Saturday, May 9
Mexican American
i am a 4th generation mexican american and i do not know spanish but want to learn. i grew up in a very Americanized household with my very Mexican grandma. its difficult for me at times being 4th generation Mexican because i find that i am judged a lot by especially "Mexican Mexican" people. While at ELAC i took several chicano studies classes because i wanted to know more about the culture and its history and found all of it very interesting. while taking these classes i was extremely frustrated because everyone would either say that i wasnt really "Mexican" because i dont know spanish and should be ashamed. honestly i hear this all the time, even till recently. i find it very odd because from my understanding..your culture is you and what you yourself makes of it. its just so frustrating that a lot Mexican Mexicans are against Mexican Americans trying to learn about the culture.
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I can totally relate to you. I understand Tagalog which is the main langage Filipinos speak. However, I cannot speak it. So when someone comes to me speaking Tagalog, I respond in English and that person automatically says, "Oh, you were born here in America." I mean, why would that matter? Why would they care? Even understanding the langage felt like it wasnt good enough. It is very odd from my understanding as well as yours. It's funny how people know if were Americanized or not whether being Mexican American, Filipino American and so on. You're right, it can be very frustrating at times being discriminated for being Americanized and born in the states as suppose to being born outside the country. Our culture is us and what we do make of it!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what's already been said. Simply because people don't speak the language, all of a sudden they're not considered a "true [insert nationality here]"! Also, people can be a certain nationality, but grow up in a completely different culture. We live in a diverse world so I don't think people can really judge whether or not someone belongs or identifies with a certain group. It is our own choice and is not necessarily limited to one culture.
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend, Mike, is Mexican. He was born and raised here and speaks spanish fluently. On the other hand his grandmother migrated from Mexico back in the day, and to this day does not speak any english. My boyfriend has Mexican friends, but most of them look more caucasian. They are very fair skinned and they do not speak spanish. When other spanish speaking "Mexican Mexicans" try to speak to his friends in spanish, and they find out that they cannot speak any spanish they are offended. His friends are seen as inadequate, lacking in Mexican culture and values. It is considered shameful. The spanish speaking "Mexican Mexicans" label Mike's friends as sell outs to American culture and do not accept them as true Mexicans. At the same time Mike's friends consider the "Mexican- Mexican" people "chunti" meaning somewhere along the lines of being too Mexican. I guess there are different cultural standards that "Mexican Mexican" and "Mexican American" people live by.
ReplyDeleteMy parents immigrated here from Egypt. I am among the first generation born here. I feel uncomfortable speaking arabic to my relatives because they make fun of my 'american accent. they're critical of the fact that i'm not totally fluent(but how am I supposed to practice and get better if everyone is always talkin shit!?) I do not fit in with the "Egyptian" crew(egypamerican children born here fully enmeshed in egyptian culture) because im too "american". still- i'm subjected to the same cultural standards and judgements. People come up and speak spanish to me regularly. If and when i haven't understood(i know limited high school spanish)some have gotten irritated and told me i was denying my heritage.. wth
ReplyDeleteI'm Mexican. My parents and grandparents spoke spanish, however, we were ALL raised to speak english ONLY. This was a way to blend in...my parents wanted all of us to be able to pursue an education. I look mexican and I cant speak spanish. I get sterotyped because of this. You guys are not alone.
ReplyDeletemiss kris
ReplyDeletewhat you said is exactly my point...our culture is us and what we make of it! i think it is to a certain extent ignorant when the people judge you on what they think is "knowning your culture". i dont think anyone has the right to tell anyone that that person is "real mexican" and simply call it being too americanized. afterall what is wrong with being Americanized? aren't we all to a certain degree "Americanized"?
I can relate with this situation as well. Im Japanese and hispanic and many people give me a hard time because i cannot speak either language. i grew up in a house where everyone spoke english, so i did not have any practice to speak another language as others might have. I took spanish in high school but did not learn how to speak the language. i just learned a few words here and there. My birth dad is hispanic and i have never met him, so the only family i have in my life is my japanese side. I look a lot more hispanic than i do japanese so people think i am able to speak spanish but like i said i only learned a few words in high school. if anything i know some numbers, so when people as for a shoe size at my job i can understand.
ReplyDelete