FOX LATINO NEWS
By Susanne Ramírez de Arellano
Published May 10, 2013
Madre is a verb, as the proverb says. It is never a noun. It is an all-encompassing loving frenesí that can overwhelm with its intensity and is never wrong. It is a 24/7 on call, a constant worry and a mistress of the art of multitasking. In my case, it is the Puerto Rican version of the Hindu Goddess Kali, the Gentle Mother and Fierce Warrior, but with a sartén, a mapo and a plate full of consejos in her multiple hands. The doer of it all. Or as my beloved father called it: Mother Hen.A Hispanic Mother is the gift that keeps on giving, even when you wish it would stop. We are overprotective and at times overbearing, but we stand as titans over our children, lionesses at the gates of their lives. The Spanish say that an ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy. I am a Boricua Yoda. We cajole, we demand, we are intrusive in our children’s lives but, we are always there, a constant that will never leave, no matter the passing of time.We are strong, with a strength that, depending on the day, can smell of stubbornness. We are experts at everything. A friend of mine, Federico Rodriguez, product of a Puerto Rican mother, describes us as follows: “They are nurses, teachers, prosecutors, lawyers, cooks, you name it and they can do it.” We can also instill fear just by raising an eyebrow and slowly, with gritted intonation, say the full name of our child to stop him from doing something wrong.
We cajole, we demand, we are intrusive in our children’s lives but, we are always there, a constant that will never leave, no matter the passing of time. I imagine probably much to our children’s chagrin. But, this is my truth and core — my daughter will turn 50 and she will still be la nina, and I will always be Mami.
Susanne Ramirez de Arellano is a freelance writer based in New York City. She is a former News Director for Univision Puerto Rico and has worked for ABC News, the Associated Press Television News in London and CNN International. She writes a Blog for www.magacin.com called Susanne en la Ciudad. Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/opinion/2013/05/10/madre-hispana-is-verb/#ixzz2T4ctvYMa
We cajole, we demand, we are intrusive in our children’s lives but, we are always there, a constant that will never leave, no matter the passing of time. I imagine probably much to our children’s chagrin. But, this is my truth and core — my daughter will turn 50 and she will still be la nina, and I will always be Mami.
Susanne Ramirez de Arellano is a freelance writer based in New York City. She is a former News Director for Univision Puerto Rico and has worked for ABC News, the Associated Press Television News in London and CNN International. She writes a Blog for www.magacin.com called Susanne en la Ciudad. Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/opinion/2013/05/10/madre-hispana-is-verb/#ixzz2T4ctvYMa
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