Where am I from? Exiled – Raquel Valero
I think that all of us who write here we share, one way or another, a common past or common roots. It wasn’t until the beginning of this century that I started looking for mine. One of the most important steps in that direction was my trip to Chile in 2003. I then wondered “where am I exiled from?” Since I was born in Spain, you would think that I would be Spanish… Yet, for many years, I longed and ached for Chile. I’m now well settled here, especially in Valencia, where my family always wished to return and for which I always felt a pang of nostalgia; yet I still can’t tell where I’m from. Maybe, as Sylvia said, I’m half from Santiago and half from Valencia. I always say that I am “Chilean-Valencian”, because Spain feels further away, perhaps because of politics and because of this flag that I did not know, and still do not know today.