My Mexican Culture Essay Example

Growing up in New York, my parents have strived their very best to keep my culture alive for my siblings and I. My family thrives on the many traditions and customs that they are able to continue living in New York. I can very much say everyone in my culture is filled with a great deal of pride in where they come from. At my age of twenty-three years old, I am fortunate to have had the privilege to travel to many places and yet still Mexico will always be my favorite. My culture is food, music, dancing, and love. 

Since the 18th-century Mariachis have been thriving to show a raw feeling of a love story or a personal life story which I find so beautiful and heartwarming. We eat tacos, tamales, tortas, and much more and it has a lot to do with the pueblos all over Mexico, each Pueblo introduces their ideas and traditions to one another which keeps the culture always so vigorous. We have many traditions such as Quinceneras which is the introduction to womanhood through a beautiful celebration traditionally it was celebrated in the pueblo with everyone from the pueblo but today in modern days most throw a party at a venue and celebrate with loved ones. Dia de Los Muertos is a very important tradition, its roots stem from the Aztecs about 3,000 years ago. The day of the dead is to celebrate the life of a loved one who has passed. These are very important traditions to respect, these traditions mean so much to us and will forever continue. 

Marianismo, throughout many generations it has been taught from women to women to be pleasant, quiet, pure, and chaste. Marianismo is rooted in catholicism the name comes from the Virgin Mary who is worshiped in the Mexican culture, since we admire her, we are taught to be like her. From my own experience, I did grow up in a household where I had felt huge guilt for wanting to wear makeup, wear nail-polish, stylish clothing. Watching tv programs such as MTV or Telenovelas growing up I was allowed to see another side of feminine beauty where it was okay to be strong, independent, tough, and have full freedom to be comfortable with who they are. My first day of middle school was the most confusing day of my life, I had recently graduated from an elementary school that carried grades pre-k up to sixth grade. When I had finished my first full day of middle school I did not know it was okay to curse or that it was allowed, or that girls my age were wearing nice clothing, or wearing nail polish, for me this was a brand new world. While in middle school I had learned about sex education which was a taboo in my home and I had felt very out of place because it was I had understood it but learning about STD’s, sex, sexuality I never knew if it was okay to understand. This would go on and on. My first period was a scary moment of my life as well because before the day of I never knew what a period was or how it happened or what I needed. I was clueless. 

Growing up in my traditional Mexican household I was ashamed and also shamed for wanting to know more. It wasn’t just my mother who shamed me, it was my entire family because there are specific topics that you are just not supposed to speak about. 

Machismo attitude is a behavior that has gone through generations and this goes along with Marianismo. A wife is supposed to cherish and admire her husband and is also required to keep her husband to feel like the man, superior, the husband is the boss of the house, whatever he says go and that is that. 

Growing up these behaviors have always been so toxic and very much condescending in my perspective. My parents had a very ugly relationship that I still do very much remember and being that I was there to experience the ups and the downs I had promised myself to never become like my parents or any other family member. 

I was introduced to a different world when I had started middle school and I was very scared, very nervous, it took me a long time to accept myself and still I am constantly growing. My best friend growing up is gay, we hung out all the time growing up, I would invite him to many family events and unfortunately, my family and I have had disagreements that turned into arguments because my best friend was a gay guy. Graduating high school and going to college was a big shock for my family from my cousin and me. Most of the ladies in my family born in the U.S. have gone to high school and married right after or had teen pregnancies, It is very fortunate that I was able to study and keep the focus on what is important to me but a traditional older aunt would not see it that way. 

The older ladies in my family believe that by your 20s you should already have babies and be married and have a hard-working family, which leads to dating, picking the right man for their daughter, he has to be a full-time worker who can make ends meet and continuously provide. It is important in my culture that we have our children. There is no adopting or shouldn’t be any adoption, it is important to reproduce your child. This is hard for some ladies in the Mexican culture, some ladies have complications and are unable to have a baby which can feel shameful since most of the ladies continuously ask younger ladies about baby planning. Gay marriage is looked down up by both women and men, some truly believe it is wrong or that it is a devilish act this does include transition in gender. 

To stay single or to choose not to have kids can be overwhelming. Mexican grandmother expects all the ladies in the family to have multiple children and to get married before they pass. The idea of a granddaughter choosing to stay single or not have children is selfish, my grandmother believes that since the female body is meant to reproduce we should reproduce as much as possible. It is extremely difficult to introduce new ideas or new concepts to our elders but sometimes can be possible. The idea of having full freedom to speak on whatever you want, or do whatever you want, or be in a relationship and not needing permission or your partner around all the time is completely different for the older generation.

My views have been greatly influenced by the many experiences throughout my life. The feeling of being an outcast or not fitting in where you are supposed to belong feels intense, I believe that everyone is allowed to do anything they would like to do as long as it makes them happy and harms no one. Being a female in my 20s working and going to school full-time is very stressful at times but the freedom I get by allowing myself to be comfortable in my clothes, in my own apartment, to be able to choose to focus on my education and my future means the world to me. Hopefully, my younger sister can look up to me as a role model, and if not I hope I give them the ability to see that there are options out there for women. No one has to stay home with the children all day but it is okay if you want that, being independent is great as long as they choose to want that. I do not only come from a very conservative family I also come from a very conservative town where some do not allow themselves to see a bigger picture. 

Completing this assignment reminds me how proud I am to be me, through the ups and downs I can always rely on myself and my best friend for anything. I also love that I chose to live my life the way I wanted no matter how I was perceived as a person and a woman.