A quien corresponda:
You Americans’ misguided suggestion that we Mexicans relentlessly pursue formal naturalization reveals your sheer ignorance of our community, for, while my daily engagements keep me in this city, my heart, my tongue, my raíces lie in México. However, this contradiction of identities does not in the slightest negate my investment in one of these countries in comparison to the other. I am, indeed, neither a Mexican American nor an American with a Mexican past but a Mexican now living here in Los Ángeles. 
Further, my path does not mirror the ones your ancestors took to arrive here. Though you might tell stories of your courageous forefathers who braved the Atlantic, my translocation from the sweet soil of México has not resulted in any such tales. I live on the outskirts of the city, with others who share that experience, and do what I can to get by. Your predecessors’ journey was an extension of the ones that preceded him, echoing the quintessential American narrative of seeking out a better life; mine is one painted with discrimination and framed by exclusion. Our two stories will never be the same until the society which we entered perceives us in same way as well.
Atentamente,
Zeferino Ramírez

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