So many of us want to focus on how we have been discriminated against in the U.S. for having ties to a “foreign” place. And that’s real. But what’s also real is the fact that many of our heritage countries were founded on the same violent principles as the U.S. So now what?

How do we make art about our culture(s) without romanticizing them or ignoring the violence required to maintain the existence of nation-states? I think we can start by asking ourselves, “who am I without my heritage country?”

Because here’s the thing: I am not proud of being Mexican. I am proud of being my mother’s daughter, being a person I can trust, being a good friend, being willing to learn, etc. But I can’t figure out how nationalism serves me. Mexico didn’t raise me, my mother did.

To be clear, I’m not ashamed of being Mexican. It’s just neutral to me. But Mexican nationalism actually *is* harmful, because Mexico is not a racial utopia full of happy brown people or a safe haven for oppressed people. It’s not that different from the U.S.

And I am so disappointed by Mexican American artists who want to pretend that Mexico is faultless, romantic, perfect, and without blame. You all are lying. Black people, Indigenous people, poor people, trans people, queer people living in MX know this. But you ignore them.

Some books to read to understand the problems with Mexican nationalism & MX’s violent history: • Brazilian is Not a Race by Wendy Treviño • intergalactic travels by Alán Pelaez Lopez • Recovering History, Constructing Race by Martha Menchaca • The Legacy of Vicente Guerrero

by Theodore Vincent • Asian Slaves in Colonial Mexico by Tatiana Seijas • and my book We Are Owed. There’s many others of course. These are just the ones I’m familiar with.

I highly recommend signing up for virtual classes with @DiasporaDash @AfroLatinoTrav and @ProfJWallace . Their combined expertise on Black Latin American history and informative teaching style is EVERYTHING. And their class on Texas/Mexico Entanglements will change your life.

@MellRiveraDiaz1 I think PR is a different story because of its status as a U.S. colony. Many folks have argued that Puerto Rican nationalism is actually really important toward advancing the political goal of sovereignty and independence, which I agree with!

@arianathepoet WORD!!! 👐🏾👐🏾👐🏾👐🏾👐🏾👐🏾👐🏾👐🏾👐🏾👐🏾👐🏾👐🏾