This past weekend I was fortunate to attend the Cinco de Mayo festivities at Clark Park in Southwest Detroit. Mi Estilo had a table where we were able to pass out our materials, talk to the community and basically spread the word about us. I want to thank our current readers that were able to make it out. I’d also like to welcome any new readers that we might have picked up as a result of this weekend.

An interesting thing happened during the time that I spent out there. First of all, we were there eight hours on both days. Being around all of the food smells and seeing the Mexican flags anywhere and everywhere almost gave me a transfusion of my Mexican culture. Though I go fairly often into Southwest Detroit, it’s not the same thing. I smelled the meat cooking for the tacos, which brought back memories from both sides of the border. I drank perhaps the biggest horchata (rice milk). Of course, I saw tons of images of Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa and even Che Guevara (ignoring the fact that he’s actually an Argentine figure and not Mexican). So, for all these sights and smells, we had our share and with some to spare! Everything, especially the food, was something warm and welcoming. The easiest way to explain my feelings is to say that they wrapped around me like a blanket. I felt like I was home.

The downside of the weekend is when I had to change hats. Let me tell you what I mean. Throughout the weekend, I really stretched my language skills. With one person, I might be speaking English and then turn around and speak to another in Spanish. Though my English is slightly better, I was able to effectively communicate in both. However, the flipping between languages tired me out!

Let me share with you a quote from the movie Selena. When Selena told her father, Abraham, how she wanted to go Mexico to get some press, he expressed his reluctance. He told her, We’ve gotta be more Mexican than the Mexicans and more American than the Americans-both at the same time. It’s exhausting!”

Do you ever feel exhausted at switching hats? I didn’t really realize this until I was driving home one of the days. The only way that I could describe it is that where I live seems like a whole world removed from the immersion that I experienced in Southwest Detroit. Even though Cinco de Mayo felt like home, I couldn’t help but wonder which is my real world.

I’d be interested to hear if you have ever had a similar experience. Have you ever felt that sometimes you have to wear your “Latino” hat and other times your “American” one?