I am a Mexican-American woman with certain views of the world. I don’t believe that my place in the world is next to a man, nor do I believe that my sole purpose in life is to procreate. I am a woman who needs and wants her independence. I am also a 33 years old working class woman.…
My Cultural Identity What comes to mind when you hear that I am Hispanic? That I am Mexican; that I eat spicy food; that I play soccer; that my parents came into this country illegally? Many times that is what I feel when people say that about me. Hispanic is a term that is used to identify many cultures that come from Latin countries. Do you know how many Latin countries are in North, Central, and South America, and the Caribbean?…
I grew up in a Mexican household, so I always had to deal with my family’s special way of doing things. One thing that the women in my family used to do involved curing a baby’s hiccups. When a baby gets hiccups, a member of my family (usually a woman) would get a piece of red string, wet it, roll it in a little ball, and put in in the middle of the baby’s forehead. That would make the hiccups stop. I never knew this was considered “weird” to other people until I was in the second grade…
Amber What is a warrior? What does it mean to be a fighter? Every time I look at my little 4-year-old cousin, Amber, she reminds me of what a warrior is. Amber Marie and her sister Alexia Rose were born 4 months premature and they weighed 1 pound 5 ounces.…
The Colombian flag identifies my heritage. While people eat their eggs and pancakes on sunday mornings, I’ll gladly take my Arrepa con Queso and proudly say I’m a Colombian American. My parents came to the United States in the year of 1978 and had me 10 years later. My parents always grew up on farms and strict family households, where they worked and learned to be independent at 6 years old. They brought their traditions from Colombia to Philadelphia and raised me with their tradition.…
Young Latin American woman of Mexican descent with a curvaceous physique. Full time college student, studying Communications. I would describe myself as a fun, sweet, and easy going girl. I am bilingual in Spanish. Born and raised in the city of Los Angeles in California.…
Applying this to my educational career has gotten me far in my achievements and experiences. I’ve always enjoyed being involved in my school and with my peers. While in high school I have joined clubs and participated in various school groups and activities. I have been an active member of the National Honor Society (NHS) chapter for my entire highschool career. I was invited to become a member of NHS because of my high academics and positive characteristics.…
Although people assume otherwise, I am Latina, and I'm proud to be a part of that community. I obtain my Latin blood from my father, who moved to the United States from Uruguay as a child. My parents divorced each other when I was young; however, when I was with him for either the weekend or the month of July, I embraced all the wonders of my Latin family. Latino culture entails prodigious amounts of cooking, and we always cooked Uruguayan food; it was almost taboo to eat out. From flan to the glorious empanadas, my family always ate homemade meals.…
The world I come from is filled with great people, and is set up with opportunities for success, and achievement. I come from a strong, large, multiracial family. A family of courage, pride and one that has fought to prosper for generations. I know because of them I became the woman I am today. I grew up very fortunate due to the fact that my parents fought so hard to give my three sister, brother and I the life they couldn't receive.…
I am now able to appreciate the traits that come from both of the cultures I live in, whether it be the opportunistic outlook on life that I have developed from living in the United States or the motivation that comes from living in a Mexican household. I have developed goals of success, such as attending a four year university and majoring in political science. My Mexican side has encouraged me to work as hard as I can to end the cycle of poverty that has plagued my family and be the first to go to college and obtain a degree. Since then I have grown to love the fact that I am Mexican-American even more and more. I love that I am bilingual, and I believe that this trait will help me obtain the career in law that I desire.…
I come from a rather large community where Latinos seem to dominate my residence; however, even though there seems to be a vast amount of Latinos such as I, it seems that work is not easy to come by. The opportunities I my community are largely different than those one can see in the movies. California is not as grand as what many outsiders seem to believe. As a student and a daughter of a low income family I have seen first hand the struggles that many have to face if they want to survive the harsh economy that I live in. In my family I will be the first to go to college, so I have to set a good example to my three younger siblings.…
I’m the oldest of my family ,it’s frustrating because they put me in charge of everything .When you grow up in a hispanic family, if you’re the oldest you are responsible for whatever your siblings do also you have to share everything with them .I hated that because growing up ,I had to share everything with my sister she is 3 years younger than me ,whenever our mother had to buy something she bought things for my sister first and obviously I was the last one. The reason she was and still is like that is because I always understood her point was that she cried about everything.…
Growing up in a family with immigrant parents was not easy. Watching my parents freeze up every time a police officer pulled up next to them was anything but pleasurable. It was an anxiety felt by the whole family not just my parents. My parents, brother, and I endured many of these times throughout the years I’ve been growing up. Even though these were unfortunate moments, we all learned positive things from them.…
Rarely have I studied a topic that flows from my ears to my brain to my tongue as easily as the Spanish language; my heritage. The Spanish blood that runs through me is more than the genetics that gave me my dark hair and thin lips. It is the work of the generation that traveled from Mallorca through Puerto Rico, where it resides my family. This generation encouraged their children to study hard and make a living for their future families. In time, that influence would be passed on to me; finding my family book – filled with information I did not know about – this inspired me to investigate more and get to the point where everything started.…
They are very family oriented and tend to have large families. They believe in traditional gender roles. The man holds the most power in the family. He is expected to be strong and provide for the family. The woman is to have the children and take care of the family, including the elders (Understanding Cultural Diversity).…