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Category: Introductions to the Outdoors

My Passion for the Outdoors as a Mexican American

This time on #YoCuento2020, Maritza Oropeza, an outdoor enthusiast whose go-getter approach to life is a gift from her mother, shares with us her story of discovering a love for the natural world as a young adult.

por Maritza Oropeza

In typical Latino culture, daughters are taught how to clean and cook to keep their men happy. Not me, I was raised by a single mom who worked two jobs and cleaned houses on the weekends. I was shown the miracles of what Fabuloso could do in a bathroom and how Vicks VapoRub could cure anything. I was taught to be a strong, independent, classy, go-getter that don’t need a man but when they get one, he’ll appreciate everything she has to offer.

I grew up in the small town of Grover Beach on the central coast in California. I was educated in predominantly white schools with most of my friends being gringas. Sleepovers were almost like a rite of passage for my sisters and me. They weren’t allowed. My Mexican mom could never understand why I’d want to sleep at someone else’s house. Especially, when I had a home to sleep in.

Many future outdoor adventures await the author.

We grew up poor but never without. My mom always reminded us that we had to work twice as hard because we were Mexican American. “We gotta prove to the Mexicans how Mexican we are and we gotta prove to the Americans how American we are.” As a teenager, trying to understand that was exhausting.

When I grew older and moved away to college, friends introduced me to the outdoors. I went on my first hike when I was 23 years old in Eugene, Oregon. It was beautiful and something I remember only seeing in posters or movies. Growing up, I was completely unaware of hiking, climbing and camping. Those outlets weren’t available for my sisters and me. Vacations were nonexistent, as my mother had no leisure time.

“Growing up, I was completely unaware of hiking, climbing and camping. Those outlets weren’t available for my sisters and me. Vacations were nonexistent, as my mother had no leisure time”.

Maritza Oropeza

After moving back home from college, I saw my younger self in Latino kids. I thought about how when I was their age, not long ago, it would have never have crossed my mind that you could just find a trail in the woods or along the coast and explore the natural world. It was never for lack of imagination or desire for new experiences. Those things are innate in every child. What was missing was someone to nurture and encourage them. Someone who was willing to pass along the joy that had been shared with them before.

When I turned 26, I got the opportunity to go to Yosemite with a group of friends from California whom I had met through an outdoor meetup. Everything about preparing for the trip felt foreign to me. I had to buy hiking boots, backpack, tent, socks. Anything and everything you could think of, I didn’t have.

A proud moment

My first summit was Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. It is one of my proudest moments. A seventeen-mile hike that brought us over 4,800ft in elevation. It was the most challenging thing I had done. Once I reached the summit, I was able to take in those Yosemite Valley views. It was truly magical. I rested and sat on top of the granite dome, taking in all its beauty. It was breathtaking, and I didn’t want that moment to end.

“My first summit was Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. It is one of my proudest moments”.

Maritza Oropeza

When I got back home from Yosemite, the first thing I did was look up the next hike I wanted to do and what groups I could become a part of. As I participated more in outdoor culture, I could see the barriers and how they exclude communities of color. Limiting outdoors culture to a “white people thing” seemed more apparent than ever and I vowed to change that.

For the next few years, I spent my vacations from work backpacking at National Parks every year. I am at 22 parks and counting.

“As I participated more in outdoor culture, I could see the barriers and how they exclude communities of color”.

Maritza Oropeza
The author’s passion for the outdoors comes across through her different adventures.

Now living in Portland, Oregon as an adult and having the knowledge I do about how excluded you can feel as a minority in a predominantly white town, makes me want to share my knowledge with all the Latino youths out there. As I embrace my identity as a Latina who loves nature, I still often feel culturally separate from the outdoor community. My goal is to give people of color and all youths access to the outdoors. Being poor should not be a barrier to the beauty of the outdoors. I want to empower young Latinos to believe that anything is possible even if our skin color is different.

Think About that Moment…and Vote

In this installment of #YoCuento2020, Christian Arana, Policy Director for the Latino Community Foundation, recalls the moment he fell in love with the outdoors and urges us to make our voice and vote count in tomorrow’s Super Tuesday primary elections.

por Christian Arana

I have never been a nature person. In fact, the very thought of spending time outdoors brought misconceived notions of being pestered by bugs, climbing over fallen branches, and having no cell service to connect with the outside world.

Christian Arana, Policy Director for the Latino Community Foundation

But all that changed when I went camping for the first time in the summer of 2018.

Allow me to set the stage. A Latino kid from Los Angeles, CA with no tent, no sleeping pad, and no idea of how to start a fire goes off to Lake Tahoe to sleep outdoors with his friends. Luckily for him, his friends are quite experienced with camping and provide him with the necessary equipment and guidance.

But all goodwill towards this new experience is quickly erased when the campsite is paid a special visit by a brown bear. Not knowing what to do, he defers to his friends to scare off the bear and ensure that all food is securely stored in what I eventually learned is called the “bear box.”

And I’ll admit. I barely slept at all that night. But in the midst of being awake and listening to the sounds of nature, I quickly realized the sacredness of this experience. How clean the air and how bright the stars above me I thought to myself. And despite the fear that a bear visit brought upon me, I also thought of how I was just a visitor to this land, and how future generations can and should experience the beauty of this place and many places like it across the world.

It was a brief, terrifying, but edifying experience. It’s part of the reason why I am turning out to vote on March 3 for the California Presidential Primary.

At stake in this election is selecting a president who will craft policies that will protect our environment. Latinos come from a culture that respects and depends on the outdoors for survival. So, it is imperative that we all do our homework to see who is best positioned to ensure that our community can access and enjoy the outdoors for years to come.

The polling data supports it. According to a poll commissioned by the Latino Community Foundation in November 2019, combating climate change and pollution is one of the top 10 issues on the minds of registered Latino voters. For if climate change continues to erode our ability to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and be at peace in the world via the outdoors, it is not only harmful to our community, but to the world at large.

The author during a joint Latino Community Foundation – Latino Outdoors hike on 9/21/2019 at Lands End, Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco

On March 3, I ask all of you to think about the moment you fell in love with the natural world. Was it through a quiet walk in the forest? A camping experience on the beach? Or even climbing a mountain in one of our national parks?

Take that moment into the polling place. And exercise your right to vote!

Taki-lovin’ Park Ranger Shares Her Story and Insight

For the first Yo Cuento Blog installment of 2020, immigrant and NPS Park Ranger, Cristina Martínez, generously shared some of her story with Christian La Mont, LO’s Social Media and Los Angeles Program Coordinator.

Christian La Mont: What is your name and where do you currently live?

Cristina Martínez: I am Cristina Martínez from Los Angeles, CA.

CLM: What was your first memory of the outdoors?

CM: Either looking for bugs in my abuela’s garden or going to a city park.

Abuela’s garden

CLM: Can you give us some background about your personal and professional relationship to the outdoors? 

CM: For a significant part of my life, I have considered urban parks my “great outdoors.” I grew up in a Mexico City neighborhood that had quite a number of urban parks and deportivos (parks with fields for different kinds of sports) within walking distance, so I spent a lot of time playing soccer with other kids. My family would also take frequent trips to el Bosque de Chapultepec, one of the largest urban parks in the Western Hemisphere.

“For a significant part of my life, I have considered urban parks my “great outdoors.”

Cristina Martínez

Not long after I turned 9 years old, my mom made the tough decision to leave the country and migrate to the “U.S.” in the search of “better opportunities.” This meant leaving behind my home, family members, friends, and also my connection to parks that had been an integral part of my childhood.

Once in this country, I wasn’t spending a lot of time in the outdoors for different reasons our community is too familiar with: (1) discriminatory policies that have placed more refineries than green spaces where we lived in Wilmington, CA; (2) no reliable transportation to go anywhere far, as we couldn’t afford a car for many years; (3) my mom was working multiple jobs as a housekeeper, making free time a luxury that wasn’t going to be spent going outdoors.

9th grade Cristina on her first overnight outing

It wasn’t until high school that I got to reconnect with the outdoors in a larger capacity when I became a member of my high school’s Environmental Club and got to partake in outings to places such as the so called San Bernardino and Santa Monica Mountains. Thanks to a special partnership with the Sierra Club, this organization sponsored our outings by providing transportation, gear, and guides so that we would have accessible and safe trips. I once again began to have an intimate relationship with the outdoors that continued to flourish and eventually influence my career interests.

Through classes offered by my college’s environmental science department, I was given the privilege to conduct ecology research in some incredible ecosystems.  My introduction to the US National Park System was through a marine ecology field course that took place in Virgin Islands National Park, the very first National Park I visited.

CLM: What is the Latino Heritage Internship Program, and how did you first hear about it? 

CM: The Latino Heritage Internship program (LHIP) is part of a larger initiative by Hispanic Access Foundation to increase the involvement and representation of Latinxs in “public” lands. The internship program does so by collaborating with the National Park Service and offering paid internships for underrepresented groups to work in various National Park Service units across the nation.

I heard about LHIP through social media, in what I would say was a stroke of luck. I happened to be scrolling down my feed on Facebook when I saw an older student at my undergrad institution share it on Facebook.

Cristina, during her Latino Conservation Week event as part of LHIP

CLM: Is that how you started your career with the National Park Service?

CM: Definitely. I would not have considered a career with the NPS if it wasn’t for LHIP.

“I would not have considered a career with the NPS if it wasn’t for LHIP”.

Cristina Martínez

CLM: Tell us about some of your impressions and experiences as a Latina in the National Park Service?

CM: Though I have been grateful to work in some truly gorgeous and dynamic places, it has come at the cost of being away from my community and dealing with constant microaggressions. Being a seasonal Park Ranger comes with a lot of challenges already, a big one being not having guaranteed employment year round, which is not sustainable and serves as an institutional barrier towards low-income individuals. Add to that the challenges that come with being a woman of color, and it can be discouraging to remain in this line of work. It is clear as day that the workforce of the National Park Service does not reflect the demographics of our country, which is why programs such as LHIP exist as a response to the lack of representation of individuals from various groups.

Along those lines, I’ve had many Latinx visitors come up to me and express how excited they are to see for the first time a Park Ranger that “looks like them.” These are interactions I have treasured, for not only do they validate the significance of having our communities represented, but serve as reminder to continue pushing the agency towards actions to create a truly inclusive workplace. I am extremely grateful for the many individuals that have and continue to put in the work towards transforming the “NPS culture” as a whole.

CLM: You’ve taken amazing photos of your time in the NPS, how important is storytelling to you as a Latina in the outdoors?

CM: Storytelling is transformative, validating, and a way of communication that I am still learning a lot about. When I read stories from other people who’ve had similar life experiences, it validates my feelings and has served as a huge part of healing for myself.  As an interpreter and storyteller, I have the platform to tell the stories that places hold to visitors, especially the stories that are difficult but important to share. I have the platform to figuratively and literally pass the mic to voices that continue to be erased so that they tell their story. And with this platform, I have also found it important to share my personal story with the outdoors to visitors. Not because I am seeking acceptance from them; but instead, to disrupt the “mainstream” outdoor narrative. I tell my story for those in the audience that have similar experiences as mine, for it may make them realize they are not alone in the way they have experienced the outdoors.

“And with this platform, I have also found it important to share my personal story with the outdoors to visitors. Not because I am seeking acceptance from them; but instead, to disrupt the “mainstream” outdoor narrative”.

Cristina Martínez

CLM: What are some of your favorite memories of nature: sights, sounds, smells, etc?

CM: I love the smell and sound of the ocean.

Kayaking!

CLM: How did it feel to go from a city like Los Angeles to a vast wilderness?

CM: It was quite the transition in many different ways. For instance, I went from L.A. traffic to a place that only has one road and no stoplights. Though not dealing with traffic was nice, it was isolating to be away from my family and ethnic community.  I mean, the one grocery store in town didn’t have Takis!

CLM: What advice would you give to a young Latinx person who might be interested in a career in the outdoors?

CM: There will be people like professors and academic “advisors” that will push the importance of internships, even if they’re unpaid because at least it’s “good experience.”  Although it may be tempting to go for the unpaid internship since the environmental field is flooded with them (though I am noticing more paid opportunities in the field), time and labor should be paid. While there is potential worth in doing an unpaid internship (I did one summer of 2015 while working simultaneously at another job), the priority should be well-being. It is so crucial to ask oneself if having little to no income will create a stressful situation and if this stress is worth the “experience” of said opportunity. It is also important to remind yourself of your worth and be surrounded by a community that will remind you of that when you can’t yourself. “Imposter syndrome” made me feel inadequate to apply for paid internships that I did come across, making me believe that I was only worthy of “unpaid” opportunities. In conclusion: Apply for paid opportunities if that’s what you need, because they will expose you to different ways one can have a career in the outdoors.

CLM: What advice would you give yourself from 10 years ago?

CM: Don’t be so critical and harsh on yourself; and that the boy your after isn’t gonna matter!

CLM: Any last thoughts or closing words? 

CM: I am so thankful for this community that challenges me to be better and continue learning (and unlearning) even if it makes me uncomfortable. That is why I consider storytelling transformative: because it is a powerful tool that changes perspectives. Thank you for having a platform where we can share those stories.