Ricardo Chavira Chicano

Who are the Real Aliens?

I titled my book ‘We Were Always Here because it conveys the long-time presence of Mexicans in the Southwest and California.   About two weeks ago, I discovered that by slightly expanding the geographic boundaries, our regional roots are deeper and stronger than I had previously believed.

One of my earliest ancestors, Marcos de Sepulveda, was born in 1647 in Hidalgo del Parral, Chihuahua, just 582 miles from my front door. That is 100 miles less than the distance to Long Beach, California. My regional roots date back 378 years, and in a town a proverbial stone’s throw away.

Of course, this is meaningful to me. However, as we Latinos are being demonized, brutalized, and cast as menacing interlopers, my family history rebuts those destructive lies.

We are mestizos, a racial and cultural hybrid of Iberians and native peoples who have been present in the Western Hemisphere for more than 20,000 years. Mayflower descendants are the true newcomers.

Branding us as alien is not only damaging, but also absurd.