Asturian-American Migration Forum

A reporter from La Nueva España is writing an article about the Web site. He has asked how Americans with Asturian heritage feel about themselves. So I thought it best to ask you!

Feel free to add comments in a reply, too.

I've fixed this to include Ken and Donna's excellent suggestions.

I'll add as a comment that it's problematic being a mixture of many cultures. I really can't identify totally with any one culture because I'm half Asturian, a quarter English and a quarter German--and that's only the parts I know about. I'm sure that if we went back a few hundred years, my family tree would be even more complex.

I reject and detest nationalistic strains of cultural pride. So I'm tempted to say I'm a world citizen, but I do identify much more strongly with Asturias than with Germany or England. I see this as a delicate balance: being proud of your culture without being racist or nationalist.

It's only possible to identify with a culture if you have an image of it as something distinct. Unfortunately, I'd guess that many Asturian-Americans aren't even aware that they have an Asturian heritage. I myself was in this unknowing state for many years.

So I'm not quite comfortable with calling myself Asturian-American, but that's probably the most accurate. My dream is to move to Asturias. My heart is Asturian and my current situation is American!

I have to say I am an American. My parents and I were born in the USA. In addition, both of my grandparents became citizens of this country.

With that said, I have to admit that when asked for my race on any documents I put down hispanic. I am an American with Spanish blood, but I am still an American.

I guess I see a difference between National Identity and racial identity. Does that make sense?

Estoy totalmente de acuerdo contigo y yo encantado de tener primos nacidos en AMERICA. besos

This is a very interesting poll. Growing up in Spelter I do not remember any of the Spaniards (those that came from Spain) refering to themselves as Asturian, but only as a Spaniard. When asked where they came from in Spain, they would respond Asturias region of Spain. I know my grandparents on my father's side and my grandfather on my mother's side never spoke of being Asturian, but being Spanish.

In the late 1940's and early 1950's they did celerbrate, as I remember, their heritage of Asturias with a picnic complete with bagpipes and drums. The picnics were referred to as a Spanish picnic. These picnics were held in Spelter, Donora, Pa., and I believe Ravenna, Ohio. I remember a picture in the Pittsburgh paper of such picnic in Ravenna.

As with Donna, my parents and I were born in the U. S. (Clarksburg, WV), and my grandparents (except my maternal grandmother) in the Aviles area.

Poll probably should have included Spanish and Spanish-American.

Oops! That's a great idea, Ken. I'm surprised that two obvious possibilities escaped me! I guess that shows where my mind is!

Donna, I, too, put "hispanic" as race. In part this is pride in heritage, but I think it's also a stand against the question. Frankly, it irritates me every time I answer this question because I'm pretty sure there is no such thing as "race."

We're all mixed and I'm certainly a blend of ethnicities. It's very difficult to say what ethnicity, race or culture I'm part of. Maybe that's a sign that something's wrong with the question.

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¡Opa! Que idea tan excelente, Ken. Me sorpresa que dos posibilidades tan obvio me escapó. Supongo que muestra donde esta mi pensamiento.

Donna, yo, también, puso "hispanico" como la raza. En parte esto es el orgullo de la herencia, pero pienso que es también un postura contra la pregunta. Sinceramente, me irrita siempre contestar esta pregunta porque estoy bastante seguro que no hay ninguna tal cosa como "raza."

Somos mezclados todos y soy seguramente una mezcla de identidades étnicas. Es muy difícil decir de que identidad étnica, raza o cultura soy parte. Tal vez sea un signo que la pregunta esta equivocada.

Hello All,

The discussion about identity reminds me of a common theme in U.S. immigration history (and maybe it is true of other immigration histories as well). Once in the United States, those immigrants that might have identified with the "patria chica" like Asturias, or other regions became increasingly identified with their national backgound, or Spaniards. I've read about this most concerning the Italians (Calabrese, Sicilians, etc.), but it also applies to those Spaniards in the U.S.

When I think about my own migration history it also rings true. When I lived in West Virgnia, I was from Harrison County. To "outsiders", however, that local identity didn't have much meaning. Once in New York, I identified and was identified by others as a West Virginian. In Asturias, I might be seen as an American.

Given the complexity of the situation, Art, I tried to select many categories at once on your survey, but ultimately had to select only one. Can I change my answer later? I'm sure I will think differently in a few months.

Suronda, it really would be nice if we could choose several options. I didn't write that software, but if I had....


I'm thinking about the implications of identifying oneself as being of a place other than the place where you're living. Maybe it's helpful as a way of defining oneself, because it gives us a freedom to be different from the expectations of those around us. I wonder, though, if it makes it harder to connect in our current situations, make friends, put down roots, etc.

I'd guess that our grandparents (the immigrant generation) identified as Spanish or Asturian partly because they felt so alien and were sometimes treated as aliens or even undesirables. That's not the situation of our generation. Other Americans are likely to find it interesting that we have an Asturian heritage. And we're very much integrated into the society. Many Asturian descendents don't even know they have an Asturian heritage!

So why do some of us identify as Asturian-American or Spanish-American now? What's in it for us?

For me, I resonate with much about the life, culture, and physical setting in Asturias: paseo with meeting friends on the street, the foods, the music, the interpersonal style, even the landscape. And I find it simply amazing that I can communicate in an alien language! There's a magic or a "WOWIE!" kind of buzz about being there, a feeling that doesn't go away over time. Even after two years living in Madrid, I still felt almost ecstatic just walking down the street. On my first visit to Europe, I didn't want to come back home. I was surprised by the magical pull of its differentness, its history, music, and foods. (You'd think I was a big eater, given that I talk about the food so much, but I'm a relatively skinny guy!)

My conclusion is that as a somewhat of a romantic, something about being in Europe--and perhaps especially Asturias--feels like "home" and yet it's a magical home. I'm sure that my knowing that it's the land of many of my forebearers adds pull to this sense of "home," although I'm still figuring out how that sense of home got passed down to me. One crucial way, I think, is that present-day Asturians make us feel very much at home!

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Suronda, realmente sería mejor si pudiéramos escoger varias opciones. No escribí que el software, pero si yo tuviera....


Pienso en las implicaciones de identificarse como ser de un sitio otro del lugar donde vive. Tal vez sea provechoso como un modo de definirse, porque nos da una libertad de ser diferente de las expectativas de nuestros vecinos. Me pregunto, aunque, si lo hace más difícil unirse en nuestras situaciones corrientes, trabar amistad, establecerse, etc.

Adivinaría que nuestros abuelos (la generación inmigrante) identificaron como español o asturiano en parte porque se sintieron tan estranjeros o ajenos y a veces eran tratados como ajenos o hasta indeseables. No es la situación de nuestra generación. Otros Americanos probablemente lo encuentran interesante que tengamos una herencia asturiana. Además, somos muy integrados en la sociedad. ¡Muchos descendents asturianos hasta no saben que tienen una herencia asturiana!

¿Pues, por qué algunos de nosotros se identifican como el americano-asturiano o como hispanoamericano ahora? ¿Qué nos da este pensamiento?

Para mí, resueno de mucho en la vida, la cultura, y el entorno de Asturias: paseo con amigos que se encuentran sobre la calle, la comida, la música, el estilo interpersonal, hasta el paisaje. ¡Y lo encuentro simplemente asombroso que puedo comunicar en una lengua ajena! ¡Hay una magia o un zumbido de "WOWIE!" (¡AH, PA!) en estar allí, un sentimiento que no se marcha con el tiempo. Incluso después de dos años viviendo en Madrid, todavía me sentía casi extático solamente en pasear en la calle. Durante mi primera visita a Europa, no quise volver a casa. Estuve sorprendido por el tirón mágico de su diferencia, su historia, su música, y su comida. ¡(Pensaría que soy un comilón, dado que hablo del alimento tanto, pero soy un tipo relativamente flaco!)

Mi conclusión es que como soy un romántico, algo de estar en Europa - y quizás sobre todo Asturias - me da el sentido de ser en casa, pero es una casa mágica. Estoy seguro que sabiendo que Asturias es la patria de mucho de mi antepasados añade un tirón a este sentido "de casa", aunque todavía estoy resolviendo como aquel sentido de casa me fue transmitido. ¡Un crucial medio, pienso, es que asturianos actuales nos hacen sentir muchísimo en casa!

As an American it is hard for me to identify with one of my heritages over the other. This in a great part due to my Astrian ancestor who choose to be an American and raised his children as Americans. He would not teach his children and grandchildren his native language just like my more recent immigrant Dutch ancestors. For me it would be like picking which of my children to love the most.

Tengo padre Gallego y madre Asturiana. Vivi en Galicia y en Asturias por cinco anos y el resto de mi vida en los Estados Unidos. Cuando era mas joven, y no sabia nada, sentia que era americano. Ahora que soy mas viejo y aprendi mas de ciertas cosas, me siento mas orgulloso de donde naci. No es ser nacionalista pero ahora reconozco que la cultura en la que yo vivi cuando era joven es muy importante y no la puedo perder porque olvidar eso es olvidar a la gente que you amo. Especialmente ahora que tengo un hijo y una hija que, para mi, es muy importante que conozcan su historia.

The "hispanic" designation is one that has always confounded me.

According to the dictionary, a hispanic is someone with Spanish or latin ancestry, but the census considers Spaniards as white (of European origin). These things are pretty subjective, I guess.

My grandmother was a Spaniard who lived in Cube before finally coming here. Would I be hispanic, according to the census.

(I'd gather not, since I'm a quarter Asturianu, with German, Irish, English, Scottish, Dutch, and god knows what else mixed in there.)

Typical American--that's me!

My grandparents on all four sides were from Asturias. To me, they were the last people in our family that could be called Spanish. They were born and raised in that culture in Spain. I, along with my parents were raised here in this culture and country, the United States. People born here have a habit of indentifing there nationality as the country from where their people migrated from, when in reality their nationality is American.

hi folks, I realize this post might be outdated (from 2003!), but I still thought it was interesting. By the way, La Nueva España is a decidedly conservative news outlet and so the poll is flawed from the outset. I suspect the reporter might have an agenda wanting to prove, somehow, that Americans of Asturian descent consider themselves 100% Spanish, which is a fallacy.

Identity is just a bit more complex to navigate when there are different gears in the machine. But it doesn't mean you are a worse driver than anyone else with a monolithic background and a single platform. So, I would qualify as both American and Asturian-American, even though os is my father who is Asturian. My attachment to Asturies runs very deep due to family history and childhood priming.

Whenever I see pictures of Wales or Ireland or Brittany or Galicia or even the Basque Country, it makes me think of Asturies. Ditto when I am in an Irish pub in Washington or listening to Scottish pipers in a downtown hotel here in DC. When I saw Lord of the Rings, there were many elements that struck an emotional chord--until I realized it was the Asturian elementary priming. I've never had the same emotional chords struck by flamenco, for example, although it is very interesting music.

Is, Washington DC

Huh! Interesting thread, hadn’t seen it. I too am an American (although not a United Statesian as the word is intended here), however, since my ancestors left Asturias 10 generations ago my interest in Asturias is intellectual. I’m passionate about it, but I’m also just as passionate about Gottland, mine is an intellectual passion not an emotional one. It would be extremely interesting to be there, to stand in one place knowing that on this spot x many years ago this or that happened...

Yo la verdad es que no sé si algún antepasado mío se fue para América aunque me gustaría mucho averiguarlo.Mi apellido es Espina por parte de padre y hasta dónde yo sé,son todos de la zona de Mieres(Asturies).Por parte de mi madre,creo que hay una rama de la zona de Rueda(Valladolid).Hay un tema que siempre me ha llamado la atención y es que mi madre tiene su segundo apellido "De la Mota" y por esa zona de Valladolid hay un castillo medieval que se llama "De la Mota".Así que creo que tengo una parte de familia de origen castellano.