Nina Feliz Gonzales

As a white-facing, very pale skinned Latinx/White woman, I struggled with multiple layers of confusion; my Latinx culture maintains a strong "Spanish" identity, effectively white-washing our indigenous Mexican heritage, my skin color afforded acute privilege and also meant acute exclusion from traditional Latinx culture, and my family did not address issues of mixedness as we were growing up. The Mixed Bloom Room is an entirely safe space to explore mixed identity, no matter your culture, history, family, how you present, or any other complicating factor you might be experiencing in relation to mixedness. There is no need to justify mixed identity and that we all belong. Sarah Lotus cultivates the "blooming" with a sense of joy and ease- a much needed approach to this deep work. I was nervous about working as a group, but it ended up being the best part of the garden as I was able to understand that so many of my struggles as a mixed person are shared by mixed people all over the world and it meant the world to know that I am not a lone flower, but standing in a colorful field of blooms!