SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – To close out Hispanic History Month NBC 6 News Today Anchor, Fernanda Hernandez shared some thoughts and memories of her childhood and Mexican heritage.

Fernanda on her early years in Mexico:

“I lived in Mexico until I was nine years old and what I remember was really the best time of my life. I have so many beautiful memories. I grew up riding horses, which is something that a lot of people do not know about me.

When I was little my whole family did Mexican rodeos called Charreadas. We spent a lot of time horseback riding and just being out at those events. So, that is mainly what I remember when I think of my childhood in Mexico.”

Fernanda on her greatest Influence:

“I do not want to be cliche, but I always talk about my mom and dad. I really owe everything to them. I have always known that they sacrificed a lot for me, really everything. They sacrificed their entire life in Mexico to bring us here, to give us a better life, to offer us a better education; the opportunity to learn English and be able to have careers,” Hernandez recalled. “That might have not happened if we were to stay in Mexico. I owe my entire life to my parents, and I know that they had to put away a lot of their life to give us ours. I look up to them and now that I have a daughter myself, I just now am able to grasp the size of the sacrifice that my parents made. Thanks to them for sure. I will be thanking them for the rest of my life!”

Fernanda on her daughter learning Spanish:

“It is important to me for her to speak Spanish, which is just like the very basic thing. I know that a lot of kids who grow up here and they have Spanish-speaking parents, the language is lost through generations and that is something that I hope does not happen with my daughter.”

Every day I speak to her in Spanish. She is with me all day every day. As soon as I get off from work, I go and pick her up and I try to talk Spanish to her every day, and she understands more Spanish now than English. I will say something to her in Spanish and then my husband will say the same thing in English, and she listens to me.

It is going well but I just want her to know where her mom comes from, her grandparents, and her great-grandparents and I want her to be able to communicate with them using our native tongue, which is Spanish. So hopefully she knows how important our background is.”

Fernanda on her favorite Mexican dish:

“I am a terrible cook, but I love tacos. I think everyone can agree tacos are just delicious. When you think of Mexican food you can just think of some delicious tacos and that is my favorite meal for sure. My parents love to cook; they are avid cooks, and they make some delicious tacos. They make so many delicious dishes…it got lost somewhere along the way with me! I can make some quick five-minute rice and call it Mexican.”

Fernanda on embracing her heritage:

“I am most proud of just the people and the values that we carry, which I think goes along with what I do every day. Work ethic is something that we take a lot of pride in in the Hispanic culture. We are hard workers. We are very passionate and very dedicated and that is something that I try to bring into my everyday life as I work here at Channel 6.

I try to be very dedicated and passionate about what I do every day and I think that is something that was ingrained to me by my parents who taught me to always give my best, always work hard and never take no for an answer. That is tied right into that Hispanic heritage and whether you are from Mexico or Columbia or Nicaragua or any other place, we all have that same thing in common we don’t give up.”

Fernanda hosts Hidden History: Celebrating Hispanic History on KTAL NBC 6 on Sunday, October 15, at 11:05 p.m.