“…she asked me, how are you so tan? it’s winter. I thought to myself, I am tan because when amber drips down a tree it hardens dark. I am tan because when you crack open the sunburned shell of the coconut sweet water spills out and you sink your teeth into its meat grateful for the jungle and its saccharine sustenance….”

““Se dice…”, a phrase I know all too well. In Spanish, an expression of correction that is used to express “It is said like this.... and not like that”. A phrase I hear too often to have learned Spanish as my first language. A phrase of embarrassment.”

“My granny spent her childhood feeling the thorough effects of the Raj. Her grandmother would tell her to speak Konkani. My granny speaks English. It’s no source of shame to her, to my knowledge. She said that all the women in her family, her whole family in Mangalore would speak Konkani to her & she would reply in her mother tongue, English.” Beka Bowkett tackles the tightrope between language and ancestral responsibilities in this striking poem and statement, click to read more!

A collection of mixed identity and literature and an essential reading list! Whether you’re looking for an escape from the chaos of today or have a few of your own mixed questions you want to explore through some great novels, this list is for you.

“she speaks to me in my dreams in the language of my ancestors - she does not know the sinful syllables of white men, she teaches me to do the same. she speaks to me like she spoke to juan diego, she speaks to me like she spoke to all of mexico…”

“Many other Latinos are also mixed, whether it be with Indigenous, Spanish, African, or a multitude of other races. However, due to colonization, a lot of mixed people, or mestizos, feel a disconnect between their Native culture and the one of the colonizers. They may not feel comfortable with identifying as White or Native because of that disconnect. I myself, feel this disconnect sometimes as well…”

“Texture: strands of hair that seem minor, but are packed with history and significance. My father’s hair is close to the 1b hair type. My father’s hair tells a story of the multiple ethnicities coursing through his veins. (Czechoslovakian, Cuban, White and Italian). My mother’s hair tells a different story…”