I love this sign! It hangs in my kitchen…
Hola Y’all!
I am launching my blog – Southern Señora!
Latinos have been in the south for a long time – personally, I’ve been in Alabama since 1981, and I’ve seen the landscape change pretty dramatically in that time. There was a time when I could chit-chat in Spanish with my youngest sister at the local mall and no one would understand what we were saying. That’s definitely not the case anymore!
As the Hispanic community began expanding in the Birmingham region in the late 1990s, it wasn’t uncommon to hear Spanish being spoken more and more. And Latinos began exploring small business ownership and other entrepreneurial ventures. Translation businesses, Hispanic marketing firms, and Spanish-language newspapers and radio stations began popping up, just to name a few. More Mexican restaurants sprouted too and some restaurants had one standard menu for the general public, but would post a more traditional menu on the door for their Mexican clientele. I remember how excited my dad was about seeing “menudo” – a spicy traditional Mexican soup made from tripe – posted on the door of our favorite local restaurant bringing back memories of when grew up in Carlsbad, New Mexico.
Latinos are making tremendous contributions in Alabama, be it through business, art, culture, or non-profit work. Sharing their great work and stories is part of what I want this blog to be about. I’ve made some great friends over the past 15 years as a Hispanic community volunteer. I love being able to connect people and then watch what happens next!
I will also be sharing stories about my Mexican-American family – hence the title of this post! More details on this later but just to tease a little – my dad was born in Carlsbad, New Mexico of Mexican-American parents – my blonde-haired-green-eyed mom was born in Oneonta, Alabama – they met and married in Cambodia, and I was born in Bangkok, Thailand. Whew!!! See what I mean?
As other Hispanic or Multicultural related subjects and “odds and ends” pop up, I’ll share those too. And finally, I’ll be sharing a LOT of photographs! It’s been a hobby of mine for many years and I like to think I’ve been influenced by my father’s amateur photography. He was such a perfectionist and had quite an eye for composing a photograph. You’ll see some of his photos here too.
So let’s get this blog started…VAMONOS!
Southern Señora 
I love your story and l’m very much looking forward to reading more in your blog! YAY!
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Thank you so much Karri! I am excited about what comes next! So many thoughts I’m working on at the moment! Stay tuned…
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Congrats on your new blog! I am very excited about it. You definitely had a wild family adventure that led you to AL. I’ve visited various areas of Mexico over since the late 90s and have always loved the people, the land, and especially the food. There are some great restaurants here in the Birmingham area and I’m always hoping to find more. I’m curious, what’s your favorite place to eat in Bham?
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Thanks Chris! I am looking forward to sharing more about my family and events in Birmingham! Thanks for coming along for the ride! I have to say, there are a few restaurants that I like but our neighborhood restaurant, Las Brisas – in Hoover, is one of my favs. Maria and Juan Adan are wonderful people. Juan is Cuban and used to have a Cuban restaurant on Hwy 280 a few years ago. I tell you, he makes a mean Cuban Sandwich, which I LOVE!!! I also like Little Donkey in Homewood and you can’t beat Cantina Laredo and their Guacamole made at your table!
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Congratulations on launching your blog! Loved this post and looking forward to more!
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Thank you Bertha! You have inspired me to move forward with this! I can’t wait to share more!
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