Yo Soy Julia Maria

When I first started playing football in the Mexican league, I introduced myself as Julia, with the Spanish pronunciation of the 'j' as an 'h.' I think it confused my teammates because though my name is Spanish, my features clearly aren't Mexican. They took to calling me Chinita, and for the next few years, I was known as la Chinita not only by my teammates, but by spectators and opposing teammates as well. I didn't mind; my teammates knew I was Korean and appreciated that fact, but the nickname stuck, and I rather liked it for its staccato sound and uniqueness.

It was a couple seasons ago that another chinita started playing in the leagues, first in the Ecuadorian one, then in the Mexican. Since she played defense and I played striker, we were often matched up against each other. And after a couple games, my teammates and I observed the same thing: this other chinita was also named Julia. We got a pretty good laugh out of the coincidence, and Cecy even teasingly asked me if all Asians were named Julia.

This summer, I came back from Los Angeles and was told by Vanessa that this other Julia was now playing with us. I met her at the first match and immediately got on well with her. I found out that she's Russian, and her biological mother was Mongolian, thus her Asian features, and we joked about an "Asian invasion" into the Latino futbol leagues of the Twin Cities. But our identical names (and similar features) presented a problem to our teammates, because any time they called for Julia, both of us instinctively answered.

Solution? My teammates christened me Maria, and the other Julia, Lupita. When I'm sprinting for a loose ball on the pitch, they yell "Vete Maria!" and when Julia goes for a header against an opponent, they yell "Fuerte, Lupita!" I get a kick out of it every time, and I know my teammates do as well, and they've persisted in it so much that both Julia and I are starting to respond to our newly-given names. I've put up a token protest, but to be honest, I don't really mind, it's all in good fun.

And really, if you think about it, what are the odds that two women of Asian heritage, both adopted, and both named Julia, would end up playing in the same Mexican futbol league in the middle of the American heartland?