Why I Love Spanish
"No Ricardo, mucha lluvia", my grandfather said to me.
I was 20 years old and on a visit to Puerto Rico with my parents. It was raining that morning so my abuelo (pictured) and I were standing on the porch of his house in a little barrio called "Pulguillas" which is located up in the central mountain range of the island. Literally, “pulgas” means “fleas” so the name of the barrio, Pulguillas, is “Little fleas”. Well, just let your imagination run on that one.
My heritage is mixed; my father is Puerto Rican and my mother was from Kentucky. I’m a Puerto Rican Hillbilly. I’ve always gravitated to the Latino side in me, but that rainy day in Pulguillas opened my eyes and changed my life — and my life’s work.
I, like many Latinos who have spent significant time in the United States, was faced with the stark reality that I was losing it. Yes, I was losing my language and my culture. It’s a slow burn and sometimes you don’t realize what’s happening until you’re standing on the porch with your 90 year old grandfather.
Well, it hit me. My Spanish was fading away. I had gone through Junior High and High School in Elkhart, Indiana. At that time there were no other Latinos in the school and the closest we came to using our Spanish at school was when we played the air horn on my dad’s truck that played, “La Cucaracha.”
As the rain poured down, I looked at my grandfather and said, “mucha agua abuelo” (a lot of water grandfather). He looked back at me and pierced my soul and said, “No, mucha lluvia Ricardo” (a lot of rain Ricardo). Yes, he corrected my Spanish! At that moment, I felt it. I was at a cross-roads. I would choose to re-connect with my heritage and language on a much deeper level or I would be Puerto Rican in name only. Soon, tears welled up in my eyes and through my grandfather I was re-connected to a deep love for our people and language.
Why do I love Spanish? Because it connects me to the things I most deeply value and cherish. Our people, my country, my father, my wife, my youngest daughter, my staff, my students, and yes, the fond memories of my grandfather who I deeply loved.
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If you would like to share why YOU love Spanish, or your thoughts on this post, please do so below. Gracias.
Views: 539
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Comment by Lance Fulk on February 14, 2013 at 5:55pm
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Great post, Ricardo! I think it is interesting to read people's stories about how and why they are learning Spanish, as well as about trips they have taken in Spanish speaking countries.As for why I like Spanish, I don't know why, but I have always liked the Spanish language. I took 2 years of it in high school, but didn't learn anything other than the adjective goes after the noun.I have a deeper appreciation for the language now because my wife is from Colombia and we adopted three children from there as well. I think it is important for my wife and kids to keep their culture as well as our culture here in the US. I love to visit Colombia and the people there are so warm and friendly. At some point in the future we would like to be able to spend the winter months there, as neither one of us like the cold weather.Maybe I will post some pictures and comments from Colombia on the Culture section of your Student Discussion Forum sometime if that is alright. Until someone actually visits a Latin American country and stays with a family there instead of a hotel, they don't know what it is really like and how enjoyable it is.Although I still haven't finished the Spanish Power course, I have found it to be the very best program of its kind, and I am so grateful I found it. I have probably spent two or three thousand dollars on Spanish courses (Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone, Platiquemos, and many others), but none of them even come close to your course. I have also made a new commitment to TAKE the time to work on it so that I can get the full benefit of it and I can enjoy my communications more both here and abroad. Thank you so very much for your dedication and for putting together this wonderful course!Lance
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Comment by Ricardo Gonzalez on February 14, 2013 at 6:09pm -
Lance, your words inspire me! Wow, God bless you in the raising of your three beautiful children and in your marriage. And, of course, we're here always to help you with your Spanish.
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Comment by Sylvia on February 14, 2013 at 10:06pm -
Ricardo, I feel the exact same as you. I am a Mexican-American born and raised from Houston,TX., andd my parents spoke Spanish within themselves to each other and not to me and my brothers and sisters. My father and mother wanted us to be educated well with the English language. I took Spanish in high school, but did not do good. And it wasn't until I was that I started to speak Spanish by the help of a friend whom was Puerto Rican born and knew English as well. I listened to the pronounciation of the Spanish speaking people from Mexico and learned from there. I started to teach myself to translate from English to Spanish, and which has landed me with a great job as well, working with the families in my community as a family social worker/translator. It also makes me feel proud of myself of whom I am by knowing the Spanish language, and the background of my Mexican heritage. That is why I LOVE Spanish!
Sylvia Linares
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Comment by Tony Griggs on February 14, 2013 at 10:57pm -
Hola mi amigo, i am from ft lauderdale fl and as you know the second language in the state is spanish, i have always tried to learn to speak spanish but things happened , i was in the military and overseas (ETC) i love the language because it allows me the opportunity to comunicate with a culture of people that i can call by brothers and sisters. i have always love the languge but could not get the real feel for the language until the chance came along from my job, i met my latino friends in the gym while working out one day, and from that point if you are on the outside looking in you can't truly understand.we are family and like you said, ( bein hecho es mejor que bein dicho)and that is why i love spanish.
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Comment by Beth Norwick on February 15, 2013 at 11:12am -
Thankyou for sharing Ricardo! I am thankful for your love of Spanish language & culture. You have encouraged me (ok, dragged me) to continue my study. I care for patients in a critical care unit. I am by no means fluent, but able to speak spanish with my hispanic patients. When they are sick & scared, the smiles on their faces when I speak with them makes my study time well worth it! Thank you Ricardo
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