We’re celebrating dads this whole week at SpanglishBaby in preparation for Father’s Day on Sunday, June 19th. We’ve asked several papás/bloggers/journalists, who happen to be raising their children bilingual, to share their experiences with us.

If you’ve been a regular reader of SpanglishBaby, you probably know that we’ve always wished we had more of the male presence in our blog. We appreciate it when we hear the perspective of fathers who are raising bilingual and bicultural kids because, in many cases, passing on our Latino culture is up to them.

I’m thrilled to present all four of them to you and truly hope you take the time to read their essays. Each brings a different story as to why they’ve chosen to raise their sons and daughters with two (or more) languages and cultures.

Tuesday — Rick Jervis, a fellow journalist and a long-time friend of mine, ponders the difference between his upbringing as a Cuban-American in Miami and that of his daughter’s who he’s raising bilingual in New Orleans.

Wednesday — Rubén González, who blogs about raising two bilingual and bicultural boys in Minnesota and other things over at Love, Translated, tells us his reasons for raising his kids this way don’t necessarily have to do with a strong identification with his “raza” or Latino culture.

Thursday — Juan Alanis, a journalist and blogger who’s writing I was immediately drawn to after reading his often hysterical blog Juan of Words, explores how he feels there’s a disadvantage in not having a language barrier between father and son, as he did growing up.

Friday — Mario Iván Oña, another fellow journalist and friend I’ve known since high school, shares the story of how he and his wife consider language and culture (his family is from Ecuador and her family is from Turkey) the best inheritance they can leave their daughter.

And to honor the special men in our lives who share the belief that bilingualism and biculturalism are the best gifts we can give our children, don’t forget to check out the awesome giveaway we’ve put together for all dads!

How do you plan on honoring the fathers in your life?

Recent Posts