Mexican American And Mexican-American Cultures

According to one source, cultural identity can be defined as, “The system of understanding characteristics of that individuals society, or some subgroup

According to Engleburg and Wynn (2013) culture is defined as a learned set of shared interpretations about beliefs, values, and norms that affect the behaviors of a relatively large group. I am a part of the Mexican-American culture. For Mexicans, family comes first and their profession comes second. I believe that friends and jobs come and go, but family is forever. Family is something I believe strongly in, I will always pick my family first upon anything else. It makes perfect sense as to why I put no on question number one of the survey. I believe that children should be obligated to their parents to a certain extent. Mexicans tend to be bold with their opinions. Also, they typically voice their concerns than keep it themselves. Question number

In this article Mexicans: Pioneers of a Different Type Gonzalez gives us an outlook different from what we generally read when taught about American History. His effort is to explain how each of the different Latino groups came. What was happening in their home towns that caused them to leave. If people want to accept it, eventually they will have to. That this country is bound to go through an enormous Latino population explosion. Gonzalez writes “Mexican Americans meanwhile, face a frustrating identity problem like that of Puerto Ricans” (pg97). Being a Mexican American myself I could agree that it is at times frustrating identifying. We are either too American to be Mexican. Or too Mexican, to be American. In 1749 because of what was called the promise

Tanya Barrientos explained her struggle with her identity growing up in her writing “Se Habla Español”. Barrientos describes herself as being “Guatemalan by birth but pure gringa by circumstance” (83). These circumstances began when her family relocated to the United States when she was three years old. Once the family moved to the states, her parents only spoke Spanish between themselves. The children learned to how read, write and speak the English language to fit into society at that time in 1963. (83) Barrientos explained how society shifted and “the nation changed its views on ethnic identity” (85) after she graduated college and it came as a backlash to her because she had isolated herself from the stereotype she constructed in her head. She was insulted to be called Mexican and to her speaking the Spanish language translated into being poor. She had felt superior to Latino waitresses and their maid when she told them that she didn’t speak Spanish. After the shift in society Barrientos wondered where she fit it since the Spanish language was the glue that held the new Latino American community together. Barrientos then set out on a difficult awkward journey to learn the language that others would assume she would already know. She wanted to nurture the seed of pride to be called Mexican that her father planted when her father sent her on a summer trip to Mexico City. Once Barrientos had learned more Spanish and could handle the present, past and future tenses she still

Whatever you have grown up around, is what you consider home. You identify as the culture you grew up around. If one is caucasian and get adapted by a Mexican family, one would identify as Mexican. It is only what they know. Culture is

Many Latinos in the U.S. are descendants of Mexican people who lived in the Southwest when it was taken as plunders of war or acquired in a series of land sales. In many cases, their ancestors became Americans not by their own choice. Almost all other American Latinos or their ancestors migrated here from Latin America in search of a better life and opportunities. As a group, Latinos represent a combination of several ethnic backgrounds, including European,

Anzaldúa wrote about the conflicting views that Chicanos face involving their own self-identity growing up in societies that tell them they do not belong. Chicanos are people that were born in the United States but have parents that were born in Mexico. They face constant criticism for the way they speak, by both American and Mexican people. Often times Chicanos are told that they’re cultural traitors and that they’re speaking the oppressors’ language and ruining the Spanish language when they are heard speaking English by Latinos (Anzaldúa, 17). They are made to feel as if they need to choose a sole identity to represent and anything other than that is going to be looked down on. Chicanos have felt as if they didn’t belong anywhere, so they created an identity to fit in and belong to “Chicano Spanish sprang out of the Chicanos’ need to identify ourselves as a distinct people” (Anzaldúa, 17). A feeling of

In Norma Cantu’s Canicula: Snapshots of a girlhood el la Frontera, she addresses the topic of identity which is examined through the photographs of her past. In her story, it’s about how she grew up between two different countries of the U.S and Mexico. The narrator is searching for who she is within the two countries, which makes it hard for her to find herself as one culture can criticize the other. In one of the stories, “Mexican Citizen” the narrator is now faced to identify her identity as she now gets her U.S immigration papers. In these papers we see that the color of her skin listed is “Blanco”, on the other hand, her Mexico documents state that she’s “Moreno”. This shows two different identities that based just on her color of her skin. The narrator is able to cross the border occasionally without her parents that she then realizes the conflict of between the two cultures when she decides to live with Mamagrande in Monterrey. She interacts with her cousins, but they don’t seem to get along with her very well since she doesn’t know their way of things “I sing to them silly nursery rhymes and tell them these are great songs: Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, Little Miss Muffet, Old McDonald. They listen fascinated, awed, but then they laugh when I don’t know their games” (Cantu 23). We see that even though she can speak Spanish, the narrator still has trouble living in Mexico and she then faces problems trying to find her identity when she experiences the conflicts

Note 1: This identity is common amongst Latina/os who have immigrant parents and pursue higher education (or in general have interests that typically “Americans” or “white-people” have)

The United States is known as the melting pot because of the many different cultures that live here. Hispanics make up 35.3 million according to the 2000 census. Many people don’t realize that within the Hispanic culture there are many different groups. The different groups have different linguistic, political, social, economic, religion, and statues. Most Hispanics see themselves in terms of their individual ethnic identity, as Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Cuban, etc. instead of members of the larger, more ambiguous term Hispanic or Latino (U.S. Diplomatic Mission to Germany, 2009).

Every culture has their own unique and distinguishing characteristics. One’s cultural identity defines who they are as an individual, group, and community. Their cultural identity may be reflected in numerous ways such as: language, communication styles, religion, beliefs, values, clothing, or other types of aesthetic markers. Cultural identity is formed by many of these traits but is not limited to these specifically. This essay will provide detailed information on Mexican Americans, and their ancestry and heritage. I will also explain about this cultures central beliefs and values, while incorporating information on Mexican Americans, cultural patterns, cultural identity, and their cultures communication characteristics and styles.

Moreover, in the 1990s, two terms were widely used to identify Spanish-speaking people: Hispanic and Latino. The term "Chicano" is perhaps the best example of this social process. Chicano appeared in the mid-1960s as a political term of choice primarily among the young. The term identified an individual actively promoting social change within the context of the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s (Mendoza). In the past the term specifically referred to the unsophisticated Mexican immigrants. However, to the generation of political activists, their term of ethnic identity came to signify a sense of pride in their community and heritage. Unfortunately, the racial stratification that was introduced during colonialism has in many ways significantly affected the self-representation of many of these ethnic groups, an example of this can be seen in the inequities of the race and class caste system where Anglo-Americans in the United States, Criollos of white Spanish descent are given more privileges than the mestizas/os and Indians.

Chicana/o means a person of Mexican origin living in the United States. Both of my parents were born and lived in Zacatecas but came to the U.S. So because of this I was born in Chicago. Not all of my friends and family agree with me even being Mexican which makes no sense. To some I am seen as less Mexican and even white because I was born in the United States. Being American does not mean you’re white. When I was in Mexico City over the summer my cousins called me a gringa and treated me like I was one. As if I didn’t know what it was like to be Mexican. I consider myself to be just a little bit more Mexican than American. Being Mexican is something that I very much take pride in. Even more than being American. It makes me happy and I love my culture, the food, the people, the art, etc. everything is beautiful and over the years I’ve began

Culture is an identification of one's worldview, which can include values, beliefs, morals, attitudes, customs, experiences and behaviors communicated within those individuals. There are characteristics that define religion/spirituality, role within family, definition of illness and the use of healing and treatment practices presentation in health behaviors (Talamantes, 2000). When it comes to the culture of Mexican immigration status can play an important role to one's healthcare. If the Hispanics from the Mexican culture live in the United States also known as Mexican Americans they have a high change of having healthcare, but if they still live in parts of Mexico they have a less to nothing chance of having

In the article written by Molina (2010), he discusses that Mexicans in the U.S wanted to keep Mexican ways, however, they still wanted to be recognized as being white because being white comes with certain rights. Even though we follow Mexican traditions, I like to identify myself with both nationalities. My mother still cooks Mexican dishes, we still speak Spanish at home, and we still listen to Mexican artist at our parties. Relating to Molina’s statement, I identify with both nationalities not to get the rights that come with being born in the U.S, but because I have accustomed certain American traditions as well. To my cousins in Mexico, they believed that since I was raised in the United States I was only familiar with English artist and was not aware of certain Mexican artists. I figured that cousins in Mexico thought that I lived a life similar to the one from Leave it to Beaver, living next door to white neighbors, in a two-story home located in a nice quiet