Viva la Mami - Latina Motherhood, Modern Parenting, Latina Well-Being

136. To My Latina Mamis: We Will Not Be Erased

• Jessica Cuevas • Season 5 • Episode 136

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I felt an overwhelming urge to break from my regular programming and speak directly to my Latina mama community about what's happening right now. Even though my family and I moved to Mexico over a month ago, my heart is still very much with our people in the United States. This completely unscripted episode comes straight from my heart as I process the Supreme Court's recent ruling that essentially gives ICE agents the green light to racially profile Latinos.

For detailed show notes, visit vivalamami.com/episode136

What you'll hear:

  • Why the recent Supreme Court ruling on ICE discrimination feels so personal to me as a Latina mother
  • The real reason the U.S. government feels threatened by our growing Latino population and economic power
  • My passionate plea to continue raising bilingual, culturally proud children despite the current climate
  • How our community's spending power makes us the equivalent of a top-five world economy
  • A call to action for all Latina mamas - those with privilege and those without - to stand together

Resources Mentioned:

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This is a kind of random episode that is pretty much unscripted and it's almost like an interrupted type episode because I feel the urge in a way to. Speak up and just share what I'm currently feeling with everything going on as far as like the current events that are going on in the United States and let alone this week, I'm just mind blown, although you already know that my family and I moved to Mexico, which is a little over a month now. I am still in touch with things that are going on in the United States, not just current events, but the current political climate. Things that are going on with my family, things that are going on in as Latina moms. And so even though I am away from where we are from, I still wanna be in touch. I still wanna know what is going on and considering that this is a Latina motherhood podcast and platform overall. I felt the urge to just show up here and offering space to you because it is very necessary, especially in current times like these. Even though the majority of my episodes are heartfelt, they're warm, they're informative. I don't really put much in my personal life into this podcast. I might be doing it a little bit more on social media whenever I have the time to show up. But now through this podcast, I feel like I have to just, speak up a little bit more, especially with the current events that are happening right now. Just because as a, we are currently hurting. We are afraid we are. Just in this weird position right now and I feel that I should show up to you all and just kind of share how I'm feeling as well. And hopefully this can open up doors to other mamas who probably haven't had the opportunity to reflect or even speak up about. Everything that is going on in our world. So if you're interested to hear what I'm feeling and what I'm thinking at this very moment, again, this is a fully unscripted episode, then stick around. So, so I had scheduled podcast episodes just like I. Always do, and I decided to skip on this week's content for this one. And the reason why is I just have the sort of need to share what I'm feeling right now. I don't do this through the podcast just because. I want this to be a little bit more about Latina motherhood and, offering resources and tips and, expert, information from guests and all of that. And so I really don't share much of what I'm feeling and how I'm doing and all of that, with the exception of a couple episodes, but with. Everything that is going on in our world right now, specifically in the United States, I feel like I just need to share because it ultimately affects my presence as as a Latina and as a mom as well. If you haven't yet heard about the current decision from the Supreme Court, where they basically have voted to essentially overturn a rule that happened in la. About ice agents discriminating against immigrants, specifically Latinos in that city. The Supreme Court decided, that basically giving the green light to ice, to racially profile Latinos. And it's not just. With their color of skin, but it's also their language or accents, quote unquote, and where they work. So clearly this is discrimination. This is pure racism that the government is basically allowing, people to be detained without questions, without verification, without really knowing their story. This puts us in a position where we can get arrested. We can get detained without any reason. It's just so wrong. It's just so, so wrong because these officers are clearly targeting a specific group and knowing that I fit into this group because I am a brown woman. I speak Spanish. I may not have those stereotypical jobs that immigrants have. I still am a daughter of immigrants. I am a daughter of individuals that have had to have jobs in order to support our families. This all falls very personal on me and the people that I know, like my family, my neighbors, my friends, especially the ones that I grew up with in a community where is mostly Latino dominant. Even though we're currently living in Mexico, outside, clearly outside of the United States, it still is personal to me because right now I have family that are still living in the United States. I have friends and neighbors that still live in the US and could be a target for these. ICE agents for these people that decided to have jobs to target our community. And so as a Latina mom specifically, I am encouraging you, whoever you are, listening to this episode, and especially if you are a mama of. Brown kids, then please listen up. The first thing that I want you to consider is to teach our kids. That they are powerful, that they belong here, that they have a sense of purpose in their lives, but also in our society. And I think that that is something that this government is trying to away from us, I believe, and I'm pretty sure that this is a sentiment that is across the board with. Specifically children of immigrants or people that support and are allies for immigrants that the United States is obviously threatened by US, Latinos. And what other way To essentially do these horrific things by detaining people without question. By separating families, by scaring the hell out of children and be removed from their loved ones. And so I think that that is a very obvious reason that this government is threatened by our existence as Latinos. Why? Well, because we are the largest growing, minoritized population in the United States. So what that means is that there is an anticipated growth within our population where we can outnumber white people. In the United States, and we have seen this growth obviously because this nation was billed from immigrants, and it still continues on to be that because the labor that is being put to grow this country, to make this country prosper. It has been proof of the work, very hard work that immigrants have done, and the majority of these immigrants are from Latin America. And so now what this country is trying to do is just to get rid of us. They're trying to do this sort of ethnic cleansing, which I've never heard of ethnic cleansing until I read about this with apartheid in South Africa, and I feel like it's almost similar to what the United States is trying to do here, I'm obviously not wanting to compare that because. Things that happened in South Africa was absolutely horrendous. But if things continue on, I mean, I do suspect some kind of apartheid. And so not only does the United States feel threatened because of the labor that we have put in, but we're also powerful. And statistics show that Latinos are. The largest consumer in the United States. If Latinos were to be put into a category, we would be our own economy. Like, in fact, we would be like the top five economy in the world. Latinos alone in the United States. We're not talking about Latinos in general. No Latinos in the United States specifically. So. When you think about that, we have so much power. We have a lot of spending power, a lot of financial power, because historically, at least for me, growing up in Chicago, I know so many Latinos who have owned properties and still do, They're the OG house hackers of real estate investing. They know that buying property that involves more than two units. Can essentially create generational wealth. And even business owners, there's so many businesses that are Latino owned, at least in Chicago alone. Then that's only that I can speak of because that's where I grew up. If you go to Lata 26th Street, that alone, that strip, okay. Which runs maybe like 10 blocks, I think. If you walk through that strip, you see a small business to a small business mom and pop shop, to mom and pop shop, like Lata alone is its own sort of Mag Mile, like essentially Aita generates more money than the Magnificent Mile in Chicago. So. Yeah, just to give you that example, we have a lot of power, but obviously the government right now in the United States is threatened by our existence because they know that we can outnumber them and not just in terms of human capital, but economic and cultural capital. And probably more. I think that the United States is just trying to make this as a way to get rid of us, to get rid of our existence or even to be afraid. But as mamas, we need to not only remind children that they are powerful and that they have meaning in this world. but it's also impactful for our kids to know their worth, that their own cultural and community wealth that they have is so much more than what the United States government is trying to do. If you are a mama raising bilingual kids. Listen to me. I want you to continue on with the same way that you have been doing this for whatever years you have been in this bilingual parenting journey. It doesn't matter if the United States government is trying to get rid of us by speaking Spanish, because at the end of the day. They're the ones that are dumb enough to just know only one language. This world that we live in is truly a multicultural world, and what the United States is trying to do is to just be in this monolith type society and. Clearly we know that the United States was founded by immigrants, and so if you are a bilingual mama raising bilingual kids or Spanish dominant kids like me. Let's prove this current administration that we're not gonna fall back to that supposed America first narrative. That we need to be grateful for being here and achieve the American dream because as much as we have tried to get to that. For some reason, they're not letting us do that. And so in the meantime, while we're navigating this crazy world that we're living in, let's prove to this government that we are. Very powerful that we are here for a purpose, that we can parent the way that we wanna parent, that we wanna raise bilingual kids because it is a necessity I think the United States just wants us to only have this one identification of being American, quote unquote, by only speaking English. And it shouldn't be that way because then our society's gonna suffer. Then our kids are gonna suffer, especially if they are so close and tied in with their URA and their language and their family roots where they can get lost. This cycle continues on about, you know, feeling lost and not having the sense of belonging. Because at the end of the day, we're always gonna be Latinos, we're always gonna have that. Like we are always going to be Latinos no matter what. So why not just show up authentically It can be scary to go outside right now because I literally had a conversation with my mom that ice agents are around where they're currently at and they're all scared. Even though my family is very privileged to have papers to live here, we just can't fall into this. I think it's ridiculous that this government is trying to take away not just our families, but our existence as Latinos and as mama. I know that we have the burden of holding so. Many roles and responsibilities and tasks at home, but as a Latina mom myself, I almost ask for you to just continue on to. Keep up with your bilingual parenting to instill to your children how beautiful artura is that it is okay if we have an accent that it is okay if we have a difficult last name to pronounce that it is okay to bring Fri, in our lunchbox. This is who we are and we cannot be erased. We will not be erased. Like I said, this country was built in the hands and the hard work of immigrants, and just because this administration is trying to make this change for obvious reasons of trying to get rid of us and other immigrant brothers and sisters. From different countries, like we just can't ignore this. We can't ignore our existence, we can't forget our existence and who we are as Latinos and especially as Latina moms. Keep raising your kids the way that you wanna raise them, so that they can be proud of who they are, so that they can celebrate their ura, so that they know who they are, know where their family comes from, and that way they can feel this sense of power, this sense of belonging in an identity that should not be taken away. And for the mamas who either have legal status here like I am, who I was born in the United States and will never ever experience what it was or will be like to be an immigrant in the United States for the maas who are white passing. And perhaps may not be ever racially profiled to the mama who have prosperous jobs. I want you to really reflect and acknowledge the privilege that we hold and to. Stand against this ruling that just recently happened with the Supreme Court and also to remember that we need to speak up. I have this platform not just to talk about the nuances of Mare Hood Latina motherhood. But I'm also here to be an advocate and ally, a support system for Latina moms that are hurting right now, especially the ones that had to say goodbye to their children because they got deported or. I hope that you have some level of empathy. And if you know, if you fundamentally know that things aren't right, then please speak up more than ever, we need people to just advocate And even educate ourselves about the current situation. Let's not just read the headlines. Let's not just follow people that are just basically summing up the news for you. We need to literally educate ourselves and so in the show notes, I'm going to include, information about know your rights and what you should do in case you are confronted with an ICE officer or officers. And then there's also ways on how you can call and report sightings as well, because again, we cannot just be bystanders. We need to help and support because we are hurting right now. We are in tough times and I just wanted to show up here to let you all mammies know that I'm here even though I am thousands of miles away from my hometown in Chicago and I am very privileged to not experience what people in my city are going through right now. Especially with the threats of the National Guard going to our city. I am still with you. I am present and I'm here to offer this space. If you ever wanna vent or just share what you're currently feeling, my dms are always open. I am here to listen to you. I am open ears, more than ever, we all need to just get together and support each other. And if we see something off that is going on with our family, with our friends, with our neighbors, specifically as it relates to ice, like yo, like we need to be educated and really be informed to know ways in how to support them and even know our own rights too, because you never know, which is very unfortunate. So I know this was a very short episode. But I just felt the need to speak up it. This was not scripted at all, like I said, and honestly, it feels so good to just like let it all out because this was inside of me for this whole week really. Well, ever since they declared Chicago being in an apocalypse or whatever, I don't know. This is so. We're, I don't know what world we're living in, to be honest and all what I'm saying is that I'm really glad that it, we made it to Mexico at the right time, selfishly enough. But that's when you know that you are always welcome to go somewhere else. If you don't feel safe, if you don't feel welcomed and stay true to who you are, show that authenticity to your kids because I truly believe that our kids are. the future. and if we're raising kids that can be proud of who they are and proud of what they identify as, then hopefully in the next 10, 15, 20, 30, 50 years from now, we can live in a world where it's empathetic understanding. multicultural multilingual country, All right, amiga. thank you so much for listening. we will be going on through our regular schedule programming, in next week. I hope that you're doing well. Again, my dms are always open on Instagram, or you can email me at podcast@vivala.com. And of course, don't forget to rate and review the show. Please share this podcast with an Amiga that you know, and that way they can be better informed about Latina mahood, but also where they can get a little bit of achievement here and there from me and from others as well. Alright, well thank you so much for listening as in the next episode.