Bicultural Vida

Recently, there has been a lot of buzz in the media, and especially the blogosphere, that has reignited the so-called “Mommy Wars.” If you’re not familiar with the term, it refers to the battle between moms over nearly every little parenting decision, in particular the decision to work or stay home. The controversial TIME Magazine cover on breastfeeding, the new book on modern motherhood by Elizabeth Badinter, and other debates of recent years have me contemplating how this all appliesRead More ...

I feel like such a wimp, but I’ve been crying like a baby the last few days. They’re mostly tears of happiness, but they’re tinged with a bit of sadness too, for time come and gone. Vanessa graduated from kindergarten yesterday and I’m so happy to report that it’s been an incredible first year of school for her — and for me. For starters, all my worries about my daughter’s English abilities (since we only speak to her in Spanish)Read More ...

MTV Tr3s’s new show, Quiero Mi Baby premiered on Monday April 16th – it’s a new series that shows the realities of cross-cultural parenting including language, religion and tradition clashes, in addition to many other issues unique to bi/multicultural families. Check out this exclusive preview (meaning YOU WILL ONLY SEE IT HERE!) of tonight’s episode and then see our interview with the couple, Jenny and Flo, below. Episode description: “Although Jenny & Flo are both Cubans, they are very differentRead More ...

What is culture? Marisol asked me that last week as we drove to preschool for the Cinco de Mayo celebration. It’s a simple question with a complicated answer. I found myself saying something like, “Culture is something a group of people share, usually from the same place, like a country, like food and music and, well, you know, like we speak Spanish.” I know — explanation fail. I’m still not sure how to answer her question. We share a culture, stemmingRead More ...

Is it just me or does it seem that there are more baby showers in the spring than in the other seasons of the year? Recently, some friends and I hosted a baby shower for another amiga.  When I commented to my mother-in-law that I would need her help taking care of Sofía for the day because the shower would be at my casa, her eyes lit up! And then the stories started pouring out about how much she and herRead More ...

In this country, there is a definite stereotype as to what a Spanish speaker is supposed to look like. The erroneous belief seems to be that only people with dark hair, dark eyes and tan skin speak Spanish. I know that the readers of SpanglishBaby are aware of the great diversity that exists among Spanish speakers, but the reality is that the American public seems to hold fast to their misconceptions. At the school where I teach, the students areRead More ...

MTV Tr3s’s new show, Quiero Mi Baby premiered on Monday April 16th – it’s a new series that shows the realities of cross-cultural parenting including language, religion and tradition clashes, in addition to many other issues unique to bi/multicultural families. Quiero Mi Baby is a show I relate to on many levels and I know a lot of our SpanglishBaby familia will as well. Check out this exclusive preview (meaning YOU WILL ONLY SEE IT HERE!) of tonight’s episode andRead More ...

  Photo by: Simon Blackley Lately, my perspective on the Spanish language has been enlarged by my evolving use of it. I’ve been feeling a bit nostalgic about how being bilingual has allowed me to grow. Despite the occasional frustrations and cultural misunderstandings, Spanish has given me: An ear for the rhythm of the spoken word A new medium to enjoy jokes and share funny moments with my family A Spanish language mode on every technological device I own AnRead More ...