My grandmother is almost 75 years old, she is a strong, resilient, hardworking woman, and a true feminist icon of her time. She taught me from a very young age that I belong, that I can acquire anything, and that I deserve to be heard. Starting from singing in church choir, and now testifying at the State’s Capitol, I heed her words and refuse to let my voice go unheard. 

As time went by, I started to feel small as societal norms minoritized my hopes, my dreams, and my aspirations. Many don’t expect an undocumented Latina (Salvadorian to be exact) to testify in the Texas Legislature, calling out the white men who despise people who look like me, and our wishes for change. But I wasn’t afraid to step into the lion’s den. I decided that self-advocacy creates a safe space for me and other young undocumented Latinas to be understood and seen. I no longer wait for people to speak on behalf of me, but I advocate for myself, my grandmother, my mother, my little brother, and my community. After all, I didn’t cross the desert to come to the US to be silenced. My grandma, my mother, and I didn’t come to settle for less than what we deserved; we came to fight, and gain the freedom and liberty that colonization, industrialization, and imperialization stole from El Salvador. My home.

Now whenever I have a chance I demand my space, I speak truth to power loud and clear, and I do so while being proud of my accent. I became an expert in the legislative process, and how to let my identity inform my advocacy work. My voice matters, my story matters, and I am the expert on my lived experiences and how policies affect me and my community; not the old white men who use their roles as politicians for their own personal benefit. They are supposed to serve the people, the people who look like me, talk with a little accent, or have pupusas, and bacon and egg tacos for breakfast.

I am proud to also facilitate conversations with young women like me, where I ask them to dig deep into their ancestral roots and recognize that their voices matter. I do this in the hopes of changing the narratives, faces and beliefs in politics so that no one’s basic needs are challenged, but rather accepted without questioning.