It is well known that Kamala Harris’ mother was from India and her father is from Jamaica.
What is less well known is that the United States vice president and Democratic Party presidential nominee has a Mexican cousin.
Sharada Balachandran Orihuela was born in Mexico City to a Mexican mother, Rosamaría Orihuela, and an Indian father, Gopalan Balachandran, the maternal uncle of Harris.
Balachandran Orihuela, an academic in the United States, grew up between Mexico and India, but moved to Oakland, California, in 2001.
While a student in the United States, she reconnected with her cousin — an Oakland native — after moving in with her aunt, Harris’ mother Shyamala Gopalan.
In an interview with the EFE news agency, Balachandran Orihuela described the current U.S. vice president as a “loving” and “warm” person who was like her “big sister” when she moved to California. Harris even took her cousin to her first punk rock concert.
“When I think of Kamala, I see a person who has a lot of values — values of the importance of the family, of justice, of wellbeing of the common person,” Balachandran Orihuela, an associate professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of Maryland, told EFE.
“She’s a person with very strong principles and values that have to do with justice, also economic justice,” she said.
According to EFE, Harris and Shyamala Gopalan, a biomedical scientist, played a key role in helping Balachandran Orihuela adapt to life in the United States and integrate into society.
Harris — who was elected as district attorney of San Francisco not long after her cousin arrived in the U.S. — took her shopping, to concerts, and to protests, which led to a “political awakening” for Balachandran Orihuela.
The Mexico City native recalled that Harris took her to see the Californian punk rock band Bad Religion in San Francisco.
“Bad Religion was one of my favorite bands. I went to high school in India, there weren’t many punk rock concerts there. So I listened to music on my walkman and when I moved to the United States, I thought that now I would be able to go to all those concerts,” she told EFE.
Balachandran Orihuela noted that the family of Harris — and by extension her family — is very diverse. Such diversity “is characteristic” of the United States, she added.
“Our family is basically [representative of] the history of the United States. It’s an American family that represents a a lot of Americans — African American people, Latino people, people from India,” Balachandran Orihuela said.
Vice President Harris also has a connection to Mexico via her father, Donald J. Harris, an economist and academic who was a Fulbright Scholar in the country in 1992.
She traveled here in 2021 — a visit remembered in part for President Andrés Manuel López Obrador allegedly calling her “Kabala” rather than Kamala.
If she defeats Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 presidential election, Harris — like Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico — will become the first female president of her country.
The Mexico-United States relationship — currently strained due to U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar’s criticism of Mexico’s judicial reform proposal — will continue to be of vital importance during Sheinbaum’s presidency and the four-year term of the next U.S. president.
The two countries — each other’s largest trade partner — collaborate on a range of shared challenges, including immigration and drug and arms trafficking.
With reports from EFE
As a registered Republican who morally cannot & literally will not vote for Trump, or the Republicans who give him a platform, I accept that there are policy issues that V.P. Harris and I simply don’t agree on. However, knowing her taste in music is the same as mine, I feel that perhaps we agree on more than I thought. 🤙✌️❤️🤘🎸🥁🪇🤙
It wouldn’t matter what or who was running against Trump,
when democracy is involved it could be a rock and it wouldn’t matter !
💙
You and Willie Brown.
Ay, Enrique: ¡Presta atención! Willy Brown was separated, yet not divorced, from his wife since 1980. Kamala and Willie Brown knew each other in 1992. You apparently only watch FOX News. ¡Ay, Dios mío!
Other than your comment, this was a very interesting and compelling news article!
I suggest that Mexico News Daily stay out of U.S. politics. The owner, editor , and writer don´t have the depth and breadth of knowledge to be trying to influence readers and American voters.
Well said Barbara. At the same time I suggest that we stay out of Mexican politics.
My apologies to the above mentioned Mexico News staff for the inane comments made herein by my fellow American’s. Your piece was informative with no bias’ whatsoever. Thank you!
Bravo Ray. It was only imformative. When MND reports an opinion the article is labelled so “OPINION”.
The article was not about politics. It was simply stating facts about Kamala Harris’ extended family.
Well said Luisa, I agree with you.
Even with 10 Mexican relatives I still would not vote for her. No gracias. Why is this publication lobbying for her?
Good question. The party she represents has done a great job of destroying America
This publication is not lobbying for Harris. It is only reporting facts, not opinions.
Very informative & enjoyable article. Apparently humanizing a political opponent is another reason for reflexive scorn from the MAGA crowd. Examples include the ridicule of Tim Walz’s son for openly expressing love & pride for his father.
Well said.
Please keep American politics out of the Comments about articles published by MND
It’s not the job of MND to eliminate articles reflecting US politicians if it accurately describes connections to Mexico. It is actually a service to all of us. But reflexively criticizing MND as taking sides is unfair. Please remain accurate and fair and balanced in these comments so all of us can enjoy the wonderful journalism MND provides. I’ve lived in other parts of the world. MND is a unique gift to us here. Please don’t run it down for petty reasons
I love, love, love MDN. I look forward to it every day. As an American who loves Mexico and Latin America, I welcome any window into your culture.