Bella Broce: Sophomore Bella Broce comes to terms with her Panamanian heritage and learns from her late grandfather

Comments about freshman Bella Broce’s tan skin started in second grade.

“Wow, you’re so tan,” classmates said with an amused look.

“No I’m not, I’m just like you,” elementary school Bella would insist. She’d never been more embarrassed in her predominantly white classroom.

Growing up with her grandfather from Panama, Bella was immersed in her family’s culture through listening to his childhood stories and speaking Spanish with him.

But she wanted to be just like every other kid she grew up with — the “normal,” white, Prairie Village kids — and didn’t want to stick out or be seen as different from her other classmates.

“I thought it was just a good and normal thing to have blonde hair and blue eyes,” Bella said. “I thought all schools were [predominantly] white schools.”

Bella’s grandfather Alberto had dark hair and eyes and Spanish was his second language, according to Bella’s dad Bruce. 

“He always had an accent,” Bruce said. “Hearing him speak, you could tell he wasn’t an American-born citizen.”

Alberto grew up in Las Tablas but later moved to the U.S. to work as a professor at K-State, and his cousins from Panama would visit often. Every three years, Alberto would take Bruce and their family to live in Panama for a month.

“We really understood what it was like to live as a Panamanian,” Bruce said. “From the language that we speak to the everyday customs of the U.S. that might be different.”

It wasn’t until Bella finally visited Panama in third grade that she realized what she’d been missing.

“I got to meet all my family and eat fantastic food like ceviche,” Bella said. “That trip really stuck with me and I realized [being Panamanian] was actually really cool and something I should be proud of.”

She got to eat local fish — unique to her as her ancestors were fishermen — and see historic relics like maracas and molas — needlework patterns of fabrics — in Panama City. The trip made her want to continue visiting Panama as often as she could.

Back in the U.S., she still encounters people questioning her heritage often.

“When people say, ‘Oh but you’re only 25% Panamanian’ it makes me so mad because [they] have no idea how much of that is me,” Bella said. “Yes, 25% sounds so small but everyone’s heritage is mixed, and I don’t look at you and break down your culture.”

Bella’s half-brother Oliver — who was born in Panama while her dad worked there for a few years — has always been appreciative of his heritage and how his grandfather influenced him growing up. 

“He influenced certain music that I like to this day: the artwork I see around our household, us celebrating Latino holidays, sharing a lot of Spanish around the house and visiting the country I was born in,” Oliver said.

Growing up hearing people judge her and her family based on their looks made Bella aware of the cultural differences in Prairie Village.

“I was so aware of other cultures because my parents taught me about them,” said Bella. “I have such a different understanding of how people felt.”

Now, Bella gets excited to tell people why she’s so tan and to practice her conversational Spanish in hopes of one day being able to have fluent conversations with her parents. 

“I finally realized this is something that I should be proud of,” Bella said.