Julia Alverez.
Watching Alverez speak was a new form of genuine adoration. I love that crazy girl. I think that she was an interesting speaker and did a very, VERY good job. The one thing that stuck with me the most was how she was the true "all-American girl" because she has lived in both North and South America, something that many people who live in the Americas can not say.
I called my cousin after this.
She lived in Chile when we were younger, moving to America in 3rd grade (the picture of us in the header was our first year together). She and I grew up side by side; she is like my twin, we could move, act, and even think in sync. However, our closeness meant that I had spent a lot of time defending her against the racism and hatred that bubbled up in my all white suburban town. Hearing what Alverez had gone through reminded me of my sweet Frida and all of the pain and suffering that she had endured. Our grandparents lived the traditional "all-American life"; they had several children, attended Mass every Sunday, my grandfather was an engineer, and my grandmother was a telephone operator. They lived the "all-American" life that so many people dream about. Or so I had imagined.
However, hearing about how Alverez was the real "all-American", my view changed.
I recapped Alvarez's talk with her, specifically talking about how she was the true "All American". We chatted about it for a while, and I could hear the realization come through- I wasn't just talking about Alverez being the "all-American", I was saying how Frida was, through years of torment, adjustment, and racism, more of an " All American" than any of those who made her life difficult. I feel as if Alverez has expanded not only my view but the view of many others, even those, like Frida, who haven't read her stories but have heard her words, her experiences, and her lived truth.