Then, University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College President Juliet Garcia announced to the graduating class that one of their own had earned a degree without special assistance, and who was deaf.

For Cardenas, a weight had been lifted.

"I felt so relieved," she said. "Now that I've come out in the open with my disabilities, I've socialized more, and I'm more open when talking to deaf people. I feel more comfortable being part of the deaf world."

Within the mix of cultures and languages that make up the Rio Grande Valley, the deaf culture often goes unnoticed and is always unheard.

Speaking a language few outside their culture understand, they face the challenge of acceptance and find strength in the community.

American Sign Language, or ASL, is a language with its own grammar, colloquialisms and nuances. Those who speak it are defined by more than just language, as many in the hearing community find it easy to overlook them.

"Throughout the years, we've had deaf people have problems because the hearing community is not very helpful when asking for services or they need something," said Cardenas, a 29-year-old teacher for the Regional School for the Deaf at Hanna High School.

That's why the Deaf Club of South Texas was formed earlier this year. The club is trying to reach across the audio divide to spread understanding and make connections.

Growing up deaf

Angel Smith, 65, of Raymondville didn't have the luxury of a deaf community growing up in the small town of Hargill.

"I felt very different from other children," she said. "Everybody else could talk, and I wasn't involved."

It wasn't long before Smith was transferred from her classes with hearing students in Hargill to the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin.

After marrying a fellow school for the deaf student, having four children and living in other parts of the U.S., Smith returned to Raymondville and saw a vast improvement in the way of life for the deaf community.

Newer technologies, job opportunities, programs and school programs were available, although more improvements are needed, Smith said.

Improving technology

When not drumming on the table or roughhousing with his friends, Lara can be seen using a T-Mobile Sidekick to chat with friends. Wireless text messaging devices have become a boon to deaf youths.

"People use Sidekicks because they are the best way to communicate," said 18-year-old Joe Lee Marshall, a student at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College.

Students aren't allowed to use them during class, but like any other teenagers, those in deaf programs have been known to send notes to each other.

Smith agreed that technology has been good to the deaf culture.

"The video phone is a real blessing because we are able to use a video phone," she said, adding video phones allow translator services to make phone calls easier. "People would prefer to sign because I'm deaf. If you're hearing, you'd prefer to talk. I don't want to write."

Cardenas describes herself to hearing people as "hearing impaired" but noted many in the deaf community find that term offensive.

"I think we need to get rid of that," Smith said. "You can say hard of hearing or deaf. People can learn to speak. They can use a hearing aid, that's fine. They can use a cochlear implant, that's fine, but they are still deaf."

More than anything, she said, hearing people need to remember that deaf people are people, too.

"The only thing is, they can't hear you," Smith said. "That isn't necessarily a bad thing."

By Kevin Garcia
http://www.theeagle.com/stories/050406/texas_20060504031.php