Not Mexican or American Enough: Bicultural Identity Struggles | Ranchel Alvarado | TEDxSHSU

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 29 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 53

  • @evelynnagy345
    @evelynnagy345 Рік тому +18

    I really needed to hear this! Thank you for sharing! I'm Mexican American adopted by Koreans. Identity is complicated!

  • @wandasanchez551
    @wandasanchez551 Рік тому +28

    Well said. I live this same bilingual bicultural identity experience in the US. Never have been accepted by the dominant culture in the US nor in Mexico.

    • @noskpain2792
      @noskpain2792 Рік тому +2

      It's all in your head. You're American

    • @gisselleperezmoreno1910
      @gisselleperezmoreno1910 8 місяців тому +6

      @@noskpain2792it’s not in your head when people verbally tell you, you aren’t American

    • @jpanPirate
      @jpanPirate 8 місяців тому +1

      ​@@gisselleperezmoreno1910True got told by a teacher in front of everyone

    • @JoseMedina-hs1up
      @JoseMedina-hs1up 6 місяців тому

      Even a blond blue eyed gringos are accepted in México if they don't act arrogant and unfriendly

  • @ZiahRose-x3v
    @ZiahRose-x3v 11 місяців тому +12

    I’ve been told I’m not actually Puerto Rican because I was born in the States. I’ve always struggled with Spanish, but can understand a lot more than I can speak. As a kid, I was asked by another kid “What kind of Spanish person doesn’t speak Spanish?” Right now, I’m currently trying to learn the proper way to speak Spanish. It’s just hard when you don’t feel accepted by either side.

    • @Valeria-m8i
      @Valeria-m8i 3 місяці тому

      This comment just make me feel like I’m not alone both of my parents are Mexican and are from Mexico but I was born in the USA and I am not fluent in Spanish and people told me the same thing and I just never knew why I just couldn’t learn and I always just felt like I was Mexican enough

  • @GwensRealLoverAnthOny
    @GwensRealLoverAnthOny 9 місяців тому +6

    We don't give Mexican Americans enough credit for their contributions to this country... I don't know if my opinion matters but I think Mexican Americans are beautiful people... They work very hard and they're very grateful for what they have... I was laying in bed last night thinking about Mexico and Mexican Americans....you know..the more I thought about it the more I think they're what the church is supposed to look like.. I know they were here centuries before Europeans and they helped build this country before anyone else.. and they continue to build this country... They're probably the hardest working group of people we have in the U.S. ... We should be better neighbors to Mexico... PLUS, Mexican chicks are kinda hot.. and Mexico looks like a beautiful place... There's nothing wrong about being Mexican American...I'm white and I feel the same way when I have to answer questions about my ethnicity... anyway, love y'all...can't even tell you how many times I've dreamed about packing my sh*t and moving to Mexico.... I may even be a little jealous of you folks... Love you...for the record, the U.S. would not be the country it is today without the Mexican Americans.... I appreciate y'all... a lot....

  • @artpedro2111
    @artpedro2111 6 місяців тому +6

    As a first generation Mexican American I can not claim Mexico because I was born in the USA and I can’t claim USA because of my heritage we are the few who will understand the struggle of being from two different worlds and loving both of them I’m proud of who I am and I will continue to love both sides of me

    • @OskieOmega
      @OskieOmega 5 місяців тому +1

      Same here my dad was born in Zacatecas but I was born in Chicago

  • @halvarado5348
    @halvarado5348 2 роки тому +7

    Love it!! Very well said and always embrace our culture💕

  • @Jerbear28_
    @Jerbear28_ Рік тому +4

    I was born but know Spanish well enough to get by but you can tell I have an American accent. I have more people tell me they appreciate that because I did not forget my my roots while others children or grandkids did because of fear of being ridiculed. Be you and love who you are because you get to learn at learn at least 2x as much cool stuff as others

  • @alexdiazdelavega8249
    @alexdiazdelavega8249 3 місяці тому

    I really loved this video! The entire experience of being a first gen in video format thank you! I’m first gen Mexican American, I believe it’s perspective. My mom was born and raised in culiacan, Sinaloa. My dad was born and raised in el distrito federal, Mexico. I was born and raised in LA my first language was Spanish till I was in first grade I think. I struggled finding out who I was in highschool. I joined the US Navy and found out what it truly means to be an American because up until 18 years old, I had been told and assumed I was Mexican from my family and various kids at school over the years. My outlook changed after my 5 years and I realized that I’m proud to be both. I’m grateful to have had the privilege to experience and currently live both.

  • @loremipsum980
    @loremipsum980 Рік тому +4

    This is my personal experience with being bilingual bicultural: too individualistic for my East-Asian side, and too collectivistic for my American side. I never seem to fit in anywhere... and most people can't understand me cuz their mindsets and attitudes towards life are only influenced by one culture, which is their birth culture.

  • @SlackersIndustry
    @SlackersIndustry Рік тому

    Was in the same boat but for about 10 years I stopped caring about all the labels and was just me. Happiest years of my life. Happens with all races, everyone born in the USA get treated differently in their home countries.

  • @yasminevalencia5822
    @yasminevalencia5822 Рік тому +4

    The reason I watched this video was because when I went to Cancun, I was speaking Spanish to the waitress and she instantly knew I wasn’t from Mexico. I told her my family was and I learned from my grandma but even then she told me my accent gave me away, and tbh it made me feel different, like I didn’t fit in I guess. She sat us by the beach at least lmao

    • @daigomori7374
      @daigomori7374 8 місяців тому +1

      Yeah, and you learned something. Be proud of being American. People in Mexico will know you're an outsider. It's a foreign country. Just like Italian Americans going to Italy. They are considered Americans by the Italians.

    • @gisselleperezmoreno1910
      @gisselleperezmoreno1910 8 місяців тому +2

      @@daigomori7374Here is the problem, when you say you’re American, the typical blonde hair blue eyed Americans claim you arent

  • @Hola-wb5dk
    @Hola-wb5dk 6 місяців тому

    Like her, many Hispanic American bilinguals have an American accent when they speak Spanish and they also have a Spanish accent when they speak English. 😅 Not losing either language regardless of your accent is what I think matters most.

  • @gccutie4663
    @gccutie4663 4 місяці тому

    I feel this deeply. I am a 3rd Generation Mexican-American. Very proud to be. But I do feel like I am never Mexican enough for Mexicans who just see me as a person who is pale and can’t speak Spanish. And then I am too Mexican for other people that don’t understand the culture context of my Mexican-American upbringing. I feel out of place most of the time.

  • @Miguel-hd1fj
    @Miguel-hd1fj Рік тому +2

    We're not Hispanics girl , we're are indigenous of this land

  • @WoodyReyes
    @WoodyReyes 5 місяців тому

    Thank you!

  • @martinrios2488
    @martinrios2488 7 місяців тому

    I hear ya.

  • @jorgeneves1334
    @jorgeneves1334 Рік тому +1

    Interesting... America is a very large continent with many countries, and not just the USA. Mexico is actually in America, in North America to be more precise...

  • @CH-hy8pi
    @CH-hy8pi 2 роки тому +1

    Woohoo!!!!!!!! Amazing job, Ranchel!!! 🔥

  • @kennethpetroni7911
    @kennethpetroni7911 6 місяців тому +1

    I’m Italian. But I’m not white enough and Hispanics think I’m Hispanic acting white.

  • @GeoSimp24
    @GeoSimp24 6 місяців тому

    i understand ya

  • @laura3619
    @laura3619 7 місяців тому

    💕💕

  • @Iloveanime-e9w
    @Iloveanime-e9w 7 місяців тому

    Idk even what I am part of my family is from Mexico, others from other parts I don’t know what to call myself, but I call myself white because I look white and we don’t speak Spanish or anything. All of that got lost when people from my family came to America they had to hide that they were Mexican so they just told everybody to say that they were white sadly nothing of that culture will ever be carried on in my family probably

  • @Ce-acatl7704
    @Ce-acatl7704 8 місяців тому +1

    With all due respect. People like her suffer from amnesia.

  • @noskpain2792
    @noskpain2792 Рік тому +4

    I've never been told I'm not American. Born and raised here and don't know anywhere else.

  • @PraiseBeToGodOurLord
    @PraiseBeToGodOurLord 3 місяці тому

    You have great speaking skills, Ranchel Alvarado. I'd like to comment though that most of your speech was "I-me-My-I-me-My", you shared your experiences but you didn't go into depth about the hows/whys of the solution.
    How does this relate to the audience? Why should we care? Why is this a problem in the first place?
    You ended the speech with "Accept yourself and don't listen to others", something most people already hear on a regular basis.
    When it comes to picking a box on the test, it's only for demographic purposes. Hispanic is an ethnicity that shares many races.
    I'm in a similar position as you (with a dual cultural background) but don't see this as a problem. Every culture has their own way of navigating life and prioritizing different values. You don't need to fully fit in. Thanks to globalization no one really fits a particular box anymore.
    I think belonging to different cultures is beautiful and we should focus on the positives of life.
    I enjoyed listening to your perspective though.

  • @Fondofmelobster
    @Fondofmelobster Рік тому +2

    Arriba matamoros, arriba brownsville

  • @08prema
    @08prema Рік тому

    My family has been in the US for 5 generations, so I am American. I don't speak spanish, or anything. My family have married into other races. I have, blonde hair, hazel eyes, and have fair skin, so I just say I am American.

  • @pauljohnson7770
    @pauljohnson7770 3 місяці тому

    It really wasn’t that hard

  • @ambu3412
    @ambu3412 7 місяців тому

    Don’t quote the Selena movie ! Lol

  • @direccionjuridica1313
    @direccionjuridica1313 7 місяців тому

    But... at least... el nopal en la frente te delata.

  • @nancyarias388
    @nancyarias388 5 місяців тому

    This Is Not An Actual Problem, we should talk about other things instead

  • @Horselattice
    @Horselattice Рік тому

    Elocution

  • @IAMYOU-.
    @IAMYOU-. 2 роки тому +11

    🎻
    This is ridiculous
    Ppl love being victims
    No matter my race or culture I am still American and proud of it

  • @zzzzzzzzzzzz1zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
    @zzzzzzzzzzzz1zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz 8 місяців тому +1

    🤣

  • @debbiedire66
    @debbiedire66 Рік тому +2

    Just pick a freaking box!!

  • @SlackersIndustry
    @SlackersIndustry Рік тому +15

    Was in the same boat but for about 10 years I stopped caring about all the labels and was just me. Happiest years of my life. Happens with all races, everyone born in the USA get treated differently in their home countries.