This is an interesting story about a valuable American citizen whose family came from Mexico. His big regret is not making sure all his family is bilingual now, they have almost all lost their Spanish. DP
By: Chad Frey, Newton Kansan
thekansan.com: When asked about preserving the family heritage, Russ Cuellar gets an uneasy grin on his face and admits that’s one area of his life he doesn’t feel very successful.
“That’s something we didn’t do well enough,” Cuellar said. “We tried to tell our children to not forget both of their nationalities. But too often when speaking at home, we reverted to English.”
The result is his children don’t know very much Spanish and would be hard pressed to carry on a conversation with Cuellar’s mother if she was still alive.
“My mother lived here for a long time,” Cuellar said. “She did baby sitting for us and always spoke Spanish. They can understand a few words, and a couple are really good.”
Cuellar gave an interview to the Kansan, much like he did during a project that recorded oral history, which is now on file at Bethel College and the Smithsonian Institute.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
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