Mendes also shared her experience growing up in California with Cuban parents- “We lived in a little Cuban community in Los Angeles around a lot of Latinos. It wasn’t the best area, but it certainly wasn’t the worst. There was a communal feeling. In the summer everyone kept the door open and made their cafecitos and sat on plastic beach chairs until late at night. Also, my father didn’t speak English, still doesn’t, and he demanded that we speak Spanish. And so I grew up with a really heavy Cuban influence, yet I was American. I’m super fortunate to have had the best of both worlds.”
