Note: This is part of a sponsored campaign with DiMe Media and Coca-Cola. However, all opinions expressed are my own.
I am not sure when it started but I remember my dad telling me “You’re A Martinez” as though that automatically meant I could do anything or that I had to live up to some high standard that had been set by a “Martinez” before me. Somehow those words would fill me with a sense of pride and stuck with me. So much so that I began telling myself that.
Then, I met the man who would eventually become my husband and that changed….well, my last name anyways.
As our wedding day approached, the discussion of me changing my last name happened. Although I had intended on taking his last name, there was a part of me that wanted to keep my maiden name. After all, it was a source of pride for me and it was one of the ways in which I had identified myself. Long story short, I ultimately changed my last name to “Fernandez” and 12 years later, that last name, “my” last name means a lot to me!
Now that we have kids of our own, I find myself telling them that they are part of “The Fernandez Family” or that we are “Team Fernandez”. I enjoy hanging up “Fernandez” plaques and artwork up in our home to represent who we are. But there is something else, I love more than anything about being a “Fernandez”…Every time I do those things, it makes my husband happy. He loves that I have embraced his last name as my own and that we are creating a legacy for our last name together.
For Latino’s (not just me), last names are a source of pride, that is why Coca-Cola is encouraging families to visit coke.com/OrgullosoDeSer to purchase a Share a Coke contour bottle personalized with their last name to share that pride with the world.
Coca-Cola has been a part of so many of the important moments in Hispanic families’ lives and it wants to continue to do so. That is why Coca-Cola is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month (September – October 15th) by uniting families through our last name and empowering us to share the story of why our family name makes us unique and #OrgullosoDeSer (proud to be) a #[InsertYourLastNameHere]. They also created a unique short film that embraces and touches upon feelings of unity and pride that come from our last names. The film also evokes the power of family, culture, community and history, by bringing people together in celebration of their heritage and unique family stories.
What does your last name say about you?
Check out the video and share your pride in your last name and heritage with friends and family using the hashtags #OrgullosoDeSer #[InsertYourLastNameHere]. Check out my video below…
That’s so neat that you can personalize the bottles with your last name on them! I’m from Atlanta, so to me, Coke products are the best!
Very cool.
I hope they release a “Raphael” Share a Coke for my husband’s latino name. I already found my kids’ names.
It would be cool if I found a “Leanette” but I don’t see that happening, LOL