Traditional Mexican American Family

One of the most important institutions for a human being is the family. The family is where the individual builds up their manners, values, and morals. Family is also where socialization is mostly affected for an individual. According to Coltrane, family is defined as “a group of two or more people who reside together and who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption” (Coltrane). On the contrary, family is defined in many ways, some people define family as long past ancestors, distant family members, siblings or other blood relatives, and friends who are so close that they become honorary family members (Coltrane). Family can also imply to a specific feeling such as love and care, or it can also refer to as a negative emotion or interaction …show more content…
According to Becerra, “The traditional Mexican familia (“family”) meant an extended, multigenerational group within which specific social roles were ascribed to specific persons.” Which is by dividing the functions and responsibilities among different generations of family members, “la familia was able to perform all the economic and social support chores necessary for survival in the relatively Spartan life circumstances of the rural Mexican environment” (Becerra). Mexican American families usually work and live in ethnic homogenous settings, being influenced by Anglo American culture. Additionally, Mexican Americans family structures were also practiced in rural Mexico (Becerra). In the family, the male is the role of the authority figure and head of the household, then the female has the role of child bearer and nurturer, they practice traditional family roles. In continuing, “the contemporary Mexican American family exhibits a blend of traditional values and adaption to new environments and changing times” (Becerra). This aspect shows the product of social, economic, and political milieu that resides. Mexican American families have ceremonies that relate to life cycle rituals such as birth, marriage, and death that have been integral to the Mexican American culture still survive in greater and lesser degrees (Becerra). The traditional rituals are sustained by families through ceremonies, which often linked to the basic religious beliefs and values of the Mexican American culture. The main religion of Mexican Americans is Catholicism, where they do all of their weddings and coming-of age ceremonies. These rituals and practice also highlight the role of the extended family and the conjugal family. In which the extent and elaboration of rituals and ceremonies are often determined by the extent of