One Day At A Time

I don’t know if any of you have seen One Day At A Time but I highly recommend it. It is a really amazing show that showcases a Cuban family in California. If that isn’t enough it also stars Rita Moreno aka Anita from West Side Story! It’s on Netflix and has 2 seasons!

 

I lost my connection to Spanish and I lost my connection to you

I really like this show because it was based off a show of the same name from the 1975-1984 that showed an American (white) family. Netflix picked it up last year and now it shows a Cuban family of color. It is hilarious with episodes focusing on such relevant topics that families deal with today like immigration, PTSD, and coming out to your family. Anyone can watch this and find a character that reminds them of their own family members. Lydia is a mix between my Abuela and my mom and Alex makes me think of an older version of my 6 year old brother. But, as I watched season 2 there was one episode that struck out to me. I won’t spoil it too much for you guys incase you want to watch it. But, I will talk about the relationship between Elena and her Abuela Lydia. They aren’t as close as Alex (Elena’s younger brother) and Lydia. Lydia even calls Alex by the affectionate nickname, Papito. It’s hard for Elena and I realized that I really related to their dynamic. I understood Elena. Elena is considered a bit of an outsider in her family because she can’t speak Spanish. Or can she? It is hinted that as a young girl something happened to her that made her shut herself off. She let herself lose her Spanish but she’s trying to get it back. I’m going through something very similar. I wish it was going for me as well as it is going for Elena but, I’m getting there. My family calls me the gringa of the family and sometimes I wonder how different my life would be if I never stopped speaking Spanish when I was younger? Would I feel closer to my family? Would I have a better relationship with them? I don’t know if anything would be different. But, I do know that this show is helping me through some tough times in my life. And I’m grateful. One Day At A Time shows why representation matters.