Cultural Identity

            How do I identify myself? Maybe the question is more complicated than the answer itself.  What is identity in and out of itself? Maybe it’s all about the environment in which one grows up and how we take part in it. It makes sense when evaluated because there is so many different types of people within any one culture in this Earth. However, they also share many things in common.  Thus, identity seemingly exists as two different, yet similar entities: individual and social identity. I find it truly beautiful how life is governed by the existence of opposites: light and dark, good and evil, hot and cold, etc. It gives life a sort of symmetry and order in a seemingly chaotic world.      

            Much like the dichotomy of identities, my life has always been composed of two distinct cultures: puerto rican and bolivian. Two apparently different cultures fused when my parents met all those years ago.  So the question has always been: How do I identify myself? Am I a puerto rican, or am I a bolivian? It seems like a silly question since they are not mutually exclusive, but the question remains. In reality, the answer has always been simple because I have lived my whole life in Puerto Rico and have always been surrounded by that side of my family.  Needless to say, I have not forsaken the other half of my identity simply for that reason.  In fact, my identity lies in my name itself since my first name comes from my grandfather from my father’s side (bolivian side) and my middle name from my other grandfather.

I have loved my full name ever since I can remember because it always reminds me of two of the most important people to ever take part in my life and whom I have admired for so long.  I’ve always thought that my parents gave me this name so I would strive to become a great human being like my grandparents and to be reminded that no matter where I am, I will always carry with me the spirit of two cultures and two families so if anyone ever asks the same question I can simply answer: “both”.