Mexicana De Corazón: Adopted By Mexican Parents, Sarah La Morena Sings Rancheras Like She Was Born For It
September 12, 2020
She may not be Mexicana by blood, pero es Mexicana de corazón.
Sarah Palafox, also known as Sarah La Morena, spent her childhood milking cows on her grandparents' ranch in Zacatecas. She considers herself "Mexicana, cien por ciento."
Sarah Palafox's powerful voice rings out loud and clear in the now-viral video of her singing "¿Qué Me Vas a Dar?" by La Arrolladora Banda El Limón, accompanied by mariachis who can't believe their eyes and ears.
View this post on InstagramIt’s the chamoy for me.. y arriba las tóxicas!
"You're invited to the carne asada," many have commented on the video, to which the 23-year-old Mexicana responds, "I am the carne asada."
The singer-songwriter, who goes by the handle carne_a_sarah on Instagram, says she wants to be like Jenni Rivera. And, she is well on her way, with several singles under her professional name, Sarah La Morena, that have racked up tens of thousands of views on YouTube.
Sarah, who is always smiling and joking, has a great sense of humor about herself. She even wrote her own corrido on the fly:
Me dicen la carne a-SarahSe que conocen mi caraAunque esté un poco quemadaNo pasa nada
"They call me carne a-Sarah. I know that they know my face. Even though it's a little burned, it's still good." Not quite the same in English, but you get the point.
View this post on InstagramEl corrido de Carne a Sarah???????????? i may or may not have drank earlier????
Playing college soccer and pursuing her dream of singing professionally, all while raising two baby boys with husband, it's no wonder Sarah writes on Instagram that she is "so happy with where I'm at."
But, getting there hasn't been easy.
Sarah was adopted by Mexicanos Fidel and Patricia Palafox when she was just one month old and spent her childhood milking cows on her grandparents' rancho in La Blanca, Zacatecas.
"Crecí con nopales, con frijoles, ordeñando vacas en el rancho," she writes.
Her favorite food is enfrijoladas, she puts Tajin on her fruta, loves micheladas, the Dodgers, jaripeos, and dancing to banda.
Mexican is the only culture she has ever known.
View this post on Instagram
Sarah's Instagram is full of pictures from her early years in Zacatecas, including one in particular where she is sporting a very short Afro. "Fun fact," the photo is captioned, "my mom didn't know how to do my hair as a baby, so she shaved it all off. :-)))"
Fortunately, when Sarah's family eventually moved to California, a black mother at Sarah's new school took the time to help Patricia braid and style Sarah's hair every month.
Aside from that, however, Sarah, who has three sisters and two brothers, says she would often forget that her skin was a different color from her family's. She says her life in small-town Zacatecas was peaceful, everyone knew her and no one made her feel different.
But that all changed when she moved to the United States with her family at nine years old.
"I was bullied constantly," she writes and says her parents endured insults.
In the United States, Sarah faced "double discrimination," both for being Black, and for being Mexican.
At school, black students shamed her for speaking-Spanish and Mexican students rejected her for the color of her skin. Bullies told her that her mother had thrown her in a dumpster.
And adults weren't any better. Her father recounts an incident from Sarah's youth soccer playing days when a woman screamed to her daughter from the stands, "Don't let that negra get the better of you."
After a group of bullies physically assaulted her in middle school, Sarah transferred to a new school and even refused to speak Spanish for a few years. She just wanted the constant abuse to end.
Unfortunately, it hasn't.
Sarah's viral video has also accumulated many nasty and racially-motivated comments from Mexicanos calling her the n-word and accusing her of cultural appropriation.
And Sarah has had similar experiences with Black people, who have shamed her for not "embracing" her African roots or attacked her for being "anti-Black" because her husband is a fair-skinned, fair-haired Mexican.
"If we got a dollar for every confused stare we got last night, we'd be rich," Sarah captioned a photo of herself and her husband, both of whom were sporting red, white, and green paint on their cheeks to support Mexico soccer.
View this post on InstagramIf we had a dollar for every confused stare we got last night we’d be richhhh ????
Some people have even targeted her children, calling her son Ezra a "mut[t]."
But, in the face of people's intolerance, the hateful comments she gets every single day and has gotten her whole life, Sarah has persevered.
The fierce mamá and proud Mexicana is raising her sons to speak Spanish and take pride in their culture.
When asked what she considers to be the hardest part of her life, Sarah says, "Aceptarme." Learning to accept herself.
Sarah still gets stares, comments, and many questions when she's out with her family, but she doesn't pay them any mind.
To people's questions, Sarah's mom responds simply, "She's my daughter," without any explanation.
No explanation is needed.
Sarah thanks her parents and deep faith for giving her the love and support that have allowed her to become the brave, tenacious mujer she is today. "Everything I am is because of them."
When a woman actually messaged Sarah to tell her she should stop posting about her parents because "it's getting old," Sarah responded:
"I owe my entire life to my parents and I say it constantly because they chose me when they didn’t have to. They had 3 daughters of their own. They showed me what love was and never treated me different. I will show my gratitude over and over because it will never be enough."
"Thank you for breaking barriers for me, for swallowing people's nasty comments for me, for accepting and loving me no matter what," she writes on an Instagram post dedicated to her mom and "deri." "You've given me the world and I pray one day, I can return the favor."
"Aunque mi sangre no sea su sangre, el amor es más fuerte." Their bond is stronger than blood.
Sarah has a new single out, a cover of "Hasta La Miel Amarga." Like Carne A-Sarah herself, it's on fire.
"Brilla," she writes, "Y los que no les gusta, que se tapen los ojos."
Shine, and whoever doesn't like it can cover their eyes.
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