My name is Samantha Castro. I am 19 years old. I was born and raised in Fairmont. I am Hispanic, Latina, and Mexican. I am also American. I am going to school at Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota. I am majoring in Elementary Education with a minor in Spanish. I am hoping to teach 3rd grade. I just want my little group of kids. Being bilingual, if I have kids that speak Spanish in my classroom, I am absolutely going to help them if they need the help. I feel like that’s a cool gift. I work at the Goldfinch Estates Nursing Home in town.
I would call Fairmont, Minnesota home. When you say home, I am thinking of a house. Home means fun, calm, free, small, and safe. My childhood was pretty good. My parents did a really good job of raising my two siblings and I . I grew up in a very safe, supportive, and loving environment. They raised us with good manners. It shows when we go places. If I had to describe all five of us, I would say we are kind. We are really welcoming and supportive of each other.
I’m a big family person. I like to spend time with my family. I like to go to the gym and go shopping anywhere. I really like to watch movies – whether outside movies, movie theaters, and inside. I also like listening to music and reading the Bible.
I enjoyed meeting my friends and their families. I also liked sports. Everything I was involved with brought to really cool people.
Entering kindergarten, Spanish was my first language. When I heard my classmates speak English, I was really shy. I was used to growing up in Spanish. I was like–whoa– this is really new to me. As I got older, I joined sports and stuff. I got used to the language. Now, in college classes, I'm okay. I understand this.
I really like how we all have some sort of culture. It makes other people recognize that we have restaurants and stuff. When I go to my parent’s hometown (Matehuala, Mexico), it’s like a desert. It’s a really big city compared to here. Everytime I go, I see kids in their school uniforms. I see little kids working in the streets.
I have faith in God, la Virgen de Guadalupe, and San Francisco de Asís. My faith is about believing and thanking God. It is also about patience.
Family plays a really big role in my life. Everything that I have is thanks to my parents. I have this phrase that my siblings and I say. They came here with nothing but gave us the world. Everything that we accomplish and do is thanks to them. They are supporting and loving.
I would say it goes both ways in both cultures. I feel like both men and women are really hard working when they have a goal for themselves. For me, even though I’m a girl, I see men and women 50/50. I’m not like girls are better or guys are better. We are all capable of doing everything.
la rosca, tortas, tamales
"Los reyes magos like the three kings! We have a cake called la rosca. We cut it. There are like three baby Jesus in there. If you get the baby Jesus, you are supposed to help make the tamales and champurrado on February 2 which is Día de Candelaria. It’s a day to celebrate the first day of Lent. It’s a feast of the presentation."
Christmas is a really big holiday for us Hispanics. We usually start off around 6pm on the night before Christmas, we arrive and start talking to each other. We play games and eat dinner. We have a little baby Jesus that we give thanks to and pray. We have dessert and karaoke. When midnight hits, we hug and open presents.
It’s not a holiday here in the US, my birthday is on January 6. Los reyes magos like the three kings! We have a cake called la rosca. We cut it. There are like three baby Jesus in there. If you get the baby Jesus, you are supposed to help make the tamales and champurrado on February 2 which is Día de Candelaria. It’s a day to celebrate the first day of Lent. It’s a feast of the presentation.
Día de los muertos (Day of the Dead) is on November 2. We make an altar that you can decorate however you want. You would add decorations that would help you remember your loved ones like a picture of your loved one. We usually buy pan dulce (sweet bread).
We don’t really celebrate Thanksgiving in Mexico, but we try to mix it here.
We don’t really celebrate Cinco de Mayo on May 5. That’s basically just like happy hour. I do like to go out and eat with my friends to get that discount though! Mexico’s real independence day is on September 16.
For Mexican food, I really like tortas de chavo. It’s kind of like a subway sandwich. You can put ham, cheese, mayo, lettuce, and tomato. There are also tortas with meat or beans. Chavo is like a famous Mexican kids show that every Mexican should know. I also like tamales. Tamales are soft, hot, and really good! There are different kinds of tamales, but I like red meat tamales. For American food, I would probably say my favorite foods are shrimp pasta and corn dogs.
I can speak Spanish and English! I would for sure want to pass language on to my children. I want my children, if I have them in the future, to communicate with my parents. My parents understand English, but obviously Spanish is their first language. I want my family to know faith and rosarios (rosary). It’s important to know prayers in Spanish and English...hopefully they’re good kids!
Honestly, I don’t think I have experienced any racism. Not yet. I think most likely that will happen to me. So far, growing up in this community, that hasn’t happened to me. Even in Winona, everyone has been super respectful. When I went to school, there weren’t that many Hispanic. Now when I go to band concerts and orchestra concerts, I’ve seen that there are a lot of Hispanics.
A challenge that I’ve faced in my life is the transition of going from home to college. That was a really big change for me. I am really close to my family. They are my best friends. Living in a small town, it was difficult for me to move to a bigger town. I knew that was going to happen and I was excited. It’s my goal to go to college and get my degrees. I also feel like it’s a gift to my parents.
Both of my parents inspire me. My mom is a really tough woman. Really tough woman. My dad is also really tough. Both of them have really shown me the true meaning of life and what the world is. I feel like I can go to them with anything. They are going to be realistic and honest with me. When I go to my friends, they will be like yeah! My parents will show me the downfalls and also the positives of a situation. They are my best gift from God. I feel, if I were in their shoes, I couldn’t even compare myself to them.
I am passionate about school, faith, and bringing out the best in people.
I really value honesty. Growing up in my home, trust was always the key. I also really value family and friendships. I value kindness shown between people.
My proudest accomplishment is that I have the opportunity to go to a university to study what I am passionate about. I am making baby steps to graduating in four years. It’s not accomplished yet, but you know it’s going to get accomplished.
My personal dream is to get my bachelors degree and find a good place to teach in Minnesota. Then. I want to get a Golden Retriever. I really want to build a family. I don’t know where my future husband is, but he’s out there. I want three kids. I actually really want twins, but that’s like a 2% chance. I always wanted to live in Utah…I don’t know why. Ever since we passed Utah on a road trip, I really liked it. I want to have a family on my own and hopefully move to Utah one day. Success looks like coming into my classroom every day to teach and coming home to a loving family of my own.
My hopes for the community is maybe seeing little mini fairs. It would be really cool if families signed up – not just Mexican families. “A mini village” where people would see different cultures represented. Each culture could have their own stand with foods, games, languages and religion. People could walk through and learn from each other. I would be interested in that! It’s something really simple, but I think that would be super cool.