What’s wrong with being a no sabo?
In the latest episode of “The De Los Podcast,” hosts and Times editors Fidel Martinez and Suzy Exposito discuss how individuals connect with their identity through Spanish, while also diving into the complicated history associated with the language.
Joined by Gabriela Gonzalez — a producer and host with Spanish Sin Pena, a community platform designed to help U.S. Latinos practice and improve their Spanish-language skills — the discussion tackles the idea of shame head on, particularly the concept of being a “no sabo,” a term often used derogatorily to describe someone of Latino descent who does not know Spanish.
“I reached a point in my life where I was frustrated that I felt like I had lost my Spanish. It was my first language,” shared Gonzalez.
In 2023, Pew Research reported that 75% of American Latinos said they could speak Spanish and 85% believed it was important for future generations of Latinos to speak Spanish.
However, that was not the case for Gonzalez, who grew up in Miami. She recalled early memories of a 1980 Dade County ordinance that declared English the official language in the area, which prohibited Spanish from being spoken in government buildings. The act itself was fueled by anti-immigrant sentiment following the refugee exodus from Cuba, also known as the Mariel boatlift, which brought approximately 125,000 Cubans to Florida.
“I remember I had a babysitter who basically called me stupid, I must have been like 4, because I couldn’t understand her,” said Gonzalez, who learned English by watching the PBS TV show “Sesame Street.”
But there was a switch that occurred as Gonzalez got older — and as the Metro-Dade County Commission voted to repeal the language law in 1993 — where family members would then criticize her Spanish-speaking abilities. In that same 2023 Pew Research report, over half of non-Spanish-speaking Latinos reported being shamed for not knowing the language.
Gonzalez herself wouldn’t address her relationship with Spanish until her father faced a health issue that limited her from communicating with another family member.
“That’s when I really got frustrated. This is now preventing me from connecting with a family member,” said Gonzalez. “I want to be able to order in confidence or speak in confidence or go to a family party and not feel like a weirdo because my Spanish is not perfect. But that’s what really motivated me.”
Martinez had his own take on why someone might want to reclaim the Spanish language — which itself has been a controversial language because of its forced application during centuries of colonization in Latin America.
“For a lot of us, we associate Spanish with our culture and our heritage, where we are from,” said Martinez. “Although, if we’re being completely honest, Spanish is also a language that was beaten into people.”
Exposito delved into her own experience, explaining that her Cuban grandmother witnessed Catholic nuns beat her classmates if they spoke anything other than English. As a result, Exposito’s father and uncle were not taught Spanish because her grandmother believed it would not make them employable, a belief that was also passed down to her.
“He really wanted me to be successful, he didn’t want me to be held back for having an accent,” said Exposito. “[But] the fact of the matter is that I’ve still experienced discrimination for being Latina. Being raised in an English household didn’t keep me sheltered from racism and xenophobia.”
Privately, Exposito began reconnecting with the Spanish language through writing poetry.
“In order to build a stronger relationship with Spanish, I had to start not from a place of shame but from a place of curiosity,” said Exposito. “That was the arbiter of being able to speak authentically in Spanish which comes easier some days than others.”
For Exposito, who at various points in her life would describe herself as a “no sabo,” she has a piece of advice for the viewers and listeners alike:
“We should lean into speaking Spanish more, even if it is clumsy,” said Exposito. “In a country where native English speakers are mixing you and your, there, they’re and their, who cares?”
You can watch the full episode below:
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