HAPPILY EVER AFTER
Two types of butterflies live in my stomach: those that I have felt for my husband since day one and those that I feel fluttering senselessly every time I go to an immigration office.
My name is Paula Camila Niño Rodríguez. Niño is my father's first surname and it means child in Spanish. Rodríguez is the most common surname in Colombia and is my mother's first surname.
When I got married many people asked me if I would change my surname to my husband's. They didn't ask him. How could they ask a European with one of the most powerful passports in the world? One surname, one passport. The keys to freedom of movement or the inevitable suspicion of carrying drugs, of being a Latin American savage with a narco uncle.
I did not change my surname and I will not give up my passport.
Happily Ever After is a declaration of love that stimulates dialogue, admiration and disagreement. We don't have to agree on everything to love each other nor do we have to hide who we are to feel loved.
It is a privilege to fall in love with the same person every day and to want to grow old by their side. A fairy tale. A promise of love. A dream that for many foreigners in Europe can turn into a nightmare. The only way out. A permanent residence permit.