I rarely (read never) have this much to say on FB, but this speech by Vijay Iyer really got me thinking, so Ive decided to share my thoughts. Being both Colombian and Indian American, but having been born and raised in the US, my sense of my own cultural identity has always been a bit... murky. Ive been extremely fortunate in that Ive received nothing but love and support from both sides of my family, and have never been made to feel that I dont belong; nonetheless, I dont always feel that I know what it means to be either Latin or Asian American. While reading this speech, I was reminded of something from my childhood (I was probably 7 or 8). I dont know exactly where I was, but it was some kind of Indian street fair or swap meet somewhere in SoCal. Im not even sure how I entered into a conversation with this old man, but all I remember was him asking me if I was Indian. I responded that I was half, and he told me no, there is no half. Im an Indian. The fact that this is the only thing I remember from that day, all these years later, says something about the weight of that statement. Im still trying to figure out what that means. While addressed to the Asian American community, Vijay Iyers speech at Yale last month posed some important questions about what it means to be any kind of American in the 21st century. Thank you for sharing this, Gary.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 20:54:25 +0000
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