My grandma was born in the year 1933, in a part of Puerto Rico called Ceiba Sur. While I do not know much about her immigration story, I do know that she came to the United States when she was about 6 years old. Even though she immigrated to this country at a very young age, she maintained a very strong Puerto Rican identity. However, being a third generation American I can honestly say that my family and I are very Americanized. With U.S and Puerto Rico relations, as well as being so assimilated in American culture it has been a personal struggle of mine finding and maintaining that same Puerto Rican identity that my grandma had. Even though while growing up it was hard communicating with and understanding my grandma due to language barriers and my disconnect from the culture, food always brought us together. La maquina de pasteles played a big role in this, especially around the holidays. During Thanksgiving and Christmas, all of my aunts would gather at my grandma's house and use the machine to make masa- the foundation of pasteles (made of plantains). The machine was almost like an ornament, that would be taken out during the holidays and proudly displayed for all of the family to gather around. I may not have comprehended everything that was being said, but I understood what it meant when that machine was brought out. In the face of assimilation, this machine has helped me and my family proudly embrace our Puerto Rican heritage that was made possible by my grandma’s journey to the United States.

– Isabella Diaz

Relationship:  Grandchild of im/migrant Grandchild of im/migrant