Growing up in Dallas: Maria Delgado-Hernandez

Having a mom from El Salvador and being raised in Mexico, at the age of three Algebra teacher Maria Delgado-Hernandez and her family made the transition into the United States. Surrounded by new faces, new languages, and a drastically different atmosphere, they were forced to adapt. Through and through, in the eyes of Delgado, it’s what ultimately shaped her family into what it is today.

“Honestly when we made the move that was when my memory was just starting to pick up,” Delgado-Hernandez said. “The Dallas area is a little different than here, to say the least. It wasn’t really a hard transition for me, [other than] I would have an accent and other people would make fun of that accent. My older siblings had more of a challenge. It was very difficult for them because they were called a lot of harsh names just because we came over here to better ourselves.”

Watching from the sidelines as her family was faced with such things was one of the hardest challenges for Delgado-Hernandez . 

However, the opportunity to see the family grow stronger and persevere was a reward in itself.

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It’s just important to not generalize people. Just because they look like me doesn’t mean they’re from Mexico,

— Maria Delgado-Hernandez

“Some people are just mean and naive,” she said. “They’re not really thinking straight. [Yes] they remember some things that were very hurtful. Thankfully they were able to move out of the Dallas area, and we overcame those things. My brother is now an accountant, and my sister works at the courthouse.”

At the end of the day, she hopes that the conversations and stories sparked by Hispanic Heritage Month will help others understand the implications of what they’re really saying, and further tackle prejudice.

“The thing most people get frustrated over is being called Mexican if they’re not from Mexico. I mean, we’re not all from Mexico,” Delgado-Hernandez said. “It’s just important to not generalize people. Just because they look like me doesn’t mean they’re from Mexico.”

Delgado-Hernandez continues the tradition of speaking Spanish at home, and hopes if she has children later on, that they will keep their lineage alive as well. 

“When I was younger, that’s all we would speak, Spanish at home,” she said. “Well my mom and dad encouraged us to speak English so much that now at home it’s like we talk more English than we do Spanish. Like my nieces and younger nephews, they’re actually having a hard time to understand and speak Spanish, which is kind of sad. I tell myself if I ever have any children to try and speak some more Spanish to them, especially at their younger age.”