Being Raised by Immigrant Parents

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I am exactly myself, uncensored, unfiltered, and I keep sits a real and go ahead, by the way, before I forget, and go to the YouTube channel where you can watch or listen to my podcast, and all you have to do is go to search bard just read Exactly Amada, which I've had some really good episodes that I will really go back and just listen to them. Some of

Alex in the house, Bob and I am in the house, not necessarily your house, but I am in the house.

In your house. That's right.

You know that as much as I am a big, bubbly person with this huge personality, a lot of people just see, you know, the end results, but don't actually or obviously didn't get the opportunity of seeing the struggle, of seeing the journey. Social media just came about, like maybe what seven eight years ago that it really became a thing, and I didn't have an opportunity to showcase like my journey. Well, my space don't count because back in my space it was all about you know what

And just be cool.

Like it was such a cool vibe, positive energy. Nobody was trying to compete with each other. It was less people being fake and it was a good era. But in that time, I wasn't really concerned in showing people my journey and my struggles of me still trying to pursue my career as an artists, how hard my mother had to work to support my dreams as an immigrant in this country. Like there was just so much backstory

Yeah, So, just to start off, this is still a very hot topic, immigration and immigration reform, and just the whole aspect of you know, immigrants coming from other countries trying to find solace and happiness here in the United States is still a very hot topic. This is something has never gone away. I was born and raised in Puerto Rico. Now I know it's a common wealth of the United States, but I still came from another country, another country, but island away outside of the United States.

Alex.

Let me ask you this because I've always had, like in real life, I've always had this debate in my mind of not understanding. So to me, when you talk about Puerto Rico, guys, please forgive my ignorance. I'm just this is really like a learning you know, a learning experience for all of us. But when we talk about Puerto Rico, I feel like it's like talking about like Dominicans. But at the same time, it's like, wait, no, but if you really stop and look at it, you guys are Americans somewhat right.

I think it's just due to the fact that we've we've seen Puerto Rico as as that it's a part of the United States. It's a commonwealth. If you look at film, even at film a matter. From back in the day, Puerto Ricans were looked so differently. They were outcasts, they were they were for some reason to other people. We were still known as immigrants and and talked down to. So I came to this country not knowing a word

Do you feel that Puerto Ricans still feel kind of like, you know, isolated to a certain extent. Do you feel that they still feel like they're treated lay as immigrants or not necessarily.

I think it's changed. I would say the old guard. You know, if you still have your grandparents and your parents that are still from there that feel a certain way about you know, the way the island is viewed and the people are viewed. Yes, but I think as as generations have kind of moved forward, it's changed a little bit because now you see a lot of quote unquote colonization of Americans moving to the island and becoming

So yeah, my mom came through the Mexican border. Like my mom went through the whole experience of hiding in the desert and seeing women get raped and you know, people being left behind and the coyotes, and you know, she saw that whole process.

She told me it was very traumatizing.

But that only was really put you in a mindset because I know there's a lot of people that are like against.

Immigrants coming to this country and all this stuff.

First of all, first of all, I will say this much that only lets you know how desperate you have to be wherever you're located, that you are willing to sacrifice your life. In many occasions, there is parents that travel with children, there's women who are pregnant who go through these missions, whether it is through water or through

I think that sometimes, because we've.

Been able to have it oh but so good, we kind of forget what our parents went through for us to have a better lifestyle, you know, for us to have good education, health care and all these other things. So it was hard for her, and you know, I'm proud of her. I am proud because my mom, after all those struggles, she was able to have three restaurants in Miami.

She worked very hard. Still don't know no English, but as an immigrant, not knowing.

The language, you know, language barriers, education barriers, and all those things, she still made something out of herself. And I always admire those stories of people that come out of nothing and create a better future for themselves. As an immigrant, I'll say this much, not only or coming from an immigrant household. I always say even myself, as an Apple Latina, I have the best of both worlds.

Then y'all don't want black people either.

And then here's me where I am Latina. And then on top of that, when you see me, you don't know that I'm Latina until I open my mouth. So I am just part of So it's difficult. It's difficult, it really is. And I think that that's why I've been so vocal about being an activist for the Apple

Well, because you're.

So well educated, silent by Apple, go over there by the farmer markets and be over there, you know, working hard and be humbled about it, like most of the immigrants that come to this country.

And there's parents still doing that today. Like like I see it. I see parents still struggling, still coming because you know, they come here for safety, a new life and opportunity, you know. And then there's there's a different spin on it with whomever is talking about it, whether it's in the media or politicians or whatever the case may be. There's always a different Like people, until you're

I live in Miami, where we obviously know the Cubans. A lot of them come, you know, on boats. Can you only but imagine what it is to be, you know, in the ocean, in the middle of the ocean, with that salt water, full of sharks, full of everything, all types of things, and to know, like, for example, I have a friend and he was like, thirty six of us left Cuba and only sixteen minutes.

You're crazy.

So you can only but imagine some people throw themselves off off desperation, the the salt on your skin and the sun in your face, and a lot of them sometimes even get lost. And then you you you think we'll get there in this amount of time and end up being lost for like a whole week in.

The middle of the ocean.

We lo we talk about it, but this is like a real life experience that people are going through in order to try to have a better future.

Nobody does that.

I'm gonna come here and I'm just gonna be like a killer or a Robbert, and I'm just gonna go crazy. Most people that are doing this are really just here trying to get a job. I want to work, I want to have food. There's no food in my house. There's no medicine, there's no nothing. So I see those stories and I'm like, going to that's crazy. I also found on you know, another story that we saw here on TV in Miami where there was this lady that was seven months pregnant.

Leaving Cuba in a little bowl in the middle of.

The ocean, trying to survive. So I think we can be very judgmental, but a a another in another a positive note to a certain extent. Something that I am grateful for is that my mother worked so hard and made sure that I always knew where I was, you know, where I came from, even though that I was born in the United States. My mom never let me lose

This is your culture.

Because sometimes, and I've heard two sides of the story. A lot of parents want their kids to have a better future and they want to become they want them to become as Americanized as possible. And there's another side where they're like, it's important for you not to lose your essence of where you come from. And that also comes with even the language.

You know.

I know of a lot of Latinos that don't speak any Spanish because their parents are like, it doesn't matter, just talk to me in English, I understand what you're saying, and I'll just answer back and forth. And that's one of the things that I'm working on myself. My daughters don't speak any English, and in my house, well, we only speak Spanish.

We only listen to Spanish. Because I know that the world will teach you English, and I don't.

Want them to lose that because I'm second generation what American? Well, I know, I'm first generation American. They are second generation American. I don't want them to lose it, because sometimes you lose that.

Do you get what I'm saying. Yeah, Well, the importance of the of language and cultural you know, existence within the family is huge. I know, for instance, I grew up talking Spanish at home and that was it, you know. And I learned English by going to my you know esl classes, you know, and my friends taught me you know certain things, and I was surrounded, Yeah, I was surrounded by a lot of people that were just like me.

So it's never too late. It's never never too late. And you know, whether it is through music, your food, you know, watching novelas was one of those things that really helped.

That's a cultural thing for us, see coming.

Together back in the day saw he and everybody will come together watch you know, Salo.

And it was a moment and you know, I want to not lose that.

I would hate to see my daughters like mom, this and that, and I'm like, oh I am get.

Over the Let's talk about the educational system a little bit here while you were growing up. How now that you're talking about speaking Spanish, you know, how hard was that for you when you were in school? Here? Uh, the differences and obviously as a as a child of an immigrant, right and the people that you you went to school with, how was that firsthand for you?

For as far as in language, sometimes I would mix my words, you know, because I'm like, I know what and even your brain has to process sometimes, like I know what this means in English way, or I know what this means in Spanish and you have to like find the words inside your brain dictionary. So I had some struggles with that sometimes, or I would have the kids laugh at me because my accent was pretty heavy.

I still have an accent.

Now, but I imagine even younger, so my accent was very Sophia got it like really heavy, and it was a thing. I'm not embarrassed by it now. It's just it's just part of who I am. If they ever hear it. Get The educational part was I don't think it was that hard because in Miami it's it's very diverse and there's there's a melting pot of cultures. So there were I was around other kids too, there were Latinos, were a little bit of everything. We also had a

Hayli. Anyways, we moved to Brown sub which is like a.

More African American oriented hood, and it was very African American and we were like the only Latinos in the neighborhood and we really.

Felt it, but we didn't.

We felt that when we had to talk or when we had to like put our music, but visually you couldn't tell the difference. We were just in there, right. But my mom didn't know one little bit of English, and it was the thing. And I did get jumped. I got jumped by two girls in school, and the reason was because I felt that I was better than everybody because you know, you speak Spanish and da da da da, and you think that you're.

Prepping it is okay there.

I felt the like I felt the cultural gomoke a difference. Yeah, I felt that they're you know, growing up, You're like, well, I'm too black to be Latin and I'm too Latina to be black, So where is it that I exactly belong? Like you're trying to find that you know where to fit in and and that was the thing growing up. But going back into my older memories of my youth when I was younger, when I was like four years old.

To mind my mom.

I was like about four or five years old, and I still remember that my mom did have uh no, you know documents. She she was undocumented, and she was working as a cook, and she would literally hide me like wait, you know. She would leave me in the car, wait till her boss would leave, and would sneak me inside the kitchen and she would get the boxes, like the boxes of the containers and put it on the

And in a lot of these places.

She was always afraid that if they find out she doesn't have no papers, they would, you know, you know, deport her, and then what would she do with me?

Because I was American? But she wasn't, so she was always scared of what am I supposed to do? What's gonna happen?

And I and I always sometimes, you know, get into my emotional space where I cry, because whenever she would hear that her boss would come, she would make me, she would wake me up, she would make me get up and hide, and I would have to like hide behind the refrigerator or whatever, because she wasn't allowed to have obviously a child inside a kitchen, a hot ass kitchen, and she would do those things. And sometimes we would

You know, it was very very difficult times.

And whenever I think of where I am now, I really realize how far I've come. But I think all those experience wasn't you know? It was important for me to build my character and to be appreciative of the things that I have now, which brings me to think my daughters won't have to necessarily go through those things.

You know.

I want you to struggle to a certain extent where you're like, damn, this.

Is hard on me.

Exactly do you need to work for yours? Not because I don't want to give it to you. I just want you to have, you know, good work ethic. I want you to understand what it is to, like, you know, be out here and work, because I had to go through it, and I've said it and I've said it before.

You know, she's a mom, she's a woman.

To see me with the little palito cleaning, you know, cleaning the toilets and stuff, being like I don't know, maybe eleven twelve, and I was doing it to help her.

Wow.

And she would just watch me and cry and be like no, Yola ago And I'm like, no, how many lady.

And it's tough. It is.

It is very tough to come from an immigrant household and become a success story.

And if you are, if you.

Come from the same type of household, yo, be thankful to your parents. Go give them a hug, Go go just say thank you because you have a better life because of the sacrifice that they were willing to do, you know, with their lives for you. And I think that sometimes, like I said before, we're not as grateful as appreciative as we as we should. And you know something that's important to talk about as well, even if it's for two seconds. Listen, Listen. I don't care if

You are human.

Yes, you deserve to be respected, You deserve to be treated as a human being.

You deserve to have health care.

You deserve that if you feel ill, if you feel sick, not be afraid to go to a hospital, to go to a clinic because you're scared that they're going to deport you back and then just let you die. You know, That's one of those things that really pissed me off because I feel like a lot of people feel that they're.

Superior because they were born in this country.

But a lot of those a lot of those same doctors that save your ass, that save other human beings, come from an immigrant household, Okay, And if they didn't come from an immigrant household, they might be.

An immigrant themselves. Period overall, not just their parents them.

They could have come in when they were young or whatever and decided, you know what, I'm going to study medicine and I am going to save people's lives. There's a lot of people that have very important roles in this country that come from an immigrant household, whether there is that they can work in the government, whether they are attorneys, whether they're doctors, whether.

They're whatever it is.

Even music wise, as an artist, your favorite artists may come from an immigrant.

Household as well. Finally, let's see what that can most of us, do you know what I mean.

So it's like, if you like our music, if you like the trend, if you like this, guess what. They come from an immigrant household, and we have to be supportive of them, especially when we see a lot of immigrants crying over that guy and stuff like this, like they want to All they're.

Crying for is for education.

We are here because we want to study. We want to be educated. We want to be educated so that we could be part of the society and make this a better place for the rest of us, whether it is through technology, whether it is through as a nurse in Bora. So the immigrant topic is something that we can talk about all day and I'm very passionate about, but I think it's important that we support, especially now

Yeah, I love this. I love this episode. I love the fact that we gave those flowers and the love and light to you know, our parents coming from another another place that is not the United States of America and being able to work, survive, push give us what we needed now what we wanted all the time, because we still got what we wanted, but right well, you know, we got what we needed. Today's been a good topic.

You know, I know a lot of people that are embarrassed from their parents because their parents don't speak English, or because your parents are still stuck with their own cultural ways and dress a certain way, or talk a certain way, or eat certain food.

Or or whatever. Be proud of your parents.

Be proud of the parents who raised you, of their parents who put you on the place that you are today. Be grateful rather better of the opportunities that you have today because of the sacrifices that your parents, your grandparents, whoever it was, did in order for you to have a better future. And never deny being Latino. It doesn't matter where you're from. Be proud of your ancestors. Be proud of your culture.

Be proud of eating free holicos.

Be proud of you know, your your aro, kungwandule or your mangou.

Or whatever it is. Be proud of your music, of the music that you hear in your country.

Don't lose the essence of of your culture because with time, one generation to the other, it kind of starts to fade little by little. Don't let your generation lose it, and also encourage other people. Tell other people about your culture. That's another beautiful way for us to connect with each other. Share those experiences, share the food, share the music, share share it.

You know, we are a big family. We're a Latino family.

It doesn't matter we're from different parts of you know, Latin America, we're still Latinos.

And if you're not Latino, but you can relate to the Latino.

Culture and you like it and you feel inspired, whether it is through the music or whatever, support us. We're one big family, you know, and I'm just proud of who we are as Latinos.

Overall. This is truly Michael Dura and I always want to share that with you. Guys.

Alex as always, thank you so much for being part of exactly a Matter, for sharing your stories, for just being on.

You know, for being unfiltered.

You always, thank you.

I appreciate that this episode really has some substance. Guys, listen as usual.

Thank you so much for listening to Exactly Amada.

And like I.

Said before, if you have a story to share, to tell actually whatever it is, go to Exactly Amada on all my social media networks and also on YouTube if you want to check out the podcast or any other show that we've done in the past.

But if there's a.

Common story, a struggle, whatever that you want to share, please do so. I do go in there and read it all the time, and I'm so grateful to know that you guys are connected with us, that you give us those five stars, and you're always here to subscribe. So tell a friend and tell a friend to follow.

This has been exactly amata. Thank you for listening. Ye