“It’s Like a Superpower”: Jefrey Canova

Jefrey ‘Jef’ Canova, a senior sports media major, is most proud of his first-generation college identity.

Before being born in L.A., Jefrey’s parents were born in Lima, Peru. They respectively moved to the United States in 1998 and 2002, where they had Jefrey and then his two younger siblings. His dad even owns a Peruvian restaurant. 

Growing up, he learned both English and Spanish. At home, Jefrey exclusively spoke Spanish, but while at school, he honed his grammar and speaking skills in English. Because of the skills between both languages, he has many memories of translating documents and conversations for his parents.

The switch between the languages felt natural for him, especially since living in Koreatown allowed for a massive cultural fusion. Jefrey was surrounded by Peruvian, Venezuelan, Colombian and many more cultures.

Because of this, moving to St. Bonaventure, specifically the Olean/Allegany area, was a massive culture shift.

“I wish people knew how many words, meals and traditions that I may have heard of, but I am not super familiar with.”

Jefrey laughed as he recalled learning what licorice is. At Bonaventure, he says he is missing his Latino slang, the local Guatemala bakery back in LA and his favorite Peruvian foods.

“It’s no taco truck,” he laughed, discussing his trip to Don Tequila in Allegany. 

I then asked him if he likes to be bilingual.

Without hesitation he responded, “I love it. It’s like a superpower.”

 In his career, Jefrey aspires to be a sports reporter that interviews soccer players. Beyond this, he also wants to learn both French and Portuguese. 

“One day I would love to buy my mom a house,” Jefrey said. He said as a first-generation student, he feels a lot of pride, but a bit of pressure to succeed. Jefrey hopes he can inspire his younger siblings to also attend university, even though his sister still bounces between wanting to be an actress or a painter. 

Jefrey finds this month of celebrating Hispanic heritage very important. 

“Hispanics and Latinos are the buildings blocks of this nation… we are hard workers and there should be a month to honor that.” 

He finds it an honor to see fellow Latinos being recognized since the beauty of their culture gets to be appreciated. 

“It’s so special that we share the same story,” Jefrey remarked. 

Jefrey has been to Peru four times, and he loves the familial customs that surround the country. He has over 30 cousins, aunts and uncles in Lima and works hard to stay in touch with them through Facebook. 

What does Jefrey love most about Peruvian culture? Mainly, the food. He recommends Peruvian beer, Pilsen, and Peruvian ceviche. Aside from the food, Jefrey appreciates the hard working culture he was raised into, the passion they have and their general loyalty (to both country and family).