My Mexican Identity

When filling out a questionnaire, it is only a matter of time before I come across the predictable: what is your race/ethnicity? I do not have to think long nor hard about my answer. In fact, I do not hesitate to pencil in African American. Why is that? It could very well be that at a glance my skin tone and accent is enough for people to quickly label me as such thus reaffirming my identity.

I have short black hair, and you could say that I look Hispanic due to the color of my skin. Truth is, I AM Hispanic, but yet I live in the U.S., specifically Austin, Texas, in a house where I, by my lonesome,

I believe the term, hispanic, itself does not define who I am. I define who I am and who I want to become. However, I do come from a Mexican heritage. Coming from a Mexican heritage has influenced and deeply impacted my life. My heritage has taught me a lot.

In the past I have struggled with my biracial identity. As a child I was confused about which community I belonged in because I am a mix of Navajo and Caucasian. As I got older, I began to question myself and who I was. I felt like I did not belong to either the Native or Caucasian community because in both groups I felt like someone else. I felt as if I had to live two lives that were completely separated.

At my high school, most people believe that being Hispanic means you are from Mexico. As an officer in my school’s Hispanic Society, I work to educate fellow students that being Hispanic includes many nationalities and cultures. Both of my parents are from Guatemala, and my Hispanic heritage is strong. This is why I participate in Hispanic Society.

The traditional definition of Chicano social identity throughout the civil rights era is still valuable today but to a certain extent. The consciousness and commitment to activism are the two parts of the definition that still hold meaning. Cultural pride as stated as part of the definition, is limited only to those who are of Mexican decent, educated, those that are of middle class and the politically involved. It excludes those who are undocumented, are biracial, Central Americans, Chicana lesbians and Chinese immigrants. Therefore, the definition of Chicano social identity should be redefined, but not all completely.

I grew up in a two-parent household with my parents being married before they had children. My father has always been the one that provides finically, while my mother was the one who took care of my siblings and I throughout my childhood. Being that both of my parents were born in Mexico, I consider myself Mexican American. I am proud to be Mexican American. Culture plays a huge role in shaping your identity.

Choosing to be a Mexican over American Today I feel more like a Mexican than anything else even though I was born in the united states. I may have papers and be American but hearing other ethnicities call my people immigrants and illegal makes me feel more like an immigrant myself. I feel this way because although I am considered an American I would much rather stand by my people and my culture. I would label myself as a Mexican-American, Latina, person of color, and as a minority. I describe myself as a Mexican-American because I was born and raised in Chicago and from Mexican descent.

Since the dawn of time Texas has been a revolutionary place where many cultures manifested and changed. Latino Culture has obviously been a major influence on Texas overall, this can be taken from the name itself and other things. Not only does “Texas” derive from spanish origin, but the progress of Latin culture into America and the civil rights movement has gone a long way and truly made a foundation for Texas since the 1500s . The majority of latinos in Texas can trace their ancestry to the racial mixture that happened after the conquest of Mexico by Spain near the 1520s.

I identify as a Latina. I have always considered myself as a Latina, but throughout time, I believe that I have assimilated more into a white individual because of the privilege that I hold and because I have lived in the US most of my life. I have received mostly negative messages from those who are not from my ethnicity. My peers and I were told we wouldn’t graduate high school and be laborers for the rest of our lives. With the current politics, I believe that this still holds true where some people still hold stereotypes and give oppressing messages to Latinos.

I am very proud of my Hispanic heritage. Even though, I am an United States citizen, I am always going to belong to my Hispanic backgrounds. There are so many reasons that I am proud to be Guatemalan and American that I could write a whole book about it. However, I regularly participate in my Hispanic culture and community through my family, traditions, and by being bilingual.

Although the two ethnic groups which make up the Mexican Americans are similar, each group possesses different traits which differentiate them from each other. One clear difference between the two groups is that Mexican Americans oppose the influence of Anglos and their view of being having a superior standing above that of the Mexican Americans. Also, Anglos view the furthering of the educational levels of the Mexican Americans as being as having a detrimental impact, which would be pushing Anglo’s out of jobs and then hiring the Mexican Americans to replace them, often at lower paygrades. Geographically speaking, there are differences as well.

I’m the first generation of my family to be Mexican -American, but I have been introduced to the Mexican culture since I was born. I appreciate the difficulties my parents have faced to make me the person that I am today even though I wasn’t born in Mexico my parents have taught me the language and the culture which I’m so proud of being part of. For others being Hispanic is actually being born in any Latin American countries which is not true at all. Being Hispanic is much more than my cultural background it actually describes how much I appreciate my culture and how I get to experience things other people don’t. I fit into the Hispanic community through the experiencing the culture first hand ,participating in traditions and planning to include my culture in my future.

Chicano is well known and recognized around the world. Their devotion to Catholic Church and tradition is unparalleled. Their contribution to human development has been substantial and unique (Long, np). Latino culture maintains self-reliance but not in expense of family betrayal as the family is the center of psychological function. Approval of the family is extremely important when one is engaging in any adventure.

The background of my cultural identity I am an African American female but that isn’t all there is to know me for. I am an African American girl who is very interactive with my religion and also my culture. Cultural identity can be hard to explain because some people don’t know what’s really in their culture and they fail to see , and understand it. I know what my cultural identity is because of my ethiopian flag, the baked macaroni, and the movie the lion king.