"You Don't Look Puerto Rican"

 

Once I saw this commercial on MTV, I thought I needed to tell everyone my story. Don't ever think MTV will ever see this..but just thought I'd spread the news lol. Ever since I would say about early high school is when I really noticed that most people would judge by appearance and appearance only. I have the complexion of the common caucasian and I'm not talking about one that can easily tan and at least fake looking like a darker ethnicity. I am actually Puerto Rican, Spanish and my great grandmother was Native American. But everyone that thinks they know me always comes up to me and expects me to say I'm Italian. And when I tell them the truth I always get the reaction, "Well I would have never guessed..You definitely are white, you're just lying." One girl actually said "You were adopted", because my older brother looks like the perfect male latino that hopped straight off the Puerto Rican boat. It always bothered me and got under my skin..how could someone say that I was adopted when they don't even know anything about my life? It was/is unfair. There were days that I would come home furious because people judged me and then denied my heritage like if they had a say in it. I knew I wasn't the "typical looking Puerto Rican" when I decided to listen to alternative music that spoke to me and wore different kinds of makeup and dressed differently. But hey.. it made me feel original.

Meeting people now is very tricky, especially having a job where not every customer speaks english. My coworker actually said to me one day, "Your last name is Vargas..don't you speak spanish?" Like WTF? Why is that your decision to say and embarrass me in front of multiple customers. No my parents did not teach me how to speak fluently in spanish, I only learned bit and pieces. Why did I not learn when I grew up? I have a very short attention span and I can't sit there and try to learn at the age of almost 20. Call it a lame excuse, but I don't have the time or attention for it. I love my ethnicity and have as much pride as the next latina, so don't try to pull the "are you ashamed to learn card". I flaunt being Puerto Rican and all of the assets that come with it ;)

So please next time you think about judging my appearance, rethink that everything is not always what they seem. There's so much more pride and spice that comes with my life than you could have ever perceived. Just because I don't speak Spanish fluently doesn't make me any less Spanish. I am who I am and I wouldn't change it for the world.