{"id":528,"date":"2017-02-27T09:00:33","date_gmt":"2017-02-27T14:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=528"},"modified":"2017-02-23T15:23:26","modified_gmt":"2017-02-23T20:23:26","slug":"myrna-garcia-calderon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=528","title":{"rendered":"Myrna Garc\u00eda-Calder\u00f3n"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>The Power of Identity<\/h1>\n<p><em>By Marisol Hernandez | Photo provided by CNY Latino<\/em><\/p>\n<p>When she arrived in the United States in 1979, Myrna Garc\u00eda Calder\u00f3n, the director of Syracuse University\u2019s Latino-Latin American Studies program, never intended to call the country home.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the longest mental temporary stay in the history of the universe,\u201d she joked.<\/p>\n<p>Though she was born in East Harlem, Myrna spent the majority of her young life in Puerto Rico. Having been encouraged by her father to work hard and follow her dreams, Myrna studied at the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras, and then returned to the United States for post-graduate studies at the University of California at Berkeley.<\/p>\n<p>Myrna\u2019s career \u2014 which includes time teaching at University of California at Santa Cruz and Berkeley, Wisconsin University, Cornell University and others \u2014 has given her the opportunity to examine different communities, from small towns and villages to large universities. In her travels, she\u2019s drawn from her varied experiences to author two books and several articles.<\/p>\n<p>Myrna\u2019s been able to navigate where she goes and who she is, as well as how she presents herself. Knowing one\u2019s ethnic national origin is important, she said. In that sense, she believes in the notion of multiple identities, especially for Latina women who have had to constantly work on who they are.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am not a mother [and] I was married,\u201d Myrna explained, \u201cbut in this case, what is your social role within a society that somehow has certain expectations for you and certain expectations of Latina women? For Latina women who choose to follow a slightly different trajectory, there is a series of expectations and constant negotiations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Myrna\u2019s most recent book is entitled \u201cMemory Spaces in the Hispanic Caribbean and Its Insular Diasporas.\u201d In the work, she examines the idea of origin, and how it is marked through physical space.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe cities in particular that I have worked on in this case have to do with the social expectations we have inherited over time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Citing the work of the late poet Judith Ortiz Cofer, Myrna explained that forgetfulness is a dangerous thing, and the impact of various cultural aspects changes a person.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn that sense, I believe that and confess that my first years here, I saw myself as Puerto Rican, not Latina, because I had no interest in staying here. I always wanted to return,\u201d she said. \u201cSaying that does not mean that I was not in support and that I did not recognize that I was part of a group that was negotiating two realities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>People develop ethics at an early age, Myrna said. In the book, she explored a little bit of that \u2014 how these ever-evolving ethics help people form identities. In her own life, the idea of moving the family forward and creating opportunities for other women has been crucial.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe all walk with a suitcase. In that suitcase, we have our favorite things or the important ones which are fundamental to us. And in that sense, what we are putting in that suitcase changes along with time,\u201d Myrna said. \u201cI believe that without a doubt, you carry your traditions, your country [and] your notion of family.\u201d <strong><em>SWM<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>This article was provided by the CNY Latino newspaper, the only Hispanic-oriented publication in Central New York. The Spanish version of this article can be read in the March edition of CNY Latino, in both the traditional paper version and the digital format at <a href=\"http:\/\/cnylatinonewspaper.com\" target=\"_blank\">cnylatinonewspaper.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Power of Identity By Marisol Hernandez | Photo provided by CNY Latino When she arrived in the United States in 1979, Myrna Garc\u00eda Calder\u00f3n, the director of Syracuse University\u2019s Latino-Latin American Studies program, never intended to call the country home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[138,139,167,140,137],"class_list":["post-528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-cny-latina","tag-cny-latino","tag-march-2017","tag-marisol-hernandez","tag-myrna-garcia-calderon"],"gutentor_comment":0,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Z_CNY-Latina-0317_ONLINE-1.jpg?fit=3120%2C2084&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":683,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=683","url_meta":{"origin":528,"position":0},"title":"Jessica Lynn Huertas-Pringle","author":"Staff","date":"April 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"At Home in the Community By Marisol Hernandez | Photography\u00a0courtesy CNY Latino\u00a0 Jessica Lynn Huertas-Pringle, the unit director at the Hamilton Street Boys and Girls Club, considers herself blessed to have her unique cultural background. \u201cI am half Puerto Rican and half Polish,\u201d Jessica shared proudly. 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Syracuse University\u2019s Whitman School of Management refers to the practice with a three-word slogan: \u201cDream, believe, pursue.\u201d Gabriela Escalante, Syracuse University alumna, current entrepreneur-in-residence at the Whitman School of Management and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Features&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Features","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?cat=101"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Z_CNYL-April-17_01.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Z_CNYL-April-17_01.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Z_CNYL-April-17_01.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Z_CNYL-April-17_01.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Z_CNYL-April-17_01.jpg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":312,"url":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=312","url_meta":{"origin":528,"position":2},"title":"Rosemary Arroyo-P\u00e9rez","author":"Staff","date":"January 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Healthy Family By Marisol Hernandez | Photography provided by CNY Latino Rosemary Arroyo-P\u00e9rez, a first generation Puerto Rican hailing from New York City, fell in love with Syracuse when she moved to the area as a teenager 31 years ago. 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