Marvelous accounting of a sojourn!

give me a break that article is so phony you can see the other side.

FYI the oscars are over honey.

My roots are in Sweden, Norway (second generation American on my father's side)Scotland and Native American, but honey--I AM home! I don't long for some mythical homeland far away. I AM AN AMERICAN, no matter where my ancestors may have lived. America raised me, nutured me, and educated me. I owe Her my loyalty and my fealty.

Just FYI -- My father-in-law who passed away a week ago, was a well known Meso-American archeologist and the world's leading expert on the Aztecs. This mythical Aztlan of yours? Never existed. The reconquista movement in this country used to crack him up. If you really want to go back to your roots, then you should head for Siberia. Ultimately, that's where your "people" came from sixteen thousand years ago. By the way, the Apache in me takes exception to the "Aztlan" claiming of the southwestern part of the U.S. It belongs to the Nde, the People.

As an American with roots in the Caribbean, I understand this quest for homeland. I too romanticize my mother's island of Puerto Rico, and like Lisa I recognize the rose-colored glasses I wear, but it comforts me. It is a way of connecting with my mother whose loss I still feel.

This is not a "phony" piece, or Lisa's rejection of her American home, but rather a tale of her process to merge both worlds together,honoring where she is now, and where her family came from.

Brava.

I'm of Cherokee and Scotch/Irish ancestry. My family has always celebrated our Scotch/Irish heritage and pretty much ignored our Cherokee side. As a result I've always wanted to know more about my Native American roots and as I found out more, that half of my family has called to me in a very basic, spiritual way.

It's become important for me to connect and understand what the Cherokee side of my heritage is about - warts and all. Yes, I'm an American, but I'm also the sum of what both sides of my ancestry brought to the American experience.

Ultimately, I don't think this article is about longing for a mythical homeland/cultural experience or denying your "Americanism". I think it's an exploration of Lisa Alvarado's feelings regarding her heritage and how that will better help her to understand herself and her family's place in the American experience. I can relate to and appreciate what Lisa is saying and that's why I found the article thoughtful, interesting and enjoyable.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the story of your quest for the cultural heritage you might easily have ignored. Your passion translates well into the written word, and I congratulate you for pursuing a goal that is not always "popular" in today's society.

I don't understand what someone would see as "phony" in this article. It is a well-written piece about a woman searching to blend all of the aspects of her cultural heritage. I can definitely relate to the ideas that this author mentions: the longing for identity, the interest in things that might be forbidden by some in her family, the appreciation for the nuances of her country and her ancestry. I truly enjoyed reading this and admire the author for her honesty and her lush writing style.

Beautifully written and heartfelt essay on Lisa's personal experience. We all come from somewhere else; some just came sooner. I don't see why one can't honor one's roots while still loving this country. The two things aren't mutually exclusive.

As one who came many generations before on one side, and only two generations ago on the other, I can understand the desire to explore where one came from and what has made you who you are.

Thanks for sharing a bit of your own personal experience.

I find it interesting that "the world's leading expert on the Aztecs" wouldn't call them the Mexica, which is the proper term. Azteca means featherworker in Nahuatl which is what Cortes wrongly thought the people as a whole were called.

Mexico-Tenochitlan territories went a lot farther than most people know and the travel from the Aztlan homeland is documented. Some people put it in Utah some in other states but the Mexica came from the Southwest. The land of the seven caves was real.

As far as your roots being from Sweden, Scotland and all the rest, well that's just lovely. It's great that you consider yourself home. How nice for you. But then, you're not living on occupied land. Your people aren't still being subjected are they? Do your Swedish relatives have the enemy living right in thier own land? Do they have to live side by side with them day after day? Don't presume to know what it's like. Don't presume that another person's journey and search for her homeland, her ancestral longing is less than it is. You need to reassess yourself.

I understand and respect your yearning, Lisa. A person is always more than the sum of her parts, but your heritage is a huge part of what makes you who you are. I say brava, woman, for seeking and finding the elements that resonate in your soul, the poetry that allows you to express who you are!

Excellent story of being culture-lost here and culture-shocked there. There is both The American Dream and a profound need of Mexicans to return to their roots.

My grandfather came by way of other countries and directions but, as so many do or did, he came and fought those prejudices to raise the generation before me who totally bought into the American Dream and lived it.

I enjoyed your article immensely. In 10 years living in Mexico I have met many Mexicans who go to the US to earn more or long to. All share that longing to return far more, it seems, than others. Much like the perpetual longing of the Miami Cubans who may soon be torn between racial memories of "The Lost City" and being Americans living The Dream.

"admire the author for her honesty and her lush writing style"

That's the way to do it. Resolve to write lushly with delicate but powerful deliciousness.

I am voluptuous orgasmic warrior woman hear me roar with fullness and confidence.

Lisa, good stuff ... the great thing about societies built on migration from diverse cultures is that, a generation or two down the track, the chorizos become a part of the new culture. They just get eaten with pizza instead. Great to look for your roots and for meaning to your life, but in my case, like you, I've tried hard to look as well at the new, not just the old. The old takes me back centuries, but doesn't give me the same hope for the future.

What I see through all this is a mingling of old societies and cultures all based around the acceptance of new values and a new way of life. Perfect.