About Marcela Hede
& Hispanic-Culture-Online.com

It all started back in Colombia South-America. I was born in the second largest city of Colombia called Medellín. I grew up in a wonderful environment surrounded by family, big weekend parties at farms, Catholic religion and tons of Hispanic tradition.

Like all good Colombian girls, I attended Catholic school, and went to college for my bachelor’s degree in Business administration while working in several companies.

After working for a while, I decided to study English in the U.S. I packed my bags and came to America. Little did I know I was going to meet the love of my life here! Yes he is a “gringo,” and after culture shock we are still together, have a son, and a wonderful life.

I was always nostalgic about the Hispanic holidays we celebrated in Colombia, the big family parties, the Hispanic foods, the typical Latin home remedies, speaking Spanish, the happy music like merengue, salsa, cumbia, etc., so on any occasion I had I went to the homes of Hispanic friends -most of them married to Americans or foreigners- who celebrate and cook Hispanic style.

What Sparked the Idea to Create This Site

After earning a Marketing MBA from Hofstra University and working for years in Marketing, my husband and I were ready for a family and boom! There I was… pregnant. At that point, I started to make a conscious effort to teach our child the Hispanic traditions I was brought up with.

Wow, that meant for me trying to combine two worlds peacefully, my Husband's American culture and my Hispanic culture. I started to look deeper and deeper into what it is required to raise a child in the American culture while keeping alive your Latin heritage.

I couldn't find much information, particularly all in one place. I was also craving intelectual challenge, I wanted to work but I was not ready to leave my little one at home while I went to work for somebody else. I came to the realization I needed to balance family life with work while doing something I really knew well and was passionate about.

At that point I decided to create Hispanic-Culture-Online.com to help people connect, enjoy and preserve this fantastic and rich culture of ours, especially Hispanic and Hispanic-American people who are proud of their heritage.

Where Does My Expertise Come From?

It comes from working in Multicultural Marketing, living the Latin culture, being a native Hispanic, teaching Spanish to children ages 2-9 at Montessori, tutoring and teaching Spanish to adults, researching and being in touch with true Hispanics who are transforming the U.S.

Who Am I?

As you can see, I am a typical Latin mom who also embraced American culture without forgetting her Hispanic roots. Let’s put is this way: we eat frijoles, chorizo, arepas and tamales but also enjoy American barbecues with burgers and hot dogs.

Our son is completely bilingual although his environment outside home is mostly English speaking. I celebrate all the typical Hispanic holidays but also Thanksgiving, 4th of July etc. It is just a beautiful rich mixture that brings us lots of pleasure as a family.

I use Latin home remedies when we need them, my son ate his first foods not from a jar but from mommy’s pressure cooker and it wasn’t pears and peaches but “ frijoles” and rice, I normally entertain “Latin style” with typical items like "ajiacos," “arepas,” guacamole, etc,.

We celebrate “La Navidad Hispana” and baby Jesus also brings presents on the 24th before Santa, my son’s toy box includes many special developmental Spanish games. I speak only in Spanish to our son at home, and we make a strong effort as a family to travel each year to Colombia or any other Hispanic country to enjoy the culture and lifestyle.

We are determined to raise a bilingual in Spanish child and to pass down the traditions of Hispanic culture in our Hispanic-American family while living in the U.S. Doing it is such an enjoyable experience!