will or will not conform to.
Being a child of immigrants is nothing to be made fun of and nothing to be ashamed of. Though the experiences differ between immigrants and immigrant children, each is uniquely upsetting. These negative occurrences need to be something of the past because they make children of Latin American immigrants want to reject their heritage rather than embrace it. I and my friends have grown to realize these macro and microaggressions do not define us or the journey our parents have taken. Everything my parents have done has been to build a better life for me and everything I do is to show them it was worth it. And that’s something to be proud of.
A very special thank you to Natalia Lopera, Raquel Ruiz, and Moises Ruiz for allowing me to use their voices in this piece.
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