Youth reflections for Hispanic Heritage Month on their identity:
“Culture, to me, is about connecting—with the Earth and with the plants, with the food, and with other people. I grew up around it, helping with the gardening, but not so much the cooking. Even though I was only in Mexico when I was little, I still have strong memories that stay with me.
The staff who work with us have taught us so much about our culture and the history behind it. Every time I participate, I learn something new, and that lets me connect more deeply each time. I want to learn where we come from and gain knowledge and experience I can later pass on to others. It’s a slow process, but there’s a lot to learn from it. And when you see the outcome of your work, you realize effort pays off later. “
“OYA provides a lot of learning opportunities for youth, but one that has been particularly important to me is learning about other cultures, such as the Hispanic/Latino culture. It is fun and it gives other youth who may or may not have Hispanic/Latino heritage a chance to be a part of their culture. Through this experience, I have grown to appreciate the culture. Though I have no Hispanic heritage, I enjoyed the experience of dancing with their cultural dances, and intend to do so again.”
“My blood is straight from Mexico, so I know I’m Hispanic. I want to keep engaging with my culture because it’s just something I love to do. It’s about connecting—with my peers, with the food we grew up eating and we’ve shared throughout our lives. Growing up, we cooked a lot at home. Homemade food was a big part of my life.
But there’s more to it than just growing and eating food. There’s a deeper meaning behind what we do. Back in Mexico, we celebrated our Hispanic heritage a lot more than we do here, but I’ve learned a lot in [OYA group]. Sometimes there’s a lot of sitting around and listening, but in the end, you take something away from it.
Being part of this has kept me out of trouble and helped me move on from my past. It gets us off-unit, helps us focus on good things to do throughout our life. I think this [engagement with your culture] could change a lot of young people’s lives. If they really wanted to, they could learn more about their culture, just like I did. “
“Being Hispanic means everything to me. I am mixed and my parents are split, so I am still learning things about my culture. I love that there is a variety of different Hispanic cultures but we embrace who we are. We are powerful when we stand together and when we are there for each other. I love being able to explore my roots, and not only visualize but understand what made us who we are today. I love our language, our accent, and the music. The food is amazing, and every family can make the same meal in a different way.”
“Culture is my identity and it gives me stability. I embrace it and where I came from. We treat each other with love and respect even if we don’t know each other, overcome our differences, and celebrate growth.
My culture is very family-oriented. I love that we have our own traditions celebrating our past relatives and those that we love and have lost. We are a very giving culture and look out for each other.
I love being a part of something so beautiful and united – being able to see how much we grow together and being a part of something bigger. “