How others saw me

I never thought my ethnicity, complexion, citizenship, religion, or accent was crucial until I moved to Dallas, Texas.

In Argentina, or at least in my social circle, we are all third or fourth-generation Argentinians. Most of us are of mainly Italian or Spanish descent, which accounts for our ethnicity. We ere Catholic (at least in name,) and speak with the same accent (that of Buenos Aires.)

When I was little, meeting people from other provinces with a different accent was exciting. Meeting people with a different religion was thrilling too. It felt like discovering a whole new world. Let alone meeting a foreigner!

Then, I moved to a foreign-to-me country (the USA). I spoke with a foreign accent and my citizenship was different from that of most people. Suddenly, my complexion acquired some strange relevance in the eyes of others.

I spoke with a foreign accent and my citizenship was different from that of most people. Suddenly, my complexion acquired some strange relevance in the eyes of others.

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Here’s a list of the most common replies I got when I said I’m from Argentina in no particular order, although the blank stare is probably the most popular reaction:

• … (blank stare. Many people have no clue where or what Argentina is. Europe? Africa? A country? A city? I’m not kidding!)
• Really? But you’re … (and touch their face as if saying “BUT you’re white!”)
• Y’all go confusing people with your skin tone (again, the a-Latin-American-person-can’t-be-pale-skinned theme.)
• No! You can’t be! But you’re O’Reilly! (by marriage!)
• No! – Yes, I am – No! – Yes, I am – But then you must be a Nazi! (again, a clear example of prejudice. This reference to the Nazis stems from the fact that many Nazi commanders took refuge in my country after the war. They were aided by President Perón and his wife Evita in exchange for gold. Lots of it. Not our proudest moment as a country.)
• Oh, that’s interesting. (Interesting!!?? Why?) Isn’t Argentina the only white Latin American country? (Huh?? who cares? And not true, by the way).
• Do you eat tacos and burritos too? (Noooooo, that’s mainly Mexico, which is very close. Please stop generalizing and making assumptions. Thanks.)
• Oh, I see. Do you speak Spanish? (What else??? Maybe you meant Portuguese as well?)
• Really? I thought you were European/Spanish/French/German/Russian (at least two people have said I speak English with a slight Russian accent. That’s funny.)

So, I started to reply that I’m from South America, which is vaguer but true. It saves me a lot of explaining. However, one lady looked puzzled and asked, “But are you Latin American or South American?” Both, I said. Hmm (insert bank stare).

I sometimes felt discriminated against. I realized some people are ignorant or have misconceptions about countries south of the Rio Grande. Mind you, my husband is from Wales and some of the comments people made were funny too:

• Oh, is that a country? (sigh…)
• I was in Australia once and loved it (He confused  New South Wales with the “old” Wales in the UK)

Weirdly, this made me feel better.