Kristin Hedrick
Culture Project
April 24, 2012
Mexican American Culture
Mexican American culture is loosely defined as Americans with Mexican decent.
However this can include immigrant Mexicans as well that have moved to America. Mexican
American is the blending of both American and Mexican cultures. The United States is home to
the second largest Mexican population. In 2008 there were 30.7 million living in America with
Mexican decent, 10 % of the population. Mexico is just south of the United States and shares a
border. They are Spanish speaking. Mexico maintains an embassy (ambassador) with the
United States and 52 diplomatic offices. Although some changes have been made to help
Mexico’s economy poverty is still wide spread. This is the number one reason citizens migrate
to the United States, they are hoping to find better jobs.
In this paper I will examine Mexican American culture through the book of Esperanza
Rising (2000) by Pam Ryan by explaining the beliefs held by her and her family. I will also
examine the book Papa and Me (2008) by Arthur Dorros. First I will examine Esperanza Rising
and the culture that is represented in the book and then I will examine Papa and Me and the
culture represented in that book.
Esperanza Rising follows the story of Esperanza young life. She is the daughter of a
wealthy man who owns acres of land in Mexico. He is a kind wealthy man and has given land to
many of his servants. However, bandits kill wealthy men regardless of how nice they are. Papa
is killed and Esperanza’s life begins to fall apart. Her family has no money and her house is
burned in a planned fire. Esperanza and her mother are forced to escape to the United States but
leave Abuelita (grandmother) behind. They go to work at a camp where Mama gets very sick.
Both have a hard time adjusting. Esperanza works to pay for her grandmother to come live with
them. Finally Mama gets better and they are all reunited!
There are many things I learned about Mexican and American culture through this book.
Esperanza Rising really helped me get into the Mexican American way of thinking. Throughout
the next paragraphs I explain the many aspects of Mexican American portrayed through the
book. These include: connection to nature, importance of celebrating the little things, connection
and respect for family members, pride in heritage and self, and the importance of religious
ceremonies.
Esperanza’s family firmly believes that the earth is alive and that they should live as one
with it. From chapter one: “She pressed closer to the ground, until her body was breathing with
the earth’s. and with Papa’s. The three hearts beating together (pg3).” Papa is explaining to her
the importance of nature and a human’s connection. This is furthered in chapter 2 when the
community gathers to cut the first fruit for the harvest. “Esperanza walked back to Papa and
handed him the fruit. Papa kissed it and held it up for all to see (pg 6).” Papa and nature are
clearly connected. He is also very proud of his harvest. Esperanza carries this with her to the
United States and tries again to feel the earth’s heartbeat. She grows weary and upset when she
cannot detect it. While Esperanza works at the camp she also grows weary of nature, especially
during the dust storm. Esperanza is very worried about her mother and the wellbeing of many
others out in the field. She does not seem in tune with nature since her father has died. However,
by the end of the book when she is reunited with Abuelita her connectedness to nature seems to
come back. On her birthday she lies in the field with Miguel and feels the earth heartbeat. “The
earth’s heartbeat. Just like she had felt it that day with Papa (pg 249).”
Quinceaneras and fiestas are also a strong theme in Esperanza Rising. Esperanza is
always excited about her birthday and when Esperanza and her friends get together they always
speak of their quinceaneras. Even when Esperanza and her mother have lost everything and are
forced to work in a camp they still have jamaicas or parties every summer Saturday. It is
important to celebrate the little things and enjoy life, regardless of the situation the family is in.
Connection to family is important to Mexican culture. A great example of this is when
Mama feels empathy for the families trying to cross the United States border but are forced to go
back, “Or there might have been a problem with just one member of the family so they all chose
to go back instead of being separated (pg 84).” When Mama gets sick and Abuelita is still back
in Mexico to be closer to her Esperanza takes up the knitting Abuelita started the night Papa
died. Esperanza does this in remembrance of her grandmother since she is not there and to take
care of her very sick mother. People in the village (her current family) begin to help her by
bringing all kinds of yarn to help the blanket grow. Esperanza also sees that Mama needs
Abuelita, so in order to bring her to the United States she goes to work. It is clear that Esperanza
misses her mother and longs for her closeness as she is sick. “Esperanza was surprised at the
simple things she missed about Mama. She missed her way of walking into a room, graceful and
regal. She missed watching her hands crocheting, her fingers moving nimbly. And most of all,
she longed for the sound of Mama’s strong assured laughter (pg 181).” There is a clear family
bond between mother and daughter and grandmother and granddaughter.
Esperanza’s grandmother, they call Abuelita lives with them and everyone respects her.
“When Abuelita walked into a room, everyone scrambled to make her comfortable. Even Papa
would give up his chair for her (pg12).” It is clear that in this culture the elderly hold a higher
status than in American culture.
Mexican culture is very proud and does not want to be looked down upon. They are
proud of their heritage and do not appreciate it when people put it down. The first example of
this is when Mama, and Esperanza cross the border to the United States to find work. “Mama’s
demeanor changed. She stared directly into the official’s eyes and spoke calmly as if she were
giving simple directions to a servant (pg 82).” The official is trying to insult Mama by asking
her about her work when it is clearly written on her papers. This angers her because this should
have not been as hassle she had to deal with. The guard is clearly looking down upon her
because she is an immigrant.
Religious ceremonies and acts are also mentioned throughout the book. The first mention
of this is when the family is waiting for Papa’s safe return home. “Abuelita and Hortensia began
lighting candles and saying prayers for the men’s safe return (pg 20).” This was a way to
comfort them in their time of need. Even in the camp is important to remember their religious
background. Friends work to place a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe and plant some of Papa’s
roses around it. Even though Abuelita was separated from her family she had the notion that
something was wrong when Mama was sick and took up religious ceremonies to comfort her.
“The feeling would not let of her so she lit candles every day for months and prayed for their
safety (pg 245).” Most Mexicans practice Roman Catholicism, although it is unclear which
religion Esperanza and her family belongs to, they exhibit many ties to a higher power.
Throughout the book many symbols are interpreted through the characters. The day that
Papa died Esperanza was pricked by a thorn. Both Mama and Esperanza knew it was bad luck
but wrote it off as something silly. “They both knew that bad luck could mean nothing more
than dropping a pan of water or breaking an egg (pg11).” Abuelita also sees a symbol that lets
her know that Mama is better. “Then one day, when she had almost given up hope, she found a
injured bird in the garden that she did not think would fly again, but the next morning when she
approached it, the bird lifted into the sky. She knew that it was a sign that whatever had been
wrong, was better (pg 245).”
Although there are few references in the book to how Americans perceive Mexicans, it is
up to readers to perceive this. The camps are not in the best conditions and are obviously run by
Americans. If Americans believed that Mexicans were skilled the camps would be better and
citizens from Mexico would have more opportunities besides working in the fields. There is one
great reference when Esperanza and Miguel are sent to the grocery store. Miguel is speaking of
Mr.Yakota, a grocery store owner far away from town: “He stocks many of the things we need
and he treats us like people (pg 186).” This if the first time Esperanza has experienced any direct
dealing with Americans and is shocked to learn of their prejudices. The worst experience
Esperanza experiences is with the officials at the Asparagus field. Although the misfortunes are
not directly happening to her she feels for the strikers who are sent back to Mexico only because
they were fighting for better wages. These incidents only make Esperanza long for Mexico even
more.
Papa and Me is about a young boy and his father’s day together. First they sing together.
Then it is time for breakfast where they invent their own food. Together they go to the park and
splash in the puddles. Next the boy climbs a tree and spots a bird. On the ride back home they
tell each other stories.
The culture portrayed in this book is quite different from that of Esperanza Rising. The
boy and his father are experiencing a carefree day enjoying the things they love. The culture in
this book was portrayed through Spanish words and Spanish style painting. The Spanish text
automatically puts the reader into a different culture because it is unusual to the reader. The
paintings are clearly Spanish due to the use to yellow and circular people. I believe that this will
help students transport into another world different from their own. The main purpose of this
book, I believe, is to show students that even though a student may be from a different culture or
background does not mean they are not similar. All students can relate to a rainy day, cooking
breakfast, or spending time with a parent.
There are some things however, are contained in both books. Both books use the Spanish
language to explain things or draw emphasis to something. It is also easy to see in both books
the strong family bond. Esperanza has a strong bond to her mother and grandmother throughout
the book. The boy in Papa and Me has a strong bond with his father and enjoys spending time
with him. There is also reference to his grandparents. It is unclear whether they live together or
they are just visiting. However, it is clear that the family ties are close, “Abrazos! They give
hugs to me and Papa.”
I really enjoyed both of these books. Esperanza Rising was one of my favorite books as a
young readers and rereading it only enforced that. This book really helped me get into the mind
of the culture. I felt that this book helps me better understand what Mexican immigrants went
through and how this attitude may be transferred over in today’s time. Esperanza’s life was just
starting in America and I wish I had more insight to how she was treated afterwards, did she go
to school?, and did her family leave the camp? This book would truly be a great way to analyze
Mexican American culture with a fifth grade class. There are so many good examples students
could examine. For instance, ask students to analyze why Americans treated Mexican
immigrants so terribly. Teachers could even incorporate a small history lesson about how
population changed through the time and why Mexicans started to move to the United States.
The book makes reference to this on page 12, in 1930 there was much resentment against
Mexican land owners.
Papa and Me also taught me about Mexican American culture. I felt that the paintings
taught me more that the text. The paintings really helped me as a reader step into a different
world. I think that this book would be great to analyze compared to a similar American text. It
would be significant to look at the different styles of art. This book would be great for an art
teacher. The teacher could have students determine what made the paintings Spanish and then
incorporate that into their own paintings. The reading level is for first grade but if an art teacher
is using this to teach painting styles it can be used for all elementary school grades.