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I must have learned that early in my childhood, from my father. I mostly think in English, as it is the most natural, but I have noticed that my language of panic-like when I think the airplane is about to go down, say-is Spanish. I now consider myself fluent in Spanish, but it still sits clumsily on my tongue. I knew some -it was impossible to grow up in New Mexico, which has a long history as part of Spain and Mexico both, without Spanish being a normal part of everyday life in how the mountains, rivers, streets, and foods are named.

When I was in my 20s, I realized it was odd to have never spoken to my father in his native tongue, and I set out to teach myself Spanish. My father is a sociology professor, in English, his second language, spoken better from his mouth than it is from most people who speak it as their only language. For this reason, we spoke English in my house growing up. I was born and raised in the United States, to an immigrant Cuban father and a US-born mother who spoke little to no Spanish. вќЅo you regularly think in English or in Spanish? ВїWhich language do you prefer?

#Alisa valdes rodrigues code

If I were a tree, heritage would be not only my roots, but also the soil, the water, the air, and the code in my genes that tells me exactly what route to take in reaching my branches towards the light. Heritage can also be all those things we learn from our antecedents - ways of seeing the world, ways of showing up, the filter through which we put everything we are. Heritage is what we carry from those who came before, all the beauty and trauma, the way the spine responds to a clave or a bolero. I have the same visceral connection to the high desert mountains of New Mexico, the land where my motherвЂ™s family has lived for nine generations, including my son. I believe in genetic memories, to some extent, and I know that when I visit my fatherвЂ™s native Cuba I feel myself to be in a familiar place, though I did not grow up there. What does heritage mean to you? How do you identify and why? Libros Fest for Teens and Adults will be streamed live on YouTube.

#Alisa valdes rodrigues free

Her books have been published in eleven languages with over one million books in print.ДЄlisa Valdes-Rodriguez is one of the featured authors at this year's Los Angeles Libros Festival, a free bilingual book festival for the whole family. She was named one of the вЂњ25 Most Influential HispanicsвЂќ by Time magazine and Woman of the Year by Latina magazine and a Breakout Literary Star by Entertainment Weekly. Her journalism career includes former staff writer for the Los Angeles Times and Boston Globe. Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez is an award-winning journalist and author of many novels.