Fronteriza
The typical question “where are you from?” is not an easy one for me to answer, I am the culmination of two countries, two cultures and two languages. I am a fronteriza. I was born and raised in a small town along the U.S.-Mexico border that is named after a local tree “Nogal.” I should mention that there are two of these, Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora. An imaginary territorial and political line separates our sister cities. I was born in a hospital 2.5 kilometers away from Mexico. My ancestral roots are in Mexico, but my life is in the U.S. It is difficult for me to answer where I am from because I feel I belong to both countries, both have made me the person I am today.
I am an ambassador of Spanglish, I jump back and forth between both. It is my third language. My favorite foods are the tacos de carne asada from Tacos Armando in Hermosillo, Sonora and the chicken burger from Zinburger in Tucson, Arizona. My music fluctuates between norteño groups like Intocable and classic rock groups like Journey. I am three hours away from Phoenix, Arizona the state capital where I do all my shopping from stores like Target and Zara. And I am three hours away from my favorite beach San Carlos, Sonora. My family lives in Sonora and Sinaloa, while my friends live in Arizona, California and New York. I like to come and go between both, visiting loved ones and exploring new things in Mexico’s pueblo magicos and the U.S.’s national forests.
As a fronteriza, I have the privilege of being able to be an ambassador for both countries. By sharing stories and experiences, I aim to cultivate empathy and understanding. The U.S-Mexico border has a bad reputation for being an unsafe and violent place. But the reality is that there are a lot of great things happening here and I hope that through my experiences and articles I will be able to slowly peel away the layers of misconceptions that have been sold to us for years about the border.