NerdWallet Celebrates Latinx & Hispanic Heritage Month
Happy Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month!
Growing up on the West Coast, I often found it difficult to identify with the term "Hispanic." I mostly identified as either “Mexican” or “Mexican-American” because that better reflected the community I lived in, and I didn't fully perceive a sense of commonality with other Hispanic groups. It wasn't until I got to spend five years living on the East Coast as a college student that I got to experience a plethora of other Latin American cultures. Through various Latino student groups, I was able to feel at home despite being thousands of miles away from my family and California.
From learning the dance steps to Dominican bachata music, to tasting the unique Asian and Indigenous fusions of Peruvian cuisine, and discovering some of my new favorite reggaetón artists from Colombia—my definition of what it means to be a "Latino" certainly expanded. While the food we ate, music we danced to, and accents in our Spanish varied greatly from country to country, one thing remained consistent across our cultures—our unwavering commitment to family values as a source of identity and protection against hardship.?
领英推荐
During this month of Latinx & Hispanic Heritage at NerdWallet, the Nerds of Color Employee Resource Group partnered with the NerdWallet Book Club to read “Finding Latinx: In Search of the Voices Redefining Latino Identity” by Paolo Ramos. In the book, Ramos uncovers a common thread of resiliency among marginalized Latinos, including Queer, Afro-Latino, Indigenous, Trans, formerly incarcerated, field workers, and so on, that essentially stands as the backbone of the broader Latinx community. We had a fruitful discussion about the book, and I found the shared stories to be inspiring and invoke a sense of pride as a member of this community. I invite others to join along in sharing their Hispanic traditions and cultures, during this month and beyond!
Signed,