By Claire Chicchi
INSERT VIDEO
Hello! What’s Your Name? Episode 1: Esteban Rael
Esteban Rael is a 58 year old man, born and raised in New Mexico, where he currently lives as a caretaker. Esteban reflects on his name and how it’s affected his American Dream as a Latino/Indigenous New Mexican.
Transcript below:
CLAIRE CHICCHI: Everyone’s name tells a very specific story. It can say where your family is from or what values they hold. And in the US, having a name that’s difficult for some people to pronounce, can make things pretty frustrating.
ESTEBAN RAEL: My name isn’t ES-te-ban. It’s es-TE-ban. Like establish, es-TE-ban.
CHICCHI: Born and raised in New Mexico, Esteban never felt that his experiences with the American Dream were the same as other Latinos in the US.
RAEL: That’s something that’s very different from a lot of other Latinos, they came here from other various places and stuff. We didn’t come to the United States, the United States came to us, and they took over New Mexico, so a very different experience.
CHICCHI: He’s also felt some of the negative impacts of the American Dream on his goals.
RAEL: To get on that Disneyland ride of the dream, you have to be a certain way, talk a certain way, act a certain way.
CHICCHI: In the US, everyone’s name tells a different story about the American Dream. Esteban’s name reflects his home, his family and his heritage. Our names are more than just words, they’re our identity. And they deserve to be pronounced correctly.
L is…
- 58 Years-Old
- Male, Cisgender
- Latino, Sephardic, Mixed, Indigenous (Mexican and Cherokee), English/Irish
- Jewish
- Poor
- Gay