My hair had been a point of pride for me. Long, strong, brown hair. The more classic the look, the more Latina I felt, which was hard to achieve some days. It was something my mother never understood, the feeling of not being enough to claim what you were. I was born in Latin America, Antônia. Do you think people in Brazil sit around debating their latinidade? No, they just are, existing, next to each other. I don’t think I even said the word latino until I moved to this country. You are just as Brazilian as I am, as your father is, and your grandparents before us. Don’t let people who don’t
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