I'm not sure why my parents called me Elisa or what my first name means. However, I've always been proud of my last name. Chimal is a Nahualt (Ancient Mexican dialect) word that means "shield". Apparently, in the pre-hispanic age many mountains around cities had this word at the beginning of their names because they were the protectors of the people. Mountains used to protect them against natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods, or from surprise attack during war time. Nowadays, my last name is not common even for Mexicans. Moreover, not many people speak Nahualt but it is a good reminder of our roots. There are still a couple of pre-hispanic surnames out there and my family and I believe it's important to keep the tradition and remember their meaning.

I'm not sure why my parents called me Elisa and what's the meaning of my first name, however I've always been proud of my last name. Chimal is a Nahualt word (ancient Mexican dialect) that means "shield". Supposedly, in the prehispanic age, many mountains around cities used this word at the beginning of their names because they where the protectors of the people. Mountains used to protect them, against natural disasters like (or "such as") hurricanes and floods, or from surprise attack in war time. Right know, my last name is not common, even for Mexicans, and nowadays not many people speak Nahualt, but it is a good reminder of our roots; there are a couple of prehispanic last names out there and my family and I believe it is important to keep the tradition and remember the meaning of them.