La Gente de Agua: Intersectional Metaphors of Identity and Resistance

Abstract

Berre: “Nombre, pinche Americana, no sabe!” And I didn’t know, because it had taken a long time not to be mad at not being able to pronounce words properly or using my translanguaging skills to create words in Spanish. Playing with cousins in Mexico was fun but challenging. They weren’t always the kindest or showed compassion. It was I who was living in the U.S. after all. The expectation was not to speak Spanglish. The idea that Spanish should be pure and learned properly kept being yelled at me when I didn’t understand the double-meanings and certain humor.