About: María José

As members of the Hispanic community, we know that being Hispanic is not an ethnicity, but rather that we are made up of many different races. Black Hispanics, Asian Hispanics, White/European Hispanics, etc. Most of us get it. I don’t question where someone is from or what their background is just because I had a different perception. And that goes for what language they speak. I am Chilean of German grandparents and my son, whom I have spoken only Spanish to since birth,Read More ...

Last week, I received a copy of Indi Avila’s Sana, Sana book for my son Matías and I to review. What I was thrilled about even more was that Indi had taken the time to sign it and send me a very sweet note with it. This is a story based on a classic Spanish language nursery rhyme that many of us know and love. Reading through the book, I could hear my mamá saying “sana, sana colita de rana, si no sana hoyRead More ...

It’s been a very hectic few months for me after coming back from my six week trip to Chile. There, as you may have read, my son Matías really picked up and strengthened his Spanish. It was an amazing transformation, one that both my husband and I are extremely proud of. He just beams with pride when people realize his son can easily transition from Spanish to English without getting mixed up or asking for help. However, it seems like notRead More ...

My six week trip home to Chile is coming to an end. This is by far the longest I have spent here in many, many years. In my last post I mentioned how happy I was to have my son hearing Spanish everywhere, improving his vocabulary and really practicing the language. But I also realized, that I a native speaker have also benefited from a complete language immersion. Spanish 100% of the time. No English whatsoever. No Spanglish, no fillingRead More ...

Every time I come to Chile I am reminded of how lucky and priveldged I am to be able to travel and actually have a relationship with my family, that culturally I am well connected and most importantly that I speak the language, without that, I would be lost. I know that many who have come to the US have not been able to visit their country and if they have, maybe it’s once every few years. Growing up, IRead More ...

Matías and I are back, and this time we were asked by Fisher Price to review their Laugh & Learn Bilingual Puppy’s Piano. I didn’t expect it to be a big hit from the start, but it sure was! The piano even went to bed with him and another day when he saw that I was upset, he even played me a few tunes to cheer me up saying “yo hago música para tí”. How can you resist that? The ageRead More ...