You’re Tall — For A Mexican

So, I’m only 5′ 7″ (and change). For whatever reason, I grew neither as tall as my father or mother, who are about 5′ 8″ or 9″. I maintain that it’s probably because I never really cared for milk, but who knows. In any case, I’m a pretty average height for an American — but watch out when it comes to Mexico or the borderlands.

It is here where I get comments from tías and abuelitas, “Ay mi’ja, ‘tas muy grande,” or, “Ay, mira qué alta” or something like that. While my daily life does not usually make me feel like I’m particularly tall, I’ve found that in particular geographies and with particular people, I’m suddenly considered tall.

I do understand, mind you, that this is in no small part related to the fact that the sayers of these comments are under 5 feet tall. My Tía Rosa, for example, introduces me to people as her lovely, tall niece, and I recall being in Mexico in different regions on several occasions and seeing over the heads of everyone wherever I went. I wonder, is this what helps boost my pegue?

Of course being tall is a matter of opinion in some cases; recently one of our women contributors wrote about being a tall woman at 5′ 9″, only slightly taller than myself, and height in Mexican-Americans or Latinos is in no way standardized, as another of our writers recently noted he’s 6′ 2″. Plus, as I mentioned, I have relatives both taller and shorter than me, and my own brother is actually taller than either one of my folks.

So is it being a tall woman? Is it that no one has anything else to say about me when they meet me? Do I just have a presence that makes others feel like I’m tall when I’m really not? Are standards of tallness different in the U.S. or Mexico or Latin America? Who knows.

One thing I do know for sure is that I don’t usually feel tall, despite the strange compliments from others. And the idea of being tall, which I think we associate with power, isn’t really appealing to me. So I guess from now on, when I get those compliments from doting older ladies, I’ll just say thank you. And, on the inside, I’ll be grateful that I’m just tall enough to reach things on the top shelf.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD.

[Photo By Amy Loves Yah]