When Madera High School’s Abigail Romero-Lopez first came to the United States, she didn’t speak English. She also didn’t even speak Spanish.
Her parents and siblings had to learn Spanish, and then English while growing up.
“A lot of people think Spanish was my first language, but it’s my second,” she said. “My parents speak a dialect, Amuzgo. That’s all they spoke when they came from Mexico. Their town is small and not a lot of people know it. They came here for the opportunities. My mom learned Spanish. They learned a language coming from Mexico. I learned English from school. No one else spoke English around me.I can speak very little of Amuzgo, but I can understand it very well. Whenever my parents are mad, they speak it around me.”