Monteagudo 1

Alex Monteagudo
ENGL 115
Professor Lawson
26 October 2014
Culture and Identity, Rough Draft
Word Count: 901
My Guatemalan American Identity
Describing ones identity takes countless aspects to cover. The many details that you can
find are endless. When it comes to describing my identity, I catch myself thinking of the many
elements that make up who I am and the influences that have shaped me. To be very blunt, I
would describe my identity as being Guatemalan American and as someone who tries to make
the most of the opportunities given. The identity and attitude I carry stems from my personal
experiences, influences, and cultures that I have been most familiar with throughout my life.
The culture in my household is Hispanic. Both of my parents were born in Guatemala and
moved to California at very young ages. They never forgot their Guatemalan culture and they
made sure to pass it on to my two sisters and myself. Although some American culture is mixed
in, we always make sure we hold on to our roots. At any time of the day, you will almost always
hear Marimba playing from my moms radio. Marimba is a genre of music that is very popular in
Guatemala and also has a distinct dance to it. Throughout my house you will also find a number
of Guatemalan flags and fabrics that have a very colorful pattern and are handmade by the
indigenous Mayans from Guatemala. Spanish is spoken most of the time inside the house as well
but there is a large amount of Guatemalan slang that is used. The most common slang word
used in my household is Bs. Bs is a way referring to a person and it is easily compared to

Monteagudo 2
calling someone Dude. The food that my mother makes has a very Latin background with
many recipes from all over Central and South America. All of these aspects connect me with my
Guatemalan culture, some more than others, but through these, experiences I have learned to
express myself in different manners and they have influenced me in what I take a liking to such
as the type of people, music, and sports that I surround myself with.
My personal experiences have also shaped me into the person that I am. Through first to
twelfth grade, I have attended private Catholic schools. Religion is very important in Guatemalan
culture, so my parents decided to give me a Catholic school education. Attending private schools
almost all my life is one of the biggest influences on how I compose myself today. I treat others
with respect and I try to be kind to everyone even if it may not be so easy. The image of private
Catholic school students is that they are the good kids who do not do anything wrong, but that is
rarely the case. In my past experiences, I got into a good amount of trouble while in Catholic
schools, but I learned from what I did wrong and it shaped me into the person I am now.
Another experience that shaped me was a trip that I made last summer to Guatemala. I
had never visited the country before and I was very excited to visit. I anticipated my arrival
because of the large number of family I would meet for the first time. Upon exiting the
Guatemalan airport, I met about 30 new family members for the first time. Although it may be
difficult to believe, that was only a fraction of my family in Guatemala. During my time in
Guatemala, I had the opportunity to mingle with family I never met before, practice and improve
my Spanish, and connect more with my Guatemalan culture. There were aspects of the culture I
had never experienced before and it was a big change in how I identified myself. I was happy to
find myself further connected with my Guatemalan culture.

Monteagudo 3
My parents taught me many aspects of how to succeed in life and one way they did this
was by enrolling me in different sports teams. I started playing sports when I was six years old
ranging from baseball, soccer, basketball, football, and volleyball. Throughout my life, soccer
was always my favorite sport to play. Soccer is huge in Central American culture and playing
made me open my eyes to many ways of expressing myself. Soccer taught me how to be a team
player and how to communicate with others. It influenced me in my personal life and most
especially my personal life. Soccer always brought my family together and helped us bond. This
was most evident during the World Cup this past summer. The excitement and passion we hold
for soccer makes us a closer family and has taught us that family is a huge part of life. The
influences I gained from soccer are part of how I communicate to others and view on my family.
In the end, my Guatemalan culture, experiences, sports, and influences are what have
shaped me to be the person that I am today and how I identify myself. My parents have been the
biggest influence to me because of the way they raised me into Guatemalan culture and how they
overcame obstacles in their life to find success. Many of my personal experiences such as
traveling and playing soccer have connected me closer to Guatemalan culture and have showed
me how to express myself. I am happy to say that being Guatemalan American has made me the
person I am today.