Hello! My name is Natalia Perez. I grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts, and ventured down to the adorable little city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, to pursue a writing degree.
Growing up amid Puerto Rican and Dominican cultures, my parents have fueled my rich background. Since I was raised in a bubble of Latinos for the greater part of my years at home, I didn’t really become culturally aware until I moved down South, where people, including my own people, question my ethnicity often and seem surprised when I speak Spanish fluently.
This forced me into cultural self-discovery, a switch between not only identifying as a Latina, but an Afro-Latina, a Latin American woman with prominent Afrocentric features.
Aside from my complex racial identity, I’m a passionate journalist and a second-generation Adventist who’s still discovering tons about race, gender, ethnic/people groups and how we all come together to make one church.
Understanding a diverse community is wonderful and necessary for our growth as a church. With our blog, we hope to intentionally raise awareness about the diversity within our people groups, our cultural backgrounds, and our stories.
Let’s navigate together.