This Is Latina Power

A Shakira concert, my daughter's first, and the answer to a question that was never really a question.

Last week I took my daughter to her very first concert. Shakira.

We went with one of my dearest friends and her daughter, two generations of Latinas singing every word, our hips moving to rhythms of strength, beauty and culture. My daughter and I looked up at that stage and saw a woman who has moved the world without ever asking permission to take up space in it. She takes up all of it, and the world is better for it.

Around the same time, my phone was full of a different story.

My phone blew up with messages and news articles about a congressman from Texas who stood in a hearing and questioned whether “Latina Power” merch belonged in the Smithsonian... whether that phrase, that idea, was appropriate for a museum of American history. The question landed like it was meant to make us smaller. Instead, it sent hundreds, maybe thousands, of us reaching for the microphone.

I was standing in a stadium full of women who already knew the answer to that question.

Latina power is Latinas all over the globe lifting themselves, their families, and their communities to do good in this world. It is elevating others. It is living the opportunities our mothers and grandmothers were denied, and making sure we open these opportunities to future generations.

Growing up Latina, I learned early that I was expected to work hard, to be a caregiver before I was ever old enough to be cared for. Look down. Work hard. Don’t ask too many questions. The rewards will come if you behave, if you stay quiet, if you earn it.

I believed that for a long time, well into my late thirties.

I’ve learned since that keeping your head down, being silent, and putting others first is self-abandonment and neglect of the beautiful and strong women we are. We are resilient. We are strong. We are smart. We are bold. We are love.

I want my daughter to understand that Latina power has never been about the oppression of anyone else. It does not rise by pushing another group down. It is not a threat to anyone’s history. It is a community of strength, and strength like ours multiplies. When we take care of ourselves, when we love who we truly are, we are finally able to elevate the people and communities around us. That is the whole point. That is the inheritance.

So yes, Latina Power merch is appropriate. And it is so much more than the words they put on it. We have always been part of this story, and we always will be.

This is Latina power.

With gratitude,
Cristal
Founder, Clahrity | getclahrity.com