(Japanese) Well, after thirty years in Japan, I really don’t have any particular desire to move back to Argentina or to start over there. I think that I’m best off continuing to play my part and look for new roles I can take up here in Japan. I think there are a lot of ways I can give back to my community doing that.
But the truth is, being born and raised in South America, in Argentina — that’s something I often tell people about and it’s something that makes me special, so it’s always been a focal point of myself. The people I mention it to might be surprised at first, but they interacted with me or look for something based on my background. Going back to what I was saying before, I really think that that’s my role. People often use such wonderful words like “kakehashi – a bridge.” The truth is that establishing good connections across countries, cultures, and languages takes hard work, a lot of effort, and strong nerves. Which is to say, you’re not just bringing together different languages or countries, but also ways of thinking and perceptions, and at times people may have different vested interests, and so I try to pay attention to that side of things as well.
Date: September 22, 2019
Location: California, US
Interviewer: Yoko Nishimura
Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum
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