Colonialism is to be asked about my mother's maiden name, when in Latin America we women always keep our surname, even after getting married.
Despite the jokes about Spanish names being too long, I proudly carry two surnames. My name is composed of my first name and the last name of each of my parents. I do not need to hypheminate it. It is my full name. Is it too dificult to understand?
There is no "maiden name" for us, it is -and always will be- my mom's first surname, which also is one of my two last names.
We have two surnames. We honour our father and mother without requiring women to give up their names when they marry. For example, in (José) Pedro (Balmaceda) Pascal's case, Pascal is the part of his surname that came from his mother: Mrs. Verónica Pascal.
So, please don't ask me again about my mother's "maiden" name again. Ask me about my name, and I'll give you my first and both my surnames.
