This story originally appeared on GoMason.com, the official site of George Mason Athletics, and is being re-published with permission. You can find the original post here.
What makes a family a family?
There are individual roles – parent, child, cousin, aunt, brother, to name a few.
But within that interpersonal structure, there lies a unique set of values, traditions and cultural elements which honor collective heritage in a way that is often unique and celebrated within that group of individuals.
For Sasha Silva, much of her family’s identity is proudly defined by its Peruvian origins. Bilingual dialogue, lively family festivities and some delicious Peruvian delicacies have been paramount in Silva’s life growing up in Northern Virginia.
But as a first generation American, Silva’s experiences in the U.S. also have enriched her family’s identity with some distinctly stateside components.
That collective includes lacrosse, a sport which Silva adored as soon as she picked up a stick.
The Annandale, Va., native has blossomed into one of the premier defensive players in the Atlantic 10, but her path to that distinction has not been easy.
In a sport in which few others look like her or come from similar backgrounds, Silva has paved her own way to achievement at the highest level of the collegiate sport. And while achieving that success, she’s sparked an interest within another member of her family, perhaps crafting a new tradition in the process.
Silva’s parents immigrated to the United States from different areas of Peru, at different times and for different reasons.
Her father, Cesar Silva, who hails from the Andes region of the country, moved from Peru in 1979 during a time of instability in the area. As a 19-year old, Cesar led his siblings northward to make a new life in America.
Silva’s mother, Nora Canchez, comes from the urban center of Lima and established a law career in her home country. But due to a lack of upward mobility and opportunity, Nora sought to continue practicing law in the U.S., making the journey to Northern Virginia to join her sister in 1996.
Cesar and Nora met through mutual friends, were married and had two children: Sasha and her brother, Alexander.
When Sasha was growing up, Cesar and Nora’s diverse backgrounds shaped the culture of the family. As a people of Mestizo descent, the family is a blend of indigenous and Spanish (European) ancestry. The resulting melting pot of traditions and customs, both rural and urban, gave the Canchez/Silva home a vibrancy that modeled the diversity of Peru’s population.
And because Sasha and Alexander would be the first generation of Canchez/Silva descent born and raised outside of Peru, Nora took steps to ensure their family culture would remain prevalent during a childhood in America.
She emphasized the importance of both Spanish and English in the home, so both Sasha and Alexander grew up speaking both languages. The family made multiple trips to Peru to introduce the country to the children and would often host relatives who lived in Peru at their home in Northern Virginia.
Big family parties featured an array of Peruvian cuisine, which could include delicacies of the Andes region if the party included Cesar’s side of the family, or foods found in greater Lima if Nora commanded the kitchen.
At Christmas, the extended family would get together and have the customary tamales and hot cocoa enjoyed in Peru.
And once the Smithsonian began hosting a celebration of indigenous cultures, Nora and Cesar would make sure the family made the trip into DC to join in the festival.
“It can be hard to connect the two cultures,” Silva said. “My mom recognized it can be difficult feeling like you’re not the typical version of an American kid, while also not feeling like you’re fully Peruvian. But she tried hard to reconcile the two and make us feel like we were whole, realized people.”
As Silva grew up and reached middle school, that question of identity continued to surface in her own mind. It was a feeling best described in Spanish as ni de aquí ni de allá, or “not from here nor from there.”
“It can feel uncomfortable, especially going through the awkward period of your early teen years,” Silva said. “You don’t really know who you are and you don’t know where you belong. A lot of Latinx individuals identify with that.”
Within the diverse Annandale school system, Silva immersed herself in schools which included a multitude of Latinx and multi-ethnic students from a variety of countries and regions. By finding solace and collective empathy within that vibrant community, Silva was able to transform her personal uncertainty into a new appreciation for and pride in her layered identity.
“There are cultural differences between being a white American whose parents have been here for generations, compared to the first-generation experience,” Silva said. “There are aspects that other people just don’t get. Having Latinx friends helped me bond over that. It was a shared understanding which helped me recognize I was Latinx. That was a powerful realization which made me feel like I was part of a broader community. I was able to reconcile my identity.”
While cultivating that sense of self, Silva also began developing an intrigue for the sport of lacrosse.
Silva’s second cousin, Nicholle, played lacrosse at Virginia Tech in the mid-2000s and went on to become the head coach at Marshall High School in the Fairfax County School system. She invited Silva’s other cousin to attend one of the program’s green days, and Silva tagged along.
“I just fell in love with the sport,” Silva said. “My parents were both working all day to support us, so I didn’t have a ton of opportunities to leave our apartment. Lacrosse gave me the avenue to go outside and just be a kid.”
Silva’s first cousin, Rosemarie Luczak (née Camara Canchez), considers herself Sasha’s #2 fan (behind Nora) and became a regular at her lacrosse games. For Rose, it quickly became apparent that Sasha’s background proved quite different than the other athletes on the field.
“You could always tell which one was Sasha,” Luczak said, laughing. “She was a little darker than everyone else out there.”
“It was hard being 12 or 13 and seeing no one else like me,” Silva said. “I had to remind myself that I deserved to be there - I wasn’t just the token member of the team. I had skill. I had ability. That’s why I was there.”
Silva’s strong internal sense of self and confidence in her abilities led to rousing success in her high school career at Annandale. An all-region and all-conference selection, Silva captained the Atoms as a senior and garnered the attention of Division I programs.
For Silva, the diversity of Mason’s campus and its proximity to her family made her decision an easy one. Her dream of playing Division I lacrosse had been realized and she joined the Patriots in 2017.
“Sasha makes me so proud,” Luczak said. “Her life has been harder than most of the athletes she’s played with. Lacrosse is a very expensive sport. She didn’t have the same cultural upbringing, but she’s doing it herself. She’s paving her own road and I am so proud of her for that.”
Silva saw action in five games for the Patriots as a freshman, then went on to start 16 of 18 games as a sophomore. Aided by her commanding presence on the defensive side of the field in 2019, the Patriots set new school records for A-10 wins (7) and A-10 Tournament seed (2). Silva then started all seven games as a junior in 2020, before the season came to a stop in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Throughout her career at Mason, Silva has again faced the challenges of being the only Latinx athlete on her team, where her cultural background and even communication style is unique. But she has appreciated and valued how her classmates have respected and celebrated her background over their nearly four years together.
“My class has always embraced it and tried to make me feel comfortable,” Silva said. “I’m so grateful for them. A lot of the girls hadn’t really spent a lot of time with a Latinx person and gotten to know them in depth before coming to Mason. I think I’ve helped expand their horizons and I’m lucky to have found a class that’s willing and wants to mesh it all together.”
Former Mason head coach Jessy Morgan, who guided Silva through her first three seasons with the Patriots, made it a priority to give athletes from an array of backgrounds and cultures equal opportunity within her program.
New Mason head coach Kara Mupo echoes those sentiments and values Silva’s role within the team.
“To me, diversity is paramount,” Mupo said. “Within our program, it provides our student-athletes with the opportunity to work closely and competitively with individuals who are comprised of vastly different ethnic, socio-economic, racial, religious, and sexual backgrounds and offer them different perspectives and viewings of our world today. During my short time with Sasha, it is very apparent she is an extremely determined and strong-willed student-athlete. Her consistent push to raise the bar both as a student and an athlete here at Mason has made those fortunate enough to work closely with her better.”
Growing the game and opening it to a broader population is something that resonates every day with Silva.
She has never forgotten a fall ball game against Longwood last season, when much to her surprise, a Latinx player for the Lancers was taking the ball up the field. It proved to be such an unusual sight, that both Silva and the Longwood student-athlete stopped what they were doing and marveled at each other’s presence. With the Longwood athlete realizing she still had the ball, both athletes had a laugh as she whizzed by and the game continued.
Silva hopes those types of interactions become more frequent as the next generation of kids see more black, brown and Latinx women playing the game.
“It’s something I think about constantly and it really powers me,” Silva said. “I want to represent and show that girls like me can come into the sport, be starters and be competitive in Div. I athletics. When you don’t see yourself represented in a sport, you feel like there might not be a place for you. But when you see at least one person, you feel you can do it, too.”
That goal of growing the game has transcended into Silva’s own family, as Luczak is quick to tell.
Her daughter, Isabelle Merchant, competed in gymnastics for much of her youth, but when an injury forced her off the mat, Silva encouraged her to pick up a lacrosse stick. At first, Isabelle wasn’t interested, but Silva brought a couple sticks over to the house just in case. When Rosemarie, Isabelle and the rest of the family attended Silva’s high school senior night game, Isabelle watched with amazement and decided she wanted to be just like Sasha.
Much like Nicholle inspired Sasha, Sasha is doing the same for Isabelle.
Now a junior at Robinson High School, Isabelle is a part of the Rams lacrosse roster and hopes to achieve her dream of playing at Mason and carrying on the family legacy in Fairfax.
Silva’s legacy within the Patriot program has the potential to wrap up with unprecedented achievements, as Mason returns the bulk of its talented roster for the 2021 campaign.
And as her lacrosse career wraps up, she also will be finishing her undergraduate degree in government and international politics.
Law school is next on the horizon, as Silva aspires to be a lawyer and find success within her own version of the American dream.
“I’m trying to pave my own path. In our family, going to college in America is a big step,” Silva said. “Some of my cousins haven’t had the opportunity to finish school because of the cost.”
Once established, she hopes to address a cause which remains close to her heart.
“I want to gain some stability, but I also want to do pro bono work helping immigrants,” Silva said. “Immigrant rights are under attack in our country. In the courts, self-representation is common. You see six-year-old kids representing themselves, because they don’t have access to a court appointed defense attorney.”
Silva’s ambitious career goals come as no surprise to Luczak, who has attended Mason alongside her cousin. Luczak, who recently completed her degree, would often meet Silva on campus for lunch or coffee.
Going back generations in Peru, the family has always cherished education and earning a degree. That commitment has continued in America, where Luczak continues to be inspired by Silva’s trajectory.
“Her determination is so impressive,” Luczak said. “Whatever she puts her mind to, she does not stop until she gets it. It’s not easy sometimes as a Hispanic woman. You are expected to get up to a certain level and it’s not what everyone expects. Whatever obstacle someone puts on her, she just crushes it and excels. She’s just amazing.”
Silva’s family identity is proudly Peruvian.
It is proudly Latinx.
And it is proudly American.
It values hard work, education and creating new opportunity.
It celebrates its time-honored traditions, but also appreciates some new ones.
At a Canchez/Silva family gathering, you’ll find delicious Peruvian foods like lomo saltado and papa a la huancaína.
But you’ll also find Sasha and Isabelle in the backyard, lacrosse sticks in hand, broadening that family identity with one determined pass after another.