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Date Created
8-2024
Contributor's Age
39
Contributor's Gender
Female
Contributor's Ethnicity
Mexican American, Chicana
Contributor's Occupation
Student
Contributor's Education
Senior studying communication media theatre/ Student Advocate for Foster Youth McNair Scholar
Summary of Testimonio
M. shares her story of linguistic shame, emphasizing both her own and her family's loss of language and culture over the years due to racial pressure to assimilate. M. is first generation on her father's side and third generation on her mother's side. M. identifies as Chicana and “no sabo,” a label given to those who lost their Spanish language. However, M. notes that her Spanish proficiency does not make her any less Latina or Chicana. She views language loss, along with her imposed “no sabo” identity, as the result of systemic racial injustice. M. feels that her language and culture were stolen from her. She traces the roots of this linguistic and cultural violence to the colonization of Southern California by the Spanish, the genocide of Indigenous peoples, and the boarding school system that targeted Indigenous and Mexican youth. She links this history to her personal experiences of systemic racial injustice, including her father’s deportation, her mother’s incarceration, and her placement in the foster care system at age 13, followed by further institutionalization as an adult. As a Chicana mother, M. is determined to provide her children with the cultural, economic, and community opportunities she missed by not growing up bilingual. She credits the Latinx Testimonio project with helping her realize that being Latina-Chicana is about more than speaking perfect Spanish.
Resumen del Testimonio
M. comparte su historia de violencia lingüística, enfatizando la pérdida de su propia lengua y cultura y la de su familia a lo largo de los años debido a la presión racial para asimilarse. M. es primera generación por parte de su padre y tercera generación por parte de su madre. M. se identifica como chicana y “no sabo”, una etiqueta que se le da a les latines que no hablan o perdieron el español. Sin embargo, M. señala que su poco dominio del español no la hace menos latina o chicana. M. considera que la pérdida de la lengua, junto con etiquetas impuestas como “no sabo”, son parte y resultado de la injusticia racial sistémica. M. siente que le robaron su lengua y su cultura. M. rastrea las raíces de esta violencia lingüística y cultural en la colonización del sur de California por los españoles, el genocidio de los pueblos indígenas y las escuelas pupilas para jóvenes indígenas y mexicanos. M. vincula esta historia con sus experiencias personales de injusticia racial sistémica, incluida la deportación de su padre, el encarcelamiento de su madre y ser puesta en sistema de guarda-adopción (foster care) a los 13 años, seguida de una mayor institucionalización como adulta. Como madre chicana, M. está decidida a brindarles a sus hijes las oportunidades culturales, económicas y comunitarias que ella perdió por no haber crecido siendo bilingüe. Ella atribuye al proyecto Latinx Testimonio el haberla ayudado a darse cuenta de que ser latina-chicana es más que hablar un español perfecto.
Keywords
assimilation, being Latina, bilingualism, boarding schools, California, Catholic missions Chicana, cultural loss, deportation, fair-skinned latina, First Generation, Foster Care, Generational trauma, state incarceration, Indigenous genocide, institutionalized life, lack of work opportunities due to linguistic discrimination, language loss, linguistic violence, No Sabo, racial passing, racial persecution, Broken Spanish, Broken English, Tortilla Flats, Testimonio, Latine in the Academia, Acculturation
Length of Testimonio
00:03:17
Language(s) of Testimonio
English
Rights
IN COPYRIGHT - EDUCATIONAL USE PERMITTED This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. In addition, no permission is required from the rights-holder(s) for educational uses. For other uses, you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Recommended Citation
Aguirre-Casimiro, Mary, "Latinx Testimonio on Linguistic Shame, Resistance, and Healing Project / Aguirre-Casimiro" (2024). Latinx Testimonio on Linguistic Shame, Resistance, and Healing Project, Northeastern Illinois University.