Balancing Worlds: Embracing Heritage and Adapting to New Cultures with Johanny Ortega

Have you ever felt torn between two worlds, struggling to hold onto your roots while adapting to a new culture? Join me, Johanny Ortega, as we embark on an emotional and enlightening journey in this episode of the Have a Cup of Johanny podcast. Through my personal anecdotes, we'll explore the central themes of my upcoming novel Under the Flamboyant Tree, diving deep into the vibrant and multifaceted cultural tapestry of the Dominican Republic. From the heartwarming to the heart-wrenching, discover how my experiences as an immigrant have shaped my identity and fueled my storytelling.

We'll travel back to my childhood, reliving poignant moments such as my transformative encounter with my aunt in Brooklyn—an encounter that reignited my connection to my Dominican heritage. As we navigate Bianca's journey in the novel, we'll underscore the importance of understanding and embracing one's cultural identity. Get ready for an episode rich with reflections on language, tradition, and the unique blend of influences that make Dominican culture so captivating. This is more than just a story; it's a celebration of who we are and where we come from.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Oh, we could, we could fly. Welcome to this new season of the have a cup of johanni podcast. So I want to title this new season that I'm embarking on with I'm growing, so this is going to be the season of growth and that's what I'm going to share with you throughout the season. So I thank you for coming over here and sitting with me and I hope you enjoy. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to have a Cup of Johnny podcast.

Speaker 1: 0:32

I am Johnny Ortega, and this month we are all about my upcoming novel Under the Flamboyant Tree, and today I am going to take you on this journey, on this trip through the rich cultural landscape that is the Dominican Republic, part of the island that we share with Haiti, and it's not just the Dominican Republic. I just want to make sure that we know that it it's Haiti. End of the Dominican Republic. Okay, all right. And oh, by the way, the geographical location is as much of a character in this book as Bianca herself. I don't think y'all are ready to listen to this. I don't know Y'all ready? Okay, I guess. All right, let's go. And when I talk about this, I tap into my experiences immigrating to the United States from the Dominican Republic. So I dig into that experience quite a lot, for all those emotions, and under the flamboyant tree, the Dominican Republic is not just a backdrop, it's kind of like the soul of the story. Kind of like the soul of the story. Like I said in the first episode, writing about it kind of like, helped me reconnect and tap into that and it brought some sad but yet also some happy moments when it comes to the beauty and the complexity of the Dominican culture. And one of the greatest lessons that I hope to impart through this book is the importance of embracing your cultural identity.

Speaker 1: 2:37

For Bianca, the journey back to the Dominican Republic is not just about uncovering family secrets, although it's a lot of that. Not just about uncovering family secrets although it's a lot of that. It's also about understanding where she comes from and how that has shaped her, and it's a reminder of how our roots play a crucial role in our identity a crucial role. There is something that I remember quite a lot whenever I talk about understanding one's roots and knowing where you come from, and that is something that, as I grew older, I understood the importance of that, because that is what makes us us, and I remember growing up and I didn't know this at the time, but I guess I was a kid that was able to pick up languages very easily. So for me, I was able to pick up English to the point where it was like I was fluent in a short amount of time less than a year, I want to say.

Speaker 1: 3:49

And shortly after that I lost my accent, or most of it, and I remember saying I love English so much that I will never speak Spanish, and I was living with my auntie in Brooklyn at the time. She turned around. You know when your family members, especially these Dominican women, they like just like hand on the hip, turn around and it's like this very slow thing, but you kind of know like you're going to get it. Oh my God. And she did. She put her finger up. Uh, she went down to my height, to my level, and she was like don't you say that, johnny, don't you dare say that. She told me she was like and and back then I didn't understand. I just didn't. I was like a 10-year-old kid at the time. I just thought I was saying the right thing by embracing fully the American culture and getting rid of my Dominican skin per se. And she stopped that, right away, she was like don't you dare say that that is what makes you you.

Speaker 1: 5:05

And yes, language is part of the culture. Language, dialect, foods, dances, traditions, right, all those things is what makes up a culture. And the Dominican culture is rich, rich, rich, rich, rich because it has African culture in it. It has Spaniard, portuguese, taino culture in there. It has all of that mixed in, you know, and then we made it into something that is our own, made it into something that is our own. So, regardless, right, I know, spanish is like the colonizer language that was inflicted upon us in the Dominican Republic, on that side, and it took away a lot of other things. Right, that is indigenous to the island, particularly Taino and the Taino language.

Speaker 1: 6:00

But I find it very miraculous everything else that stayed, you know, even with all the violence that occurred, even with colonization and uncivilized people trying to civilize us let's just say it that way I find it miraculous that we still persevere and we still held on to those traditions, those roots, those cultures. Ooh, those roots, they dug deep into the soil, I'm telling you. They didn't go nowhere, nowhere. So, bianca's story this is for those that feel disconnected from their culture or heritage, kind of like how it happened to me at the beginning, where I thought getting rid of my skin to put on another one was the right thing to do. So that way I can please my hosts of this new country that I'm in. And Bianca kind of does the same thing.

Speaker 1: 7:07

And Bianca es una mezcla. She is a mixture of a lot of different things and stories and aunts and people that I have come across that do just that that. They become so Americanized that they forget who they are, and that's who you will see at the beginning. Is this person that is so afraid to be themselves? But you can kind of tell on the edges that there's a little Dominican girl inside of her, but she tries so hard to hide it.

Speaker 1: 7:48

That is what I explore, particularly in the first few chapters of Bianca while she's still in Massachusetts. Is that tug that she has of between the US and her trying to be a version of an American lady, or what she thinks is an American lady and her roots you know, tugging at her, calling her back right, because the roots go deep, people, they go deep. But that is a call to explore and celebrate and embrace where we come from, no matter how complicated it may be, and In a world that encourages us to blend in or to mold ourselves into something new under the flamboyantry is kind of like this call to action that it is okay to stand out and take pride in our unique cultural backgrounds. And that took a lot for me to be okay with having pride in where I come from, who I am, my beginnings, my genesis and all of that. That took a lot for me to get here to a point and I kind of embark on that journey with Bianca in the beginning of the story as well. And you will see that, and if you are in that journey as well, where you're having a hard time and you're like I want to be this person, but then you feel the tug of the motherland, of the culture that you come from, this will definitely resonate with you.

Speaker 1: 9:38

But I want to hear from you what does heritage mean to you and how do you celebrate your cultural identity? Yo como mangú con los tres golpes. That's a way, right, that's a way. Un poquito de merengue y una bachatica. ¿qué más hago? I don't know, porque cada vez cuando hablo español, se me sale lo dominicano como quiera. So I don't know. You know, I don't know.

Speaker 1: 10:12

Join the conversation. Let me know, how do you embrace that side of you, especially if you're like me, kind of like no, no, ni de aquí ni de allá. Pero if you're like me, where you like you, you jumped from one culture to another and you, embracing one, you kind of like like go up the other one. I want to hear from you, like, how do you maintain right, because I feel like I am my most authentic self when I embrace my culture where I come from, I feel whole when I do that, because it's like it's the thing that embraced me since I was born and I don't know anything else. So that's how it feels for me, but I would love to know how it feels for others. Let me know, join the conversation, hit me up on social media, send me a message and let's celebrate our diverse backgrounds together. And I would love to hear from other people about their diverse cultures and what they do to keep those roots grounded and always nourished. But thank you for joining me on this cultural exploration.

Speaker 1: 11:36

Next week we're going to go into the theme of forgiveness Oof, oof, oof and how it plays a big role in Bianca's journey. A big role, and until then, I want you to celebrate your roots, yes, and celebrate your heritage where you come from. Oh, have a big party for me. All right, I'll see you next week. Bye, thank you so much for listening. I want to hear from you. Leave me a comment, do a rating if you can on the podcast, share it with somebody you love, but, most importantly, come back. See you next time. Bye.