Essay On Mexican Heritage

Growing up in an area with a large Mexican community I never really understood how much my culture means to me. I grew up with the stories my dad and grandfather would tell me about my ancestors. My people were the raiders from the hills of Mexico City and that we were a family of warriors. I never held much weight to the warrior part of my grandfather’s stories but I did know that my great grandfather was a fighter. He left Mexico and rode the train up to Denton Texas and sold tamales on the square his entire life. He fought to give my grandfather a better life here. I don’t talk about my dad’s side of the family much, in this day in age being seen as white has more advantages than being seen as Mexican. This thought changed as I came to

One of the best examples of this growing Mexican-American pride is the development of corridos, which are folk songs sung to honor various Mexican and Mexican-American folk heroes. They tell the stories of wars, romances, and in this case, border heroes. For Mexican-Americans, the most popular version of the corrido was about the border hero, who is “always the peaceful man, finally goaded into violence by the rinches, [Spanish name for the villainous Texas Rangers] and rising in his wrath to kill great numbers of his enemy…whatever his fate, he has stood up for his right.” For example, “El Corrido de Gregorio Cortez,” written in 1910, followed a well-meaning, honorable, hardworking Mexican-American man named Gregorio Cortez, whose brother

Becoming Mexican American is George J. Sanchez’s document how Chicanos survived as a community in Los Angeles during the first part of the twentieth century. He goes into detail of how many thousands of Mexicans were pushed back in to Mexico during a formal repatriation. Those that survived in Los Angeles joined labor unions and became involved in New Deal politics.

a city where an eagle with a snake in its beak rested on a cactus. This

Hispanics or Latinos are defined as a people of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish speaking culture. This term “Hispanics” was created by the U.S. federal government in the early 1970’s to refer to Americans born in a Spanish speaking nation or with ancestry to Spanish territories. Hispanics people are vibrant, socializing, and fun loving people. Among various facts associated to this culture is that they have a deep sense of involvement in their family traditions and cultures.

Section A: I am a Mexican-American woman, born to Mexican immigrant parents, and by birthright an American citizen. In my phenotype, I do not look like a stereotypical American, with blonde hair, blue eyes, or a light complexion. I have black hair, dark brown eyes, and a light brown skin complexion. While exploring my identity and my sense of belonging in my Mexican-American, or Chicana identity, I can relate to the growth and development described in the Model of Death and Dying. For, I have the privileges of an American, but have witnessed discrimination against my fellow Mexicans counterparts.

Every year on Christmas Eve and Christmas, the entire family crosses the border to Mexico for a family reunion at my grandmother’s. A few years ago, this was the norm and everyone would bring food and drinks and celebrate Christ’s birth. Then things started to change when my aunts and uncles. Little by little, my aunts and uncles, which started the quarrel, have overcome their ego with the arrival of my two nieces. They, as well as I, have realized that we cannot bring other people into our own problems simply because we are too prideful to be the first to apologize. I come from a Mexican Family Heritage’ we visit my grandfather’s grave once in a while on the Day of the Dead all the way to a small town name “Salinas” four hours away from Matamoros,

Mexicans immigrated to the United States back in the 1800's (Stanford, 2006). During 1848 the United States took over a part of Mexico which is now the Southwest (Stanford, 2006). Mexicans living in these areas were Mexican citizens before the acquisition. The United States even went into agreements with Mexico to have Mexicans work in the United States. Mexicans were treated with cruelty, while working the agriculture fields for years. The United States made several agreements with Mexico to have the Mexicans come work in the United States while American soldiers were fighting in the world wars. The labor shortage that the United States went through was reason enough to have Mexicans migrate to the United States as laborers. The United

Discrimination has been the brawn of injustices done to people of color. Most don't know of the Chicano struggle in the United Stated for the past four to six generations. Chicanos in America were forced to face chaos, poverty, and pain. Chicano, by Richard Vasquez is a perfect example of how Mexican Americans and Chicanos were treated in America during the 90's. Although Chicanos faced a burdensome life in America, lots of customs and culture immigrated to America with them, which has fabricated the Chicano Culture. The book Chicano profoundly demonstrates how hard it was for a Mexican family to immigrate to America. Once Chicanos started a life in America, it was very hard to get out of it. Mexicans were not socially accepted because

When people think of Mexico they think Spanish, but that is wasn’t always the way it was. For thousands of years the Spanish hadn’t even heard of the New World. Or what is now known as Mexico. Various Mesoamerican tribes ruled it.

In 1846 the United States and Mexican War began, and from this point on will change numerous amount of people’s lives. The treaty of Guadalupe brings the Mexican war to an end in 1848, and thousands of Mexicans ended up living on American soil. Since Americans won the war, consequently the Mexicans still resided in the united states until further laws excluded them from the country. Eventually, Americans migrated to move West into the recently acquired land from the Mexican and American war, including land that is owned by Mexican Families. Reflecting of the history of our country it makes America look greedy and power hungry at the time. In 1942, The United States entered world war II, and since majority of American men went to the battle

Unfortunately for the Zapotecs and other indigenous peoples, migration to the US does not bring an end to the structural and symbolic violence they must face. Unlike the systemic pressure present in Mexico and their home countries, Indigenous groups face societal pressures not only from migrant mestizos but from the dominant Anglo population of the United States. From their mestizo countrymen, they generally experience a less intense form of the violence from the home country. Generally, these include shame of public displays of their languages and racial insults. From the Anglo population, Indigenous groups are often misidentified and grouped within the broader Hispanic identity, not understanding that they are a different cultural group. To fit a mold that has been pushed upon them, Indigenous peoples are pressured to adopt multiple identities. In accordance to the US system of ethnic classification, Zapotecs identify as ethnically Mexican, followed by their regional identity as Oaxaquenos (Oaxaca region of Mexico), and as lastly as Yalalag Zapotecs (Cruz-Manjarrez pg.126). But by juggling multiple identities, Zapotecs and other indigenous groups have both gained both negative and positive aspects of themselves. By being labeled as Mexicans, Zapotecs and other Mexican indigenous groups can take pride in a nationality they have been denied for so long. As Oaxaquenos, there is a recognition of a broader pan-indigenous identity in Latin America. For Yalalag Zapotecs, the

It was difficult to comprehend the perception of those who were unconditionally giving. It was the endless smiles and the wide eyes full of admiration in which formed a gesture of gratitude that capitated my heart. It was when I traveled to Mexico that I was led to question my perception. Troubling my mind were the kids in innocent manner wearing the same outfit for the entire week and playing contently on the dirt roads. They looked up with love and gave us endless hugs as we passed by. As I notice their brick muddy houses, I saw how their parents worked day after day in an effort to feed their family, but without a doubt in their mind they came to offer us food. Even though they could not afford much they still wanted to make us feel welcome and with a heart full of content, they were happy with this decision.

Two years… It’s mind boggling to admit that it has been a full two years since my vacation in Mexico. So much time has passed, and yet, those memories still feel as bright and warm as the day they were made. I can still remember the excitement that coursed through my body as we left the airport, heading to our resort. I can still remember straining my ears to try and interpret the languages that were spoken around me, the kind smiles I’d receive once they realized I had no idea what they were saying. I can still remember the dancing rainbow I’d visit every night as the sun slowly crept below the ever-shifting blue horizon. If I close my eyes, it almost feels as though I’m back in Mexico, arriving once again for the first time, piling out of

It was 2011 when my mom and I decided to visit our family in Guerrero, Mexico. We were at O’Hare airport waiting for our plane to depart. When we got inside the airplane I was looking out the window seeing the other airplanes fly to their destination. I knew we were getting closer because I saw the big mountains outside the window. While I was in the car heading to my mom’s pueblo I was admiring the beauty of the mountains and the flowers