Over the past several decades, the Southeastern US has been newly transformed by the addition
of Spanish speaking peoples.
When I came I liked like, um, everybody would look at me,
they didn't know if I was black and white, there wasn't many Hispanics in this area.
So it has changed a lot.
The community was mainly Caucasian and African American and there were no Mexican stores
at all in that area.
And now everywhere you go, you'll find Mexican stores.
There's definitely more venues now.
There's like about one, two, three, four, five clubs that I can think of on the top of my head
There's always something to do on the weekends here, Latin dance-wise.
So that's good.
There's places that are opening up downtown for us now because back in the days, I mean,
we couldn't get in these ones downtown.
I think like the band itself is a product of what's happening in North Carolina, basically.
Like you were saying, why now? It's like, why not?
We have the ingredients.
The accents are different and if you are Hispanic, you pick it up.
You know, like, when you're American, you know somebody's from Boston versus California.
You know.
I can tell you if someone's from Costa Rica versus Puerto Rico or versus Dominican.
The only one I have a little bit of problem with is Nicaragua, for instance.
I don't see enough of Nicaraguans.
It's really common when you know both language and sometimes you just speaking, "Ay, que pasó,
you know, how was yesterday, que ví" You know, stuff like that.
What I've noticed among my friends, they use some words from English and they translate
it or use it into the Spanish in a way that is not English, it's not Spanish.
Like "watchale".
"Watchale" is "watch out".
It comes from the "watch out" in English and "fijate".
In Spanish
So they mixed the sense or the meanings and getting into this word "watchale".
It's kind of funny.
But it works for them.
The unique aspect of learning English in the Southeast is the particular mixture of Spanish
features with Southern features.
I still got relatives in New York and it's amazing, they say, "You have a Southern accent."
That's right.
I said, "What??" They said, "Yeah, yeah you sound Southern." I said, "What?"
But I've been here 22 years so maybe I do and I don't recognize it.
If I go to Houston they already know where I'm from.
"Aw, you're from North Carolina," 'cause of the way I speak.
You know. So I guess they can tell and I can tell, you know?
And I'm like, how can you tell?
Sometimes I wish I'd lose my accent, you know, because like even if I'm speaking on
the phone, "Oh hey, Maria."
I'm like, "How'd you know it was me?"
"Well..."
Speaking English, I've definitely picked up the "y'all," which everybody tries to correct you on
"Ain't."
Maybe a lot of the words, maybe I pick up with a Southern drawl anyway.
I know I'm Mexican to whatever degree that might be.
That's where my family's from.
I speak Spanish, I still eat Mexican food at home, and you know there's definitely a
lot of things in the way I think and do things that are always going to be stuck to me being
Mexican.
So it's a mixture of cultures.
Working at Chik-Fil-A, I've gotten to hear, like, people from around like different places.
And they always tell us how when they come in there and hear our accents they think it's
so funny because it's so different from up there like where they live at.
There's this one lady from England and she trips, like she's just so, she thinks it's
so funny whenever she hears us talk.
But she has a different accent, too.