Asian-Latino Americans Reveal the Challenges of Being Uniquely Biracial

Several biracial Americans shared their personal accounts of being mixed, but they share a common ground — struggling to find a place where they can perfectly fit in.

According to AsAmNews, a half-Nicaraguan, half-Korean American named Nicole had difficulties fully assimilating her distinctly different heritage, she revealed in a YouTube video.

Nicole realized that she couldn’t fully identify with just one culture, yet felt that it’s her duty to pass on the traditions of her mixed heritage to the next generation.

“As time goes on I feel like there’s going to be more mixed people anyways,” she added.

Another Asian-Hispanic named Joseph struggled to find acceptance and a community that caters to his half-Chinese, half-Mexican heritage. He recalled not being able to fit in because finding Chinese-Mexican peers was already difficult enough for him.

Celeste is another Asian-Hispanic American who had a hard time explaining to people that she wasn’t “Filipina”. Aside from being mistaken as a different race, she also had to deal with being called racially offensive insults such as “wetback chink” or “greaser.”

Despite the challenges, Celeste, who is of Latina-Chinese descent, believes that multiracial children are “the future” of the U.S. and hopes for a time when the country will be filled with children of various multicultural backgrounds.

According to the Los Angeles Times, even young Asian-Hispanic kids like 12-year-old Jessie Ozaeta are often pushed to awkward situations by peers mostly due to having parents of different races. The half-Korean, half-Belizean Ozaeta also struggled in being accepted in Korean communities because he looks more Hispanic.

“My friends think that it’s weird that my mom is Asian and my dad’s Hispanic because they look totally different, and I only look like my dad,” he told the newspaper.

Ozaeta relied on Korean TV dramas to help him learn more about Korea’s culture and food, promising to travel and experience it with his family.

“The culture is very interesting,” Ozaeta said.

Featured Image Via YouTube / Nicole