I AM FROM… The palm trees of Southern California, the mizquitls of Nuevo Mexico and the Chihuahuan Desert Agave of the tip’ o Texas that greeted and welcomed me home as I ventured in from off the I-10. How could I ever say one was more home than the other? When I am here or there, I am at the center of the world and where I belong.
I AM FROM… The perfect Mexican experiment, the cure for all ailments ever known to humankind, the most delectable combination of stomach lining, spicy chile and maize…. well, menudo of course. It’s hard to believe a masterpiece could be perfected even more. But chopped onion, lime, oregano and bolillo, toasty French bread, that my mom or my tia would put on the table right before she would serve me a heaping bowlful at my request, worked the magic every time.
I AM FROM… An eclectic mix of cumbias, Motown oldies, Los Bukis, the Eagles and the King of Pop. And who could ever forget Islands in the Stream, What’s Love Got To Do With It and Ma-material Girl - Iconic Goddesses with legs, lungs and personas of steel.
I AM FROM… A hand-me-down, old schoolhouse style desk that was left in the backyard of a cousin’s house competed victoriously with my Bigwheel, Rubic’s Cube and Pogo Stick. Class would begin fifteen minutes after carne asada and my pupils were as attentive as chimps in a tree. The bliss of bringing home deposit slips from the bank to assign as homework to my students was heaven – a tiny peek into the future that was to be.
I AM FROM… Larry, Lauricio, my father’s friend who was like a little brother to him. This gentle giant was the life of every party. If he walked in the room, the monotony would quickly march out.
I AM FROM… “Hey, hey we’re the Monkeys!” Fantastic friend’s ferociously funny and faithful falling in with flare. Immediate alert that the day was looking brighter – Larry was there.
I AM FROM… Dreams of a non-profit organization that I would found and run. Eradication of the world’s hunger was my goal. My heart would bleed when commercials of little starving children in Africa and Latin America would come on t.v.
I AM FROM… The stories of my parents, aunts and uncles traveling the U.S. Southwest as migrant agricultural workers. Deep scars still visible in their spirits remind us all of sad injustices – my tia Rita who had to bend over to be paddled, her underwear visible below her skirt, in front of her 4th grade class, for translating the teacher’s lesson for a newly arrived little girl.
I AM FROM… My children, my family, my students. They are the food that nourishes my soul and keeps me strong.
Contributed by Ms. Carrasco-Villalpando
