Family Archetype : Infant Photograph

Living in Mexico throughout her teen years was very rough. Unlike other teenagers where their parents constantly provide for their children, Marisela’s life was a lot different than the usual parent- child relationship. She lived with her Abuela ( Grandma) Lupe, along with her 3 brothers and sister. She constantly had to take care of her brothers and sister at such a young age, that she became the mother-like figure of the

In his essay Bajadas, Francisco Cantu explores the physical and emotional landscapes that shift during his time as a United States border control agent. He candidly writes about his experiences, using imagery to describe the physical landscape of New Mexico in a way that mirrors his own emotional landscape and answers the question that he grapples with most. Cantu writes, “There are days when I feel I am becoming good at what I do. And then I wonder, what does it mean to be good at this? I wonder sometimes how I might explain certain things…” (7). This important question is what drives Bajadas; it is what compels Cantu to write so vulnerably. Through a journal-like structure, Cantu details what his job requires of him and the way he treats

In the film “Mi Familia,” we follow the story of the Mexican-American Sánchez family who settled in East Los Angeles, California after immigrating to the United States. Gregory Nava and Anna Thomas introduce the story of this family in several contexts that are developed along generations. These generations hold significant historical periods that form the identity of each individual member of the family. We start off by exploring the immigrant experience as the family patriarch heads north to Los Angeles, later we see how national events like the great depression directly impact Maria as she gets deported, although she was a US citizen. The events that follow further oppress this family and begins separate identity formations. These

The documentary Babies by Thomas Balmès is a film that takes place in four very different locations around the world. The documentary follows four babies and their families from when they are first born as they grow up and are able to walk. We watch Ponijao grow up in Namibia, Bayar grow up in Mongolia, Hattie grow up in San Francisco, and Mari grow up in Tokyo. Because the babies are from such different places, the documentary allows us to see what it is like growing up in cultures that we are currently unfamiliar with. The film opens up your eyes to the various forms of living in other areas around the world. In this paper, I will discuss the universal themes I noticed, my personal reflection of the film, the various

Chavez’s life started in a small adobe home, near Yuma Arizona on March 31, 1927. His parents

I was borned in a small village call San Bartolome Quialana located in Southeastern Mexico. It is best known for its indigenous peoples and cultures. Here, in San Bartolome Quialana, women proudly cover their heads with multicolored chews and protect their satin dress with their gauze blouse and bib garments, each made with their own hands. The fabric is reserved for the women who also work in the fields. I mostly grew up with my mother Guadalupe,Smirna and Friedy. My brother being 14 years and my sister 12. In San Bartolome Quialana I grew up speaking an indigenous language call Zapoteco. I lived in a bigger house there but didn't have any warm water, nor a shower. Our kitchen didn't have a stove we made our own tortilla in a comal. My

Poor Mexican American. Female child. We all look alike: dirty feet, brown skin, downcast eyes. You have seen us if you have driven through South Texas on the way to Mexico. We are there – walking barefoot by the side of the road. During harvest time there are fewer of us – we are with our families in the fields. (prologue)

Norma Elia Cantu’s novel “Canícula: Imágenes de una Niñez Fronteriza” (“Canícula: Snapshots of a Girlhood en la Frontera”), which chronicles of the forthcoming of age of a chicana on the U.S.- Mexico border in the town of Laredo and Nuevo Laredo in the 1940s-60s. Norma Elia Cantú brings together narrative and the images from the family album to tell the story of her family. It blends authentic snapshots with recreated memoirs from 1880 to 1950 in the town between Monterrey, Mexico, and San Antonio, Texas. Narratives present ethnographic information concerning the nationally distributed mass media in the border region. Also they study controversial discourse that challenges the manner in which the border and its populations have been

One photo of a man holding a baby sparked this whole debate about Mexican fathers. The impression of Mexican men was that they were not active in their children’s lives. They were thought of as those who “shun those kinds of duties” such as caring for their children (Murray 311). When showed the photo, different people had different reactions. Some thought the man holding the baby looked tender; while others believed the photo looked forced and unrealistic. The people of Mexican culture saw nothing odd about the photo. The ones who questioned it were people from other areas of the world and anthropologists.

If three baby pictures were spread out in front of you would you be able to pick which one fell under the category of an “anchor baby”? The answer yet unknown, is doubtful. A baby is a baby, born with innocence and purity without choice of where they are born. That choice is the mothers to whom the child belongs to. What is an anchor baby, how did the term come about, how is this allowed, what are the statistics, and how is it relevant to Mexican American studies will all answered in this paper.

This is a narrative of one Mexican American woman’s experiences and her views on the importance of passing down the cultural beliefs of her ancestors. In the section of the country in which I live there is a large population within the community of Mexican American culture. Although I have frequent contact with people of Mexican American heritage either through employment or interaction out in the community, I have a limited understanding of their culture. For this reason, I chose to learn more about the population of people I have frequent contact with and as a professional work with as clients in the field of mental health counseling. The quest of finding someone knowledgeable to discuss the population, their cultural background and some of their necessities, as well as some past experiences, led me towards contacting a church. This took calling two different churches before the person at the second church informed me that I needed to speak with, Mrs. Socorro Garcia head of their Hispanic Ministries. Unfortunately, Mrs. Garcia was on vacation when I called, but I was able to speak with her over the phone the following week, setting up an interview in person at her office a couple days later. This was a relief because I was becoming concerned about locating someone for a personal interview.

"My Grandparents, My Parents and Me." My Grandparents My Parents, Mis Abuelos Mis Padres, Frida Kahlo, C0160. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May

The story illustrates the overlapping influences of women’s status and roles in Mexican culture, and the social institutions of family, religion, economics, education, and politics. In addition, issues of physical and mental/emotional health, social deviance and crime, and social and personal identity are

The dance of the little old man is a big deal in my home state of Michoacán in Mexico. The imagery of the rurally dressed men wearing ponchos and pink masks of a caricature of an old man are everywhere in my home state. Even foreigners and tourists realize the impact of the figures as Ruth Heelier-Tinoco points out in her book “Embodying Mexico tourism, nationalism and performance” she states,

Almost every woman in North America has some form of a relationship with their daughter and/or mother in their lifetime. However, these relation can vary in amiability and affection. Whether due to similarities or differences in personality or circumstances in life, mothers and daughters can be close confidants or fierce foes. These familial relationships have been studied in part by Marianne Hirsch and Sharon M. Varallo in their essays on “the familial gaze” and “the genre of family photographs,” respectively. In this essay, I will be using the work previously done by Hirsch and Varallo to analyze two different mother-daughter relationships presented in the television show Gilmore Girls. The two relationships differ vastly in their outward appearance, however both relationships show underlying characteristics of both friendship and animosity. Overall, these two mother-daughter relationships demonstrate that the love between a mother and a daughter can be expressed in various ways.