Bicultural Vida

One of my favorite things about belonging to the SpanglishBaby community is the opportunity to meet other families who are also raising bilingual and bicultural kids. I have met online friends and local friends through SpansglishBaby Playground where families have been organizing local playgroups all over the nation, from South Jersey to Orlando, from Philly to Colorado you can find local groups wanting to meet, play and speak Spanish! Find your local Playground and join us today! Tri State Mamas:Read More ...

I just got back from PBS’ annual meeting, which took place in Miami this year and where I had the pleasure of meeting “Mando,” Sesame Street’s newest bilingual cast member who is Latino. Ismael Cruz Córdova (Mando) is a charming and very talented 26-year-old actor who was born and raised in Puerto Rico and learned to speak English thanks to Sesame Street. I also had the chance to interview Carmen Osbah, who plays one of the other bilingual cast membersRead More ...

When my son started speaking he also started mixing languages and I thought he was getting confused. Today, after learning more about raising a bilingual child, I understand that mixing languages is part of learning two or more languages and it is okay! I take it as a fun learning experience and when this happens I make sure I repeat the correct words in both English and Spanish and ask him to repeat them for me. So far it works. AtRead More ...

This week, my daily news surfing brought me to this article from NPR about the unclear future of the Spanish language in the U.S. The author, Luis Clemens, challenges the idea that the growing number of Latinos in America automatically means there will be more Spanish speakers going forward. Those of us in the middle of child rearing in more than one language are familiar with how much work and conscious planning it takes to achieve the end of producingRead More ...

One of the greatest perks of being a blogger is all of the connections and new people you meet that you wouldn’t have otherwise. Since starting here at SpanglishBaby my network of other like-minded bilingual parents has grown and we have all been able to connect on different levels yet at the core is desire to raise our children speaking a second language. A few months ago I received an email from a fellow Latina mamá who had been readingRead More ...

  Dear Mija, When your daddy and I got married we wrote our own vows. Vows are kind of like promises that are deeply personal, but you say in front of family and friends at a wedding. On that day in my white dress and lace veil, holding your dad’s hand, I told him: I promise to respect your heritage and your culture and one day teach our children about the beauty found in our differences. We made lots ofRead More ...

It’s been over a week since my daughter and I returned from our trip to El Salvador to visit family and to meet Brenda, the girl we sponsor through Save the Children. Not a day goes by that we don’t talk about her, plan what we’re sending her next, and pray for her and her family. The connection to her has been that deep for both Camila and I. I loved sharing the pictures and the story of why weRead More ...

¡Hola! It’s been over a month since I posted — my daughter, Lucía, was born on January 29th and needless to say it’s been very busy times! But I’m slowly getting used to my life as a mamá of two and trying to manage it all. I’m still not sleeping much, but they say sleep is for the weak, right?! Anyway, back to business! This week I wanted to share something a little different. I often get asked, “how do youRead More ...