Bicultural Vida

On this Election Day, I am pondering how much America is changing and how much it is changing me. The earliest recollection I have of the political process is the 1992 election in which Ross Perot ran for president. I was 6 years old. This was long before I had an overwhelming cultural awareness, and certainly before I spoke Spanish. Twenty years ago, this country was not plagued with worry about how well the government would represent Latinos, and hearingRead More ...

My first memories of Día de Los Muertos was the smell of fresh mole and bolillos (baguettes) that my grandmother made and we took to the cemetery where her parents and siblings were buried, this repeated every November first, it was the most magical event of the year for me. I didn’t really know about Halloween then. Abuelita said that bringing your relatives’ favorite foods to their tomb will bring their souls back to their buried bodies and we will feelRead More ...

Last week a Colombian friend of ours decided that it would be a great idea to have a pre-Halloween party for the kids. She’s always coming up with the best ideas to keep the kids entertained and en español. This time, she came up with the idea of having a comparsa-style party, meaning that the whole family would have to come dressed up under one theme and put together a show to perform in front of everyone. Yikes! As funRead More ...

Last week we started sharing our favorite SpanglishBaby Words On Wednesdays on SpanglishBabyPlayground. While we are not promoting the incorrect use of a language, we’d like to share funny words our babies come up with, it is super cute! Here are some of our favorites: Rebeca Cervantes: “…my daughter says ‘cheso’ for saying queso/cheese. Cracks me up.” Melissa Cunningham: “My son (almost 5 years old)…says that spicy foods ‘pic’ them (pronounced like pique or peek from the Spanish word picar/picante).”Read More ...

I have to admit that I tend to plan for everything.  My friends tease me saying that I even have a back-up plan for my plans, and truthfully, I do.  A couple months ago one of my posts included the current plan that I have in place for raising bilingual children.  For me having different approaches and strategies are essential for success, and giving my children the gift of bilingualism is an important goal. Recently I have been thinking aboutRead More ...

We are having a great time at SpanglishBaby Playground and would like to share our latest news and activities! The exchange of bilingual books is on! The Bilingual Children’s Book Exchange Group  is having fun sharing and exchanging our kid’s books.  In its first month, the families have already sent more than 15 packages of bilingual and bicultural books all around the US! We have books for all ages from newborn and toddler to big kids who are reading stories inRead More ...

Beauty. Belleza. No matter which language you say it in, the word has the power to conjure up some strong emotions and memories which are particular to each individual’s own past experiences. Some of those memories may be full of happiness and self-confidence – a first crush who returned your smile, un besito, the admiring expressions of family members at your quinceñera or on your wedding day. However most women have just as many memories that bring about feelings ofRead 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 ...