Marissa M. Salazar
Pronunciation of Marissa: MAH-dee-sah
Mexican woman picking cotton in the exact same location where the majority of my family picked cotton. 1942. SOURCE: The Library of Congress; https://www.loc.gov/item/2017694864/
I am a proud Tejana reigning from the South Texas cotton fields. My parents were the first not to work the fields; instead, they were the first to attend school where their mascot was and still is: The Cotton Pickers. Growing up, I was constantly reminded of my legacy as a Cotton Picker and have carried that legacy on with pride. On behalf of the Cotton Pickers, I have dedicated my life to anti-racism. My personal and professional mission is to build an anti-racist environment that values diversity by empowering every identity and values equity by providing every individual equal opportunity to succeed.
My Heart:
My grandpa–my father’s father–just passed away this year so I thought I would dedicate space to this incredible figure in my life. He was born in Robstown, Texas to a single mother. Growing up, I was always so surprised when I heard stories of my friends’ machismo fathers because I didn’t relate to it. My father and grandfather were the warmest people I knew–never ashamed to show their affection to their family. It was only recently that I learned that my grandpa was raised by a single mother. He had only inherited her warmth and way of expressing love. My grandpa always greeted me the same way: With a hug while singing, “I love you, I love you, I love you!” For as long as I can remember, these words have been the music to my heart! They are to the tune of his warm hug and forever beating to the drums of his unconditional love. His words will always live in my heart playing over and over as the song of my Grandpa Felipe Salazar.
Though my grandpa had worked in the fields since he was a child, he eventually ended up running his own successful plumbing business. Any “smarts” or success I may come to have are possible because of him. He was the first to leave the cotton fields. He was the first to be successful and have a career. He was the first to own a beautiful home and have a beautiful wife with beautiful kids and a legacy that stretches across several generations. He is the reason for us. Thank you, Grandpa.
Una Struggle De Borders Because yo soy, una mestiza continually walking out de una cultura y into another, porque I am in all cultures al mismo tiempo, the soul entre dos mundos, tres, four, it makes la cabeza buzz con lo contradictorio. I am guided by all of the voices que me hablan simultaneuously -A bastardization of the poem, Una lucha de fronteras / A Struggle of Borders by Gloria Anzaldúa I love Gloria Anzaldúa's work but have always hesitated to quote her. I would think, "my Spanish is not nearly as advanced as hers," "what if others judge me--as they have in the past--for reciting a bilingual quote when I cannot speak Spanish very well?" All of this is quite ironic to think if you know of Gloria Anzaldúa's work on this very feeling of continual inadequacy across two cultures. Nevertheless, I felt a bastardization of her poem was more accurate for me. One in which I have interwoven my broken Spanish in a way that I would with family--in a way that can sound awkward and grammatically incorrect, but true to me. One that is never fully Spanish but a Tejano's Spanglish.
marissasalazar.com 