1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:03,800 Speaker 1: La Brega is back this season. 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:06,480 Speaker 2: We're spending time with the people and symbols that represent 3 00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:07,200 Speaker 2: Puerto Rico. 4 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:11,000 Speaker 1: We're proud Borricos and what does that mean? And we're 5 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:12,160 Speaker 1: still terrified. 6 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 2: We're telling stories about champions from a place worth fighting for, 7 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 2: stories that will inspire you no matter where you're from. 8 00:00:22,520 --> 00:00:27,640 Speaker 2: Come ok, wow, this is La Brega Campeones. Listen early 9 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:33,479 Speaker 2: and ad free with Fubuo Plus. 10 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:39,680 Speaker 3: It's Maria no Josa and I have a quick favor 11 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:42,560 Speaker 3: to ask you. If you like listening to Latino USA 12 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:45,320 Speaker 3: on Spotify, will you take a second and hit follow 13 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:48,040 Speaker 3: us on the show page because I want to make 14 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:49,960 Speaker 3: sure you don't miss a single episode and that you 15 00:00:49,960 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 3: don't waste time looking for episodes every week. And if 16 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 3: you found us through one of Spotify's daily mixes, following 17 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 3: the show directly is the best way to keep the 18 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 3: episodes mean grass. Yes, and here's the show. So it 19 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 3: is Friday, November twenty first, and it's a beautiful morning 20 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:15,520 Speaker 3: in Mexico City and the sky is about to turn blue. 21 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 3: It's still got a little smog. It's a very special morning. 22 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:19,440 Speaker 1: Today. 23 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:27,160 Speaker 3: We are driving from Gondza to La Colonia Santa Maria, 24 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:32,399 Speaker 3: and I would say it's been about a decade that 25 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:36,680 Speaker 3: I have been thinking about wanting to get my Mexican 26 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:43,880 Speaker 3: citizenship back, And today's the day. From Futuro Media, It's 27 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 3: Latino USA. I'm Maria Rosa and today my journey to 28 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 3: reclaiming who I've always been. And it has been a 29 00:01:53,800 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 3: journey of meetings, of phone calls with Mexican friends and family, Okay, mom, mom, 30 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:06,720 Speaker 3: and the fear that this might never happen. 31 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:10,840 Speaker 1: So I've got to square one. Oh my god, this 32 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 1: is just too funny. Oh my god. 33 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 3: So this is a story that is very personal, Yes, 34 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:21,320 Speaker 3: but it turns out it's not unique. Thousands of people 35 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 3: are either getting their Mexican citizenship for the first time 36 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 3: or reclaiming it after having lost it, some because they 37 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:31,800 Speaker 3: want to and some because they have to. The draw 38 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:37,440 Speaker 3: back to Mexico is layered. Now it's not a new phenomenon, 39 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:40,360 Speaker 3: but since the inauguration of Donald Trump to his second 40 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:44,200 Speaker 3: term in office, Mexican consulates have seen a surge in 41 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:45,880 Speaker 3: requests and applications. 42 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:49,520 Speaker 4: Also, today the Mexican Consulate in Chicago. 43 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 5: COSHINAI and make you going back to the Mexican Consulate, 44 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:53,960 Speaker 5: and Boise says that they've already doubled last year's total 45 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 5: for dual citizenship applications. 46 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 6: They have seen an increase at about three hundred or 47 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 6: five hundred percent of families questioning information. 48 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:02,920 Speaker 1: That Recipento Approximate men. 49 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:08,720 Speaker 5: Is certricly coal To meet the growing demand, the Consulate 50 00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:12,520 Speaker 5: recently moved into a bigger location, expanded its staff, and 51 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:15,359 Speaker 5: increased mobile services and rural areas. 52 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:19,079 Speaker 3: Among the people applying, there are immigrant parents who are 53 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 3: fearful of getting swept up in Trump's deportation campaign, so 54 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:27,480 Speaker 3: getting Mexican papers for their US born children is one 55 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 3: way to prepare for the worst. MASSI there are young 56 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 3: people who say that the American dream has become financially unattainable, 57 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 3: and they're turning to Mexico for the promise of a 58 00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 3: much better life. 59 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 2: Home prices here are crazy high, and I'm nowhere close 60 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 2: to being able to afford a house out here. 61 00:03:56,360 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 3: In my case, Mexican citizenship is not an urgent necessity. 62 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 3: I'm fortunate, but this fortune actually feels kind of tenuous, 63 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:10,280 Speaker 3: as Trump has said that he wants to come after 64 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:14,920 Speaker 3: the citizenship of naturalized American citizens, just like me. 65 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 7: No. 66 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:20,920 Speaker 3: For me, the quest to becoming a Mexican citizen again 67 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:25,720 Speaker 3: is coming from a place of pride. I'm reclaiming a 68 00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 3: citizenship that I gave up a long time ago. Yes, 69 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:35,279 Speaker 3: it's personal, But then again, right now it feels deeply political. 70 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:40,720 Speaker 3: It seems like, regardless of our reasons for pursuing Mexican papers, 71 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:45,840 Speaker 3: we're all asking kind of the same questions, like who 72 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:48,360 Speaker 3: gets to define what it means to be a citizen, 73 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:51,560 Speaker 3: both in Mexico and in the United States. 74 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:53,479 Speaker 1: Is it the White House? 75 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 8: America is for Americans and Americans only? 76 00:04:57,520 --> 00:04:58,719 Speaker 1: Is it the Mexican President? 77 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:07,360 Speaker 3: And who gets to decide if and where we belong. 78 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:11,920 Speaker 9: Mexican Americans have always been disrespected and excluded as part 79 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:15,920 Speaker 9: of the exercise of building as stronger and more inclusive democracy. 80 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:18,560 Speaker 9: So that's why this is not only very symbolic, but 81 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:19,280 Speaker 9: very important. 82 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:23,200 Speaker 3: So, dear listener, I'm setting out to try and answer 83 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:27,880 Speaker 3: some of these very big questions. But first, let me 84 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:34,279 Speaker 3: tell you exactly how I got here. My full name 85 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:38,840 Speaker 3: on my birth certificate is Maria de Lurtes in Josa 86 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:46,360 Speaker 3: Odora Mutro Gusto. Now I really love my name. Okay, 87 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:49,039 Speaker 3: The truth is as a kid, I hated it. But 88 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:53,360 Speaker 3: when it comes to the question of citizenship, bureaucracy, paperwork, 89 00:05:53,920 --> 00:06:00,880 Speaker 3: it's my full name that has caused me the biggest problem. 90 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:03,920 Speaker 3: I was born in Mexico City in nineteen sixty one. 91 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 3: I am the youngest of four and I was a 92 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:12,640 Speaker 3: pleasant but unexpected surprise for my parents. You see, my dad, Raoul, 93 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:16,279 Speaker 3: was a scientist and an MD, and for years he 94 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:18,719 Speaker 3: had managed to pay the bills for his family of five, 95 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:21,919 Speaker 3: working during the day researching at night, all of this 96 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:26,240 Speaker 3: in Mexico City. Then in nineteen sixty two, the University 97 00:06:26,279 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 3: of Chicago tracked my dad down and because he was brilliant, 98 00:06:32,400 --> 00:06:35,359 Speaker 3: they offered him a job, and my mom was the 99 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:39,719 Speaker 3: one who pressured him to say yes. So my mom, Bertan, 100 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,440 Speaker 3: and us four kids were now suddenly. 101 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:45,679 Speaker 1: Moving to El Norte to the United States. 102 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:50,400 Speaker 3: Growing up, things were never flush, but any extra money 103 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:53,560 Speaker 3: that we did have was used for our big annual 104 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 3: trips back to Mexico, which means that I grew up 105 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:00,920 Speaker 3: with a foot in both worlds. I was lucky enough 106 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:04,359 Speaker 3: to have been raised with both languages. Proud of the 107 00:07:04,400 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 3: fact that I was the guy Iva. Yeah, I was 108 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:11,160 Speaker 3: from here and from there, and lucky enough to have 109 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:13,720 Speaker 3: spent time growing up with my cousins in Mexico. 110 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 1: Primaso, what's up? 111 00:07:18,760 --> 00:07:24,800 Speaker 3: A like Francisco Ino Josa a k A. 112 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:32,480 Speaker 1: Bancho, Miss primos the else Bancho remembers me and my 113 00:07:32,560 --> 00:07:36,600 Speaker 1: siblings as the little bocos who spoke Spanish with a 114 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:41,120 Speaker 1: funny accent. Leespanol di. 115 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:49,680 Speaker 3: Bancho is very kind, but with my other primos, my 116 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:53,920 Speaker 3: bocha ness, it was challenging. Like for many years, I 117 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:58,080 Speaker 3: found myself shrinking a bit when I spoke Spanish in Mexico. 118 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:02,960 Speaker 3: Every summer, or as we got older, every winter, our 119 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:06,200 Speaker 3: family of six would squeeze into our green station wagon 120 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 3: and drive down from the south side of Chicago to Mexico. 121 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:17,760 Speaker 8: Namas Los Viajes Pierre, Chicago, Amxico. 122 00:08:18,800 --> 00:08:22,560 Speaker 3: The treck usually took us about five days of driving, 123 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:32,319 Speaker 3: and my dad he made it a point to take 124 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:35,080 Speaker 3: us to different parts of his beloved country on every 125 00:08:35,160 --> 00:08:35,840 Speaker 3: single trip. 126 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:44,360 Speaker 1: La resso. 127 00:08:46,240 --> 00:08:49,959 Speaker 3: Asmo Pancho says, no matter how much time had passed 128 00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:52,640 Speaker 3: since my dad moved to the US, it was clear 129 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:57,320 Speaker 3: that his roots were in Mexico. After growing up in Chicago, 130 00:08:57,520 --> 00:09:00,120 Speaker 3: I moved to New York City for Barnard College and 131 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:05,880 Speaker 3: worked at Columbia University's famed college radio station WKCR. Eventually, 132 00:09:05,920 --> 00:09:09,200 Speaker 3: in my mid twenties, I became the first Latina to 133 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:13,080 Speaker 3: work in the newsroom at NPR. The Armed Forces have 134 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:17,920 Speaker 3: part of their communications department established here on the fourth floor. 135 00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:21,840 Speaker 3: I was a cup producer covering cartel wars in Colombia 136 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:25,600 Speaker 3: and violent uprisings in Peru. Then in the fall of 137 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:28,360 Speaker 3: nineteen eighty nine, I got a break and ended up 138 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:32,560 Speaker 3: in El Salvador, where leftist gorillas had pushed into the 139 00:09:32,640 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 3: capitol in an attempt to overthrow the government and end 140 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:37,679 Speaker 3: a bloody civil war. 141 00:09:38,559 --> 00:09:41,079 Speaker 2: By the time we came to the town, the helicopters 142 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:42,280 Speaker 2: had swarmed overhead. 143 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:44,720 Speaker 1: I was a producer for NPR. 144 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:47,280 Speaker 3: Scott Simon, the bomb's fault, they don't fall on. 145 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:50,560 Speaker 1: Yep, that's me right there, and the people who live 146 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:51,000 Speaker 1: in a place. 147 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:53,440 Speaker 3: Look at that house over there that was destroyed, you know, 148 00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:56,360 Speaker 3: that's where the bombs fall. Every time I came back 149 00:09:56,360 --> 00:10:00,040 Speaker 3: for my producing trips, I felt reinvigorated and newly I 150 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:04,200 Speaker 3: committed to my role as a fearless journalist. But under 151 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:08,480 Speaker 3: that boldness there was this pesky and unrelenting fear. It 152 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:10,800 Speaker 3: was a worry that all of this could be snatched 153 00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:13,800 Speaker 3: away because I was only a permanent resident with a 154 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:17,920 Speaker 3: Green card. I was not a US citizen. Now, this 155 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:21,000 Speaker 3: was in the late nineteen eighties, decades before the Trump 156 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:24,600 Speaker 3: administration would actively work to strip away the status of 157 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:28,360 Speaker 3: people with Green cards who spoke up like Palestinian Columbia 158 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 3: master's student Mahmoud Khalil, who was stripped of his legal 159 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:39,319 Speaker 3: status simply because he expressed his ideas publicly. So at 160 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:42,360 Speaker 3: twenty eight years old in nineteen eighty nine, I stood 161 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:47,160 Speaker 3: inside a large, stately wooden courtroom in downtown Manhattan. I 162 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:50,920 Speaker 3: raised my right hand and pledged allegiance to the United States. 163 00:10:54,760 --> 00:10:58,960 Speaker 3: I became an American citizen, and in so doing, I 164 00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:02,520 Speaker 3: joined hundreds of thousands of immigrants who had to renounce 165 00:11:02,679 --> 00:11:10,160 Speaker 3: their Mexican citizenship. I didn't know it at the time, 166 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:13,400 Speaker 3: but I would spend years of my life trying to 167 00:11:13,440 --> 00:11:25,480 Speaker 3: get that Mexican citizenship back. So why did I have 168 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:28,160 Speaker 3: to give it up in the first place. Well, you see, 169 00:11:28,280 --> 00:11:32,520 Speaker 3: during most of the twentieth century, the Mexican constitution did 170 00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:36,400 Speaker 3: not allow adults to keep their Mexican citizenship if they 171 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:41,360 Speaker 3: wanted to naturalize in another country. But then Mexicans started 172 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:44,560 Speaker 3: immigrating to the United States in the millions, and those 173 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:47,640 Speaker 3: Mexicans they wanted dual nationality not. 174 00:11:47,679 --> 00:11:50,400 Speaker 8: Just for nostalgic or historical reasons. 175 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:53,680 Speaker 3: Adiel ris Soto is a senior policy analyst at the 176 00:11:53,679 --> 00:11:55,679 Speaker 3: Immigration Policy Institute, but. 177 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:58,880 Speaker 8: Also because of the benefits that a Mexican nationality buyed. 178 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:02,000 Speaker 8: Someone wants to believe, at least from parts of the 179 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:05,240 Speaker 8: United States, but also have access to the property, the 180 00:12:05,320 --> 00:12:08,000 Speaker 8: rights that they were able to have when they grew 181 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:08,600 Speaker 8: up in Mexico. 182 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:12,440 Speaker 3: The pressure was such that in nineteen ninety eight, Mexican 183 00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:17,920 Speaker 3: legislators amended the constitution to allow for dual citizenship, and 184 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:21,040 Speaker 3: the law was retroactive. The Mexican Embassy at the time 185 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:25,040 Speaker 3: estimated that about two million naturalized Mexican immigrants would be 186 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:27,520 Speaker 3: able to reclaim their Mexican nationality. 187 00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:30,160 Speaker 8: The value that he carried with it was not just symbolic, 188 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:33,839 Speaker 8: but was a rights approach that would then provide a 189 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:37,160 Speaker 8: different livelihood and perspective to something that many thought was lost. 190 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:42,200 Speaker 3: Now you could vote in two countries, own land in 191 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:46,720 Speaker 3: two countries be a full citizen in two countries, because 192 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:51,640 Speaker 3: that's the benefit of dual nationality. And Risotto says that 193 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:56,079 Speaker 3: this change solidified the historical connection between Mexico and the 194 00:12:56,240 --> 00:12:59,920 Speaker 3: United States, one that is not going anywhere. 195 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:05,679 Speaker 8: I think it speaks volumes to what really makes inevitable 196 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:08,440 Speaker 8: for people who want to be part of both to 197 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:09,319 Speaker 8: have the option to do so. 198 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 3: In that year, nineteen ninety eight, I had just given 199 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:16,640 Speaker 3: birth to my second child, my daughter, Judema, who was 200 00:13:16,679 --> 00:13:20,079 Speaker 3: born believe it or not on Sinco de Mayo. Anyway, 201 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:24,040 Speaker 3: I completely missed the news that dual citizenship was now legal. 202 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:27,720 Speaker 3: Had I known about this back then, maybe it wouldn't 203 00:13:27,720 --> 00:13:30,360 Speaker 3: have taken me this long to try. 204 00:13:30,160 --> 00:13:31,800 Speaker 1: To get the citizenship back. 205 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:39,600 Speaker 3: Coming up Mexican bureaucracy and how a hiccup with my 206 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:43,680 Speaker 3: name would make this entire process harder than it ever 207 00:13:43,760 --> 00:13:44,360 Speaker 3: should have been. 208 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:47,440 Speaker 4: Documental. 209 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:55,760 Speaker 1: Oh, shoot, stay with us. 210 00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:14,000 Speaker 7: Yes, hey, it's Anna Sale, host of Death, Sex and Money, 211 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:16,160 Speaker 7: the show from Slate about the things we think about 212 00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:19,600 Speaker 7: a lot and need to talk about more. Many of 213 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:22,720 Speaker 7: us have something going on behind closed doors, like a 214 00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:26,360 Speaker 7: listener we called Elizabeth, who told us she's a hoarder. 215 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:31,920 Speaker 10: I see mes beyond probably what most people think of 216 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:33,400 Speaker 10: when they think of meth. 217 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:36,760 Speaker 7: We'll work through it all together on death, sex and money. 218 00:14:37,080 --> 00:14:42,160 Speaker 7: Listen wherever you get podcasts. 219 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:46,640 Speaker 1: It's Latino USA. 220 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:50,080 Speaker 3: I'm Mariano Hosa back with the story of my journey 221 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:54,440 Speaker 3: to reclaim my Mexican citizenship because in the nineteen eighties 222 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:57,480 Speaker 3: I had to renounce it in order to become a 223 00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:01,000 Speaker 3: US citizen. Now, as I told you, I traveled to 224 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:04,600 Speaker 3: Mexico a lot for work, to visit family, friends, you know. 225 00:15:05,120 --> 00:15:08,120 Speaker 3: So last fall, on a visit to Mexico City, I 226 00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:13,520 Speaker 3: met up with Ector Sanchez Madababanos this beautiful place. Ektor 227 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:17,200 Speaker 3: is the CEO and president of the US nonprofit group 228 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:22,200 Speaker 3: Mifamilia Bota, where he advocates for civic participation in policy 229 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:26,960 Speaker 3: reform on behalf of US Latino voters. He has actually 230 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:31,400 Speaker 3: spent decades fighting across the borders to maintain and build 231 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:36,120 Speaker 3: the connections between Mexicans and Mexican Americans, and he was 232 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:40,640 Speaker 3: in Mexico City doing just that, introducing Maple, which is 233 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:46,680 Speaker 3: a binational initiative to strengthen these official ties between Mexico 234 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:48,680 Speaker 3: and Mexican Americans in the us. 235 00:15:49,240 --> 00:15:52,760 Speaker 9: We don't need to apologize for our beautiful, powerful historias 236 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:54,800 Speaker 9: Mexicans and Mexican Americans. 237 00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:58,640 Speaker 3: In Mexican Immigrants, Ector says that at a time when 238 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:03,560 Speaker 3: Mexican Americans could be tempted to downplay their heritage in 239 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:06,479 Speaker 3: order to survive the remaining years of the Trump administration, 240 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:09,840 Speaker 3: kind of under the radar, he says, he finds joy 241 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:14,080 Speaker 3: in what it means to live and breathe in both cultures. 242 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:16,960 Speaker 9: And we need to make sure that or nation, the 243 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:20,520 Speaker 9: United States, also has that strong element. We're about to 244 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:24,120 Speaker 9: be the second largest Mexican Americans and Mexicans, We're about 245 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:28,080 Speaker 9: to be the second largest group in the nation. Mexico 246 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:32,160 Speaker 9: is so always disrespected, and we Mexican Americans have always 247 00:16:32,160 --> 00:16:36,760 Speaker 9: been disrespected and excluded as part of the exercise of 248 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:39,920 Speaker 9: building as stronger and more inclusive democracy. So that's why 249 00:16:39,960 --> 00:16:42,960 Speaker 9: this is not only very symbolic, but very important. 250 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:47,920 Speaker 3: Ector is fully supportive of my desire to reclaim my 251 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:52,440 Speaker 3: Mexican citizenship. He tells me that he sees dual Nationals 252 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:57,520 Speaker 3: as a bicultural, bipolitical faction that is committed to the 253 00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:02,840 Speaker 3: success of both countries. Understanding that Mexico and the US 254 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:05,400 Speaker 3: rise and fall together. 255 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:07,359 Speaker 9: So this is very important on what you are doing, 256 00:17:07,400 --> 00:17:11,880 Speaker 9: because seys embracing the political power Las Jodda on both sides. 257 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:25,080 Speaker 3: No, Kieran, I made the decision to reclaim my Mexican 258 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:28,720 Speaker 3: nationality about ten years ago, around the time that Donald 259 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:32,359 Speaker 3: Trump was elected to his first term in office. Now, 260 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:35,960 Speaker 3: I have never been a nationalist or a patriot, not 261 00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:40,040 Speaker 3: of the United States and not of Mexico. But there 262 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:43,160 Speaker 3: was something about the vitriol coming from the White House 263 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:46,840 Speaker 3: that stoked a deep desire in me to double down 264 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:51,560 Speaker 3: on my mexicanness, not to flee this country or the attacks, 265 00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:54,840 Speaker 3: but to say, not only am I staying, but I'm 266 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:57,240 Speaker 3: going to be even more Mexican here in the United 267 00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:01,119 Speaker 3: States than ever before. So I doubled down on my 268 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:06,359 Speaker 3: often very Mexican style, you know, the big filigrana gold earrings, 269 00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:17,240 Speaker 3: miscamisas bordadas and Mike trinsas my brains. But the dreaminess 270 00:18:17,320 --> 00:18:20,320 Speaker 3: of it, all that idea of finally getting my green 271 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:23,640 Speaker 3: Mexican passport back in my hands, all of my resolve 272 00:18:23,720 --> 00:18:28,280 Speaker 3: and determination, it was tempered by an even greater power, 273 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:40,480 Speaker 3: the slow moving process of paperwork and bureaucracy, Locomoh. Shoot, 274 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:44,520 Speaker 3: So in between work and life, I chipped away at 275 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:55,160 Speaker 3: this process, and I gotta say navigating Mexican bureaucracy is 276 00:18:55,400 --> 00:18:59,879 Speaker 3: not my strong suit. This shit terrifies me. It always 277 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:06,439 Speaker 3: as I don't know why I am. I need an 278 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:09,760 Speaker 3: appointment in New York City, schedule an appointment. 279 00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:12,120 Speaker 10: That's not guarantee the document that your questing is going to. 280 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:15,760 Speaker 3: Be issuing, And dear listener, honestly, there are some simple 281 00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:19,960 Speaker 3: things that are just not very simple for me. My 282 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:21,879 Speaker 3: husband is a way, so I don't know how to 283 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:24,760 Speaker 3: use our printer. So now I have to involve my kids, 284 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:28,320 Speaker 3: and I could not find the email where they explained 285 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:29,480 Speaker 3: to me what I need to do. 286 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:30,640 Speaker 1: I don't think I'm going. 287 00:19:30,560 --> 00:19:32,240 Speaker 3: To be able to do it in twenty twenty four. 288 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:34,600 Speaker 1: I just think it's going to be impossible. 289 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:38,960 Speaker 3: Oh and the frustrating part is it shouldn't have taken 290 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:41,440 Speaker 3: this long to go through the process. But as luck 291 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:44,880 Speaker 3: would have it, there was a huge issue with my name. 292 00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:47,720 Speaker 1: Okay TLDR. 293 00:19:48,280 --> 00:19:52,959 Speaker 3: Mexican officials wanted two documents with my full name, and 294 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:55,679 Speaker 3: I only had my birth certificate. I didn't have a 295 00:19:55,680 --> 00:20:01,920 Speaker 3: second document. But then one day rifling through old papers. 296 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:06,040 Speaker 3: I found two old Mexican passports from the nineteen eighties 297 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:08,240 Speaker 3: and they had my full name on them. 298 00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:09,440 Speaker 1: Oh my god. 299 00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:15,440 Speaker 3: I just didn't anticipate how many feelings this would bring. 300 00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:15,679 Speaker 10: Up for me. 301 00:20:18,359 --> 00:20:24,280 Speaker 1: Oh my god, Oh my god, it's happening. 302 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:26,760 Speaker 3: I was going to be able to get my paperwork 303 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:30,000 Speaker 3: in order, and eventually I would plan a trip back 304 00:20:30,040 --> 00:20:32,920 Speaker 3: to Mexico City in order to make it official. 305 00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:36,720 Speaker 1: I remember packing for that specific trip. 306 00:20:37,119 --> 00:20:40,679 Speaker 3: I was pacing back and forth, thinking about what clothes 307 00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:43,359 Speaker 3: I should take, what bag I should put my documents 308 00:20:43,359 --> 00:20:47,160 Speaker 3: in so they wouldn't get wrinkled, because I knew that 309 00:20:47,320 --> 00:20:50,119 Speaker 3: this trip to Mexico City was going to be like 310 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:56,919 Speaker 3: none other. We'll be right back, stay with us, not 311 00:20:56,960 --> 00:21:10,119 Speaker 3: day by. Yes, we're back with my journey to reclaim 312 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:14,560 Speaker 3: my Mexican citizenship. Less than an hour away from going 313 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:19,200 Speaker 3: to my appointment at the inning to get my voter registration, 314 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:23,000 Speaker 3: which is like a national ID. So the day is here, colleague, 315 00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:26,960 Speaker 3: September twenty twenty five, and I'm outside of the office 316 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:29,560 Speaker 3: building where I'm meeting up with two of the women 317 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:33,879 Speaker 3: I most admire in the world, Mexican journalists. Blanche Petrich 318 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:41,080 Speaker 3: and Juadalupe sign I have known them since the early 319 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:45,920 Speaker 3: nineteen eighties. In fact, these women were the reason why 320 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:49,120 Speaker 3: I decided to become a journalist. The way they approached 321 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:53,679 Speaker 3: journalism with humanity inspired me and my friends had to 322 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:56,639 Speaker 3: be there with me in order to be my character witnesses. 323 00:21:57,280 --> 00:21:59,880 Speaker 3: Because of that whole situation with my name not Matt, 324 00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:04,800 Speaker 3: I needed another layer of confirmation to the government that 325 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:10,560 Speaker 3: I am indeed and that yes, I was born in Mexico, 326 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:19,000 Speaker 3: and I have two character witnesses to say so. Super Afterwards, 327 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:22,480 Speaker 3: we sat in a restaurant, t Kuilita in hand, and 328 00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:24,479 Speaker 3: I breathed a sigh of relief. 329 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:30,560 Speaker 1: Mexico. 330 00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:37,960 Speaker 3: I should mention that my girlfriends do not see Mexico 331 00:22:38,119 --> 00:22:42,199 Speaker 3: through rose colored glasses, and neither do I. My friends 332 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:45,800 Speaker 3: have reported on Mexico's many deadly flaws, and for one thing, 333 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:48,800 Speaker 3: Mexico remains one of the most dangerous places to be 334 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:52,640 Speaker 3: a journalist in the world. No country is perfect, though, 335 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:56,920 Speaker 3: I mean, look at the US right now. Still, Wadalupez says, 336 00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:01,040 Speaker 3: there's this deep joy in being from an of the 337 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:01,960 Speaker 3: country of Mexico. 338 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:09,160 Speaker 5: Delicia, thank you, she. 339 00:23:09,160 --> 00:23:15,160 Speaker 3: Says, there's something deliciously intangible about Mexico, something undeniably alive 340 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:16,440 Speaker 3: words and all. 341 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:25,320 Speaker 8: It's the most Marksmos. 342 00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:31,080 Speaker 4: And because it's you were not. 343 00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:39,680 Speaker 3: So here, I am actively staking claim in two very 344 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:44,000 Speaker 3: flawed countries, insistent on the fact that I've always belonged 345 00:23:44,119 --> 00:23:58,040 Speaker 3: in both. The more I've worked on this piece, the 346 00:23:58,080 --> 00:24:01,600 Speaker 3: more aware I've become of the privilege that I have, 347 00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:05,879 Speaker 3: getting to double down on my Mexicanidad, on my mexicaness 348 00:24:06,320 --> 00:24:09,360 Speaker 3: at a time when the Trump administration is actively clawing 349 00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:13,800 Speaker 3: back the very definition and privileges of citizenship, looking to 350 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:18,040 Speaker 3: strip away that right from children born to undocumented immigrants. 351 00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:22,360 Speaker 3: And then there's Mexico. In twenty twenty five, the Mexican 352 00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:25,480 Speaker 3: government launched an initiative to make the process of getting 353 00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:30,120 Speaker 3: dual nationality much simpler. Now you can do the process 354 00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:35,280 Speaker 3: online with just a few documents. Mexico is expanding the 355 00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:40,040 Speaker 3: limits of who belongs. The irony is not lost on me. 356 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:44,399 Speaker 1: Okay, mom, mom, Mom. 357 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:48,600 Speaker 3: Last November thirty six years after I surrendered my green 358 00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:52,320 Speaker 3: Mexican passport, I was handed a new one. 359 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:58,600 Speaker 6: Mom, mipasa porte Mexicano. Kefabuloso, What do you think about 360 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:03,520 Speaker 6: this fact that I have Mexican citizenship now, but as if. 361 00:25:03,480 --> 00:25:07,320 Speaker 4: I were ruled so ejacates but Mexicanaha. 362 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:10,640 Speaker 3: She thinks it's fabulous that with these documents, I can 363 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:12,920 Speaker 3: now feel one hundred Mexican. 364 00:25:13,080 --> 00:25:17,080 Speaker 4: I'm proud that you decided to do this. It takes 365 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:19,840 Speaker 4: you a little time. It took you a little well 366 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:24,040 Speaker 4: sometime years. Well yeah, but once you started the movement, 367 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:25,719 Speaker 4: you were okay. 368 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:28,160 Speaker 1: So I'm proud of you. Mexican. 369 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:36,159 Speaker 4: Well to it's mas Mexican. You're more Mexican than Moley. 370 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:39,280 Speaker 4: We never lost our roots. 371 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:46,320 Speaker 3: My dad died in twenty fifteen at the age of 372 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:49,680 Speaker 3: eighty six, and I think he also would have been 373 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:52,560 Speaker 3: really proud to see me right now, that he would 374 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:56,200 Speaker 3: realize that our pilgrimages every year from Chicago to Mexico 375 00:25:56,720 --> 00:26:02,160 Speaker 3: they paid off because his daughter didn't not forget about home. 376 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:30,080 Speaker 3: This episode was produced by Rebecca Ibarra. It was edited 377 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:34,240 Speaker 3: by our managing editor Fernando Echavari. It was mixed by 378 00:26:34,520 --> 00:26:38,520 Speaker 3: Julia Caruso. Fact checking for this episode by Roxanna Aguire. 379 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:43,000 Speaker 3: Nancy Trujillo is our production manager. The Latino USA team 380 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:49,520 Speaker 3: also includes Renaldo Lanos Junior, Stephanie Lebau, Luis Luna Glorimt Marquez, 381 00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:55,160 Speaker 3: La Marinelli, Monica Morales Garcia, Adriana Rodriguez and Nicole Rothwell. 382 00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:58,880 Speaker 3: Penille Ramirez and I are executive producers. I'm your host, 383 00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:02,960 Speaker 3: Mariao Cosa. Latino Usa is part of Iheart's Mike Ududa 384 00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:07,359 Speaker 3: podcast network. Executive producers at iHeart are Leogomez and our 385 00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:10,400 Speaker 3: being Santana. You can join us again on our next episode. 386 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:12,440 Speaker 3: In the meantime, look for us on social media. I'll 387 00:27:12,440 --> 00:27:15,560 Speaker 3: see you on Instagadan and don't forget, dear listener to 388 00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:19,879 Speaker 3: join Bududa Plus and you'll get at free bonus episodes. 389 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:29,359 Speaker 1: That's yes, Shoe. So, I have just arrived in Mexico City. 390 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:35,520 Speaker 3: We just landed, and I am in the line of 391 00:27:35,680 --> 00:27:39,919 Speaker 3: Mexicans with Mexican passports and it's the first time that 392 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:47,040 Speaker 3: I'm in this line since the nineteen eighties, and I 393 00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:52,280 Speaker 3: am being I am so proud to be entering as 394 00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:52,920 Speaker 3: a Mexican. 395 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:54,200 Speaker 1: Here we go. 396 00:27:57,040 --> 00:28:07,879 Speaker 10: Hella York, Well, I did it. 397 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:08,520 Speaker 9: I did it. 398 00:28:10,119 --> 00:28:10,879 Speaker 1: I did it. 399 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:20,480 Speaker 7: Latino USA is made possible in part by Skyline Foundation, 400 00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:26,800 Speaker 7: the taw Foundation, and New York Women's Foundation. The New 401 00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:28,960 Speaker 7: York Women's Foundation, funding women 402 00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:33,080 Speaker 2: Leaders that build solutions in their communities, and celebrating thirty 403 00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:34,920 Speaker 2: years of radical generosity