I remember when Juan Luis Guerra's gorgeous ballad of love, "Burbujas de Amor," was released in the early nineties. I mean, it was everywhere! The title means "Bubbles of Love," and I'd translate the rest but that would suck out all the poetry. Seriously. The sentiment would sound fake in English. I'm glad I was too young to understand the overtly sexual refrain. I would have hated this song if I'd realized that when he was saying "pasar la noche entera / mojado en ti" he meant... well, if you don't know I'm certainly not raunchy enough to explain.
Anyway, a few months back I found this sweet video on YouTube linking "Bleach" (supa popular anime) to this bittersweet song. I was so elated! This means that there are others of me out there-- really into anime, and maybe even Japanese culture, but retaining every thread of Latin American fabric within.
I'd say that sometimes I worry about losing my Spanish, as I don't get to use it much. But really, whenever I'm in doubt, I just turn to the music. I still listen to my dad's favorite Mexican singer from the '50s and '60s, Enrique Guzman, and to the queen of grace, Rocio Durcal. I sing along to every word. I may look Anglo and I may have lived in Europe and Asia, but I'm pura mexicana all the way.
