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"Salma Hayek has clarified her recent comments that she &amp;quot;hardly [has] any memories of what it is to be Mexican&amp;quot;. Hayek caused controversy this month while speaking to Vogue Deutsch about playing a Mexican drug cartel leader in the new film Savages.   &amp;quot;I am proud to have been involved in this film with all these great actors. Honestly, I hardly had any memories of what it is to be Mexican. My life is completely different now,&amp;quot; Hayek is alleged to have said. Hayek&amp;#039;s representative later attempted to clarify that the star&amp;#039;s comments were translated from German incorrectly and added that she was &amp;quot;not disparaging Mexico in any way&amp;quot;. The actress has now released her own statement to insist that she is very proud of her Mexican heritage. Hayek said in a press release to The AP: &amp;quot;I have never denied my background or my culture. I have taught my child to embrace her Mexican heritage, to love my first language, Spanish, to learn about Mexican history, music, folk art, food, and even the Mexican candy I grew up with.  &amp;quot;I have always been an active part of my community. I have tried my whole life to represent my Mexican roots with honor and pride. It saddens me when my words are lost in translation and taken out of context to hurt the people of Mexico, whom I love.&amp;quot;   Hayek grew up in the Mexican state of Veracruz and got her start in the country&amp;#039;s movie industry with the hit Midaq Alley. Her film Savages is currently playing in the US and opens in the UK on September 21. &amp;gt; Savages Oliver Stone: &amp;#039;Salma Hayek knows how to get what she wants&amp;#039; Watch a trailer for Savages below:  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/news/a401710/salma-hayek-clarifies-heritage-remark-im-a-proud-mexican/>