Lola’s POV: 10 Things Latina Teens Hear ALL the Time

It’s Hispanic Heritage Month and lately I’ve been reading articles about Latinas of all ages, places, shapes, and sizes. Yet, I have not heard much from teens, so I thought I would share the top 10 things that teen Latina’s around me tend to hear and go through!

You don’t look Latina.

Don’t even get me started on this one. It makes me very uncomfortable when people make these types of comments or assumptions about how a Latina is meant to look! We’re all different and the amazing thing about being a Latina is that we’re so mixed! Our blood can be a mix of the hot Caribbean or the huge terrain of Spain, at no moment should we be told what we should look like according to where we’re from.

“Yo a tu edad..” or When I was your age…

Let’s face it, we’ve all heard this one at least once or twice in our lifetime and it’s inevitable! We live in a generation that is so different from the past ones. We live in a time of selfies, social media, and internet friends. We can’t be mad at the people who confront us about the way our generation does things. It’s just the way we’ve grown up!

“Quítame el tiqui tiqui ese” or turn off that “noise” you call music  

The music we hear or are surrounded by is a lot more explicit, loud, and lets face it, meaningless than before. What was once a ballad is now trap. Before, people would kill for a slow song to hope their crush would ask them to dance, now people are just like “ponme un reggaetón pa’ bailar pegaiiiito” and “pegíito” then and now has a groundbreaking difference.

“Estás muy joven para tener novio” or You’re too young to have a boyfriend”

Okay this one is total BS. They just don’t like the fact that their “nieta” looks cuter with a man. PLUS, didn’t everyone like two generations ago get married in their very early 20’s?

“¿Tú te vas a poner eso?” or You’re wearing that?

Clothes are such a big deal to other generations. Our generation is all about “less is more” and at least my grandma doesn’t understand that a V-neck is not “escotado” enough. We like to flaunt our stuff! If not, why is it there?

“Le conté lo que te paso a…” or I told (so-and-so) what happened to you

You guessed it, the bigger the family, the bigger the opinions. Once your mom has told your aunt, it’s over, the whole family found out through their “primos” Whatsapp groupchat and in the next family gathering you will hear all about how to care for your rash or “bendito, pues él no te merece!”

“¡Estás muy fresca!” or You’re too explicit

I’m naturally a very loud and out there person but not everyone is like that. My family is very outspoken and “malhablao’s” but whenever someone younger starts talking like them, it’s too much and we need to censor our language. ¡Sea la madre!

“¡Suelta el celular!” or Drop the phone!

Okay this one I can agree on occasionally. We’re too attached to our phones and it’s become an obsession because we use it for everything! It’s a camera, an iPod, and a workspace all in one. What’s not to like? We do sometimes need to let go of our phones and look up and experience life though, I agree with that. Unless, “¿Estás hablando con el novio otra vez?”

“¿Van a salir solos?” or You’re going out alone?

We’ve grown out of the age of chaperones, we’ve got this. Seriously, stop. “Yes, I’m fine. No, I’m not done hanging out, it’s only 8:00pm. Grandma, “sereno” is not a thing. Okay, si, okay. ¡Abuela deja ya! ¡No me digas que hacer! Ok te veo en casa. Bendición, te amo.”

And our very favorite…

“Tu mama hizo eso, porque no te deja?” or Your mom did that, why doesn’t she let you?

The sweetest words your grandma can say are the ones that give you a free pass to do whatever your mom did when she was younger. “¡Dile! ¡Dile que te cuente las que me hizo pasar!”

Come on, you know your mom was a party animal, right?