Dear Lalo: Tradition and Futbol

For as long as I can remember, a football has always been placed at my feet. As the daughter of two Brazilians with Peruvian and Portuguese descent, football, or futebol, has always found a way into my life.

Since my sister and I were both born in the US, football was a great way to stay connected with my culture and pursue the same passion with millions who share my heritage. We grew up watching it, playing it, and growing with it as it accompanied us through every stage in our lives. However, since we were far away from the rest of our family and other Brazilians like us, it was challenging to be able to stay connected to our culture.

Fortunately, my parents found a way to combine the best of both cultures, from the languages we spoke at home to the music blasting from our radios. They made sure to incorporate a mixture of flan (or "pudim" in Portuguese) with American turkey at Christmas. They always were able to find the best of both worlds in any situation, to make sure we not only knew where our family came from but also made us feel like we belonged in the country we were in.

And since a huge part of staying in touch with our Brazilian culture was the sport of soccer, our family—our father in particular—made sure we were not only playing it, but having fun doing so, too. So our backyard was a private soccer field, with my sister and I always playing together—and against each other. As we continued to grow up in the sport, we continued to challenge each other and played with our dad, anytime we could. As time went by, we outgrew the backyard and went to a local soccer field, where, fortunately, the goals were always free and available for us to practice. We not only played with our dad, but we also played club soccer, too.

After a few years of playing, practicing, and getting better, my sister and I both decided to pursue football seriously, hoping to get to be at a level where we could compete with the elite and continuously improve our skills. As we improved and improved, we were able to make teams that competed in State Championships and Regional Olympic Development Programs. We were both also individually chosen as the top few in the state of Florida for our high school state football team selection.

And it was in high school that I realized how much of a serious shot I had when I decided to pursue an opportunity to try out for the Brazilian U-17 National Team. Since it was a dream of mine to play professional football, I knew that along the way to getting there, I could also work on getting exposure for the player I was on a world stage.

Staying true to my roots, both my sister and I had three passports, Portuguese, American, and Brazilian. When I was 15, my parents placed enough trust in my abilities to purchase a pricey plane ticket. So I grabbed my Brazilian passport and was off for the weekend to go to a combine with 40 other athletes my age to try out for the national team. After that day, I was one of two young women selected to receive an invitation to the Brazilian National Team Camp, held in Granja Comary in Teresópolis, Brazil.

Three months of training later, I continued to fight for my spot on the team and watched as others were slowly cut from the group. Finally, at the end of the training period, I left with the remaining 18-player roster to head to Chile for the South American World Cup Qualifiers. It was an incredibly proud moment for me as I pulled the canary yellow Brazil jersey over my head and walked out proudly in the starting lineup for a match. In front of tens of thousands of people, I could represent my heritage as a Latina and give back to my people the best way I knew how - with a ball at my feet.

We ended up winning second place in the tournament and qualifying for the World Cup in New Zealand, to be held in the following months. Although I made the 21-player roster for that tournament, I, unfortunately, suffered an adductor injury and wasn't allowed to travel with the team.

Fortunately, that experience was a life changing one. After my time with the Brazilian National team, I caught the eye of colleges and was able to secure a college scholarship to the University of Florida. I then later transferred to Jacksonville University to play football there, too.

Throughout my football career, I continued to live out my Brazilian culture, from my days on the Brazilian National Team to my later days of playing professionally in Switzerland, Hungary, and Portugal to my switch to the Portuguese National Team.

Football was not the only way that I enjoyed getting in touch with my Brazilian and Latina roots. I expressed my love for my roots in the way I ate, with rice and black beans making their way onto my plate nearly daily, and in the way I approached life, with a smile on my face and can-do attitude, and my pursuit of Ginga, the Brazilian-style football that always guided me on the field. Fortunately, I am now able to transfer the Portuguese and Spanish I learned through my life to other aspects of life, from my professional career to personal life with friends and family.

No matter what, I am grateful for the opportunity to continue to celebrate my heritage with my husband, sister and her growing family, and with my parents, as well. My friends and family also always appreciate eating something from Brazil, whether it is their new favorite food or they want to try it out! I hope to continue the traditions my sister and I grew up with as we and our children grow old.