As a first generation immigrant, the need for a balance between adopting American culture and preserving native Mexican heritage has been a constant challenge. Going to school every day and speaking English and returning home the same day to speak Spanish seems foreign to many, but it was a daily activity for me. Luckily, when I was young, the introduction to Catholicism and communal rites acted as a bridge between the two cultures. The beliefs in this religious system were the same no matter what language you spoke or where you were born, so even though my prayers were in English and the ones grandma or anyone else at home recited were in Spanish, we all knew we were asking for the same thing. This bible is a living reminder of the duality in my spiritual existence. Brought over from Mexico, it was hand crafted and composed in Spanish, but it carries many of those prayer translations in English. For me, this bible shows the continuation of multiple parts of a whole. I'm still trying to find my place in between two separate cultures as i mature into adulthood, and discover myself at a deeper level both spiritually and vocationally. If anything, this bible is proof that the language we speak or where we come from doesn't matter when we pray. 

– Jojo Galvan

Relationship:  Im/migrant who arrived as a child Im/migrant who arrived as a child