Ela, short for Rafaela, is a teenager attending her second year of high school. She's overwhelmed by being foreign in a new country, with a new language and new people. She knew life would change but didn't know how she would have to fight for a place in the world. While at the same time navigating through the phenomenon of growing up, finding herself, choosing a career, and even finding the role that she would have to play in the midst of racism and prejudice.
At the beginning of her senior year of high school, she discovers a deep secret from her childhood that redirected her life. It redefined her relationships and led her to the path of relearning self-love and self-acceptance. While this was liberating, she had to hold it in and find comfort from other sources and not from those she loved because of her fear of being judged.
Ela faced disappointment and obstacles, but she had to continue to move on and fight the odds to have her voice heard in her community. The lack of representation for people like her forced her to find motivation and inspiration from her own strength and willingness to achieve her dreams; her family's dreams.
If I Denounce My Accent explores the different struggles immigrants have to endure, which is something rarely discussed. It browses through the meaning of being an immigrant in a country that continues to remind us that we shouldn't belong.
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