My family moved from Colombia to the states 20 years ago. When they moved, I stayed. Then after some time, I had one of those moments in your life when you need a change so I decided to be with my family. In Latino families, when you are in trouble you go to your parent’s house, and my mother’s home happens to be in Florida.
I moved and lived there for about 3 years. In Florida, everyone speaks Spanish and my way to learn English was to take it in college. After that I went back to Colombia. I had the privilege of having residency through my mom, so I was in the dilemma of coming back or staying in Colombia.
My sister moved to Oregon to study at Pacific University, and I didn't want to go back to Florida. I couldn’t stand the weather. I’m from Bogota; it’s 8000 ft above sea level, so it’s a cold city. Other people call it “la Nevera”. Florida wasn’t an option. When I came to visit, I felt like Portland was a neighborhood in Bogota. I got the same vibe, in a different way. The weather is good, most of the time, from my perspective. I decided to move here and start studying to get a Master’s degree. And then, I realized that my life in Colombia wasn’t possible anymore, in a way. I made the decision to start over again.
Its difficult when you’ve had a professional career, and to start over again in a new country. Especially when you're dealing with a new culture, language, etc. I think that happens to a lot of people. Colombia has been a country that exports people because of violence, political situations, and we have all suffered the war in Colombia in different ways. I have met a lot of people back in Colombia that were lawyers and doctors, and they now do different kinds of jobs that aren’t related to their original career.
When my family moved, my two siblings were teenagers. There was this idea that things would be easier and there would be more opportunities. However, it was tough, tough for everyone. One thing I appreciate a lot here is the sense of security I have. You start putting it on the scale, pros and cons, and you have to start weighing the decision.
I work with a nonprofit that works with immigrants, PoC, and a diverse population. And this feels like I’m in a bubble. And sometimes when I’m outside that bubble, I realize that I’m living in a white city. It amazes me. I move in spaces that have a lot of diversity, but I can also see the hipster Portland. It’s two worlds. In Colombia, discrimination is different because it’s more related to class, not race. Here, we are divided by skin color. In Colombia you would never refer to someone as PoC., because we are all people of color. In Colombia I’m just a middle: basically, because our families all mix. You can see a picture of my family, and you can see all the shades. They laugh at me because if I’m in the sun I get red in a couple of minutes.
In regards to the future of our community in Portland: I work with latinos everyday, and there’s movement in the community. We are going to stay here and do what we’ve always done. We’re here to stay, and there’s going to be more growth. There’s more diversity in the latinx community. I see more people doing cool stuff, building more networks, relationships, and cultural events that are different. One thing though is that some people think that latino means Mexican, and I can sort of understand where that misinformation is coming from, but there’s a lot of more other cultures coming and putting things into the community. There’s a lack of information, and sometimes it’s the people that work in this field that have to teach other people stuff, and it shouldn’t be our job to enlighten people. But if we don’t, how are people going to learn?
I think it goes back to something I was talking to my team about: we have to focus on the things that we can change. It is hard to change the system, but we can change one person at a time. We have to start with the people that are on our side.