Jordan Horrocks

U0536827

Population Appreciation Exercise

Interview with an Other
Damaris Cluff is a Hispanic American, born in Mexico City, Mexico and currently living
in Salt Lake City, Utah. She faces daily challenges and different forms of discrimination and
oppression. Growing up she didnt have the opportunity to enjoy and participate in various
leisure and recreational activities like most youth. Despite struggles, Damaris has grown to be
biculturally acculturated, becoming part of the American culture while still keeping close ties
with the Mexican culture.
Damaris left Mexico at the age of five and moved to Southern California, where she
faced little discrimination due to the abundance of diversity in California. However, that
changed when Damaris moved to St. George, Utah at the age of eleven. She felt that at the time,
Utah had a much smaller Hispanic population and some people were not familiar with Mexican
people. Damaris is a Latter Day Saint of the Church of Jesus Christ. Many children in her church
lessons didnt believe she was Mexican, because they thought that apparently Mexicans cannot
be Mormon. She also has struggled with people identifying what ethnicity she derives from and
racial slurs were directed towards her at a young age. Children had called her the N word
because they must had assumed that since she was not white like them that she must be black. In
one of her past relationships she spoke of an awful experience she had. She was speaking with
the parents of the gentleman she was at the time dating, and relatively out of nowhere they asked
her if she was an illegal. Damaris is currently here on a visa, is married to a United States citizen,
and is by no means an illegal immigrant. She answered them politely and told them that she was
legal, and now tells me that this is one of the most offensive things you could ask. Good for her
for keeping her composure after being insulted by being asked that. Another occasion she shared
about playing volleyball in high school. She was as good as the other girls that had made the

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team; however, Damaris believed that the coach assumed because of her ethnic diversity that she
wouldnt be suitable to be on the team, judging her on her looks rather than skill level.
Although there was a lack of leisure and recreation in her upbringing I dont know that
this would necessarily be related to culture, rather more to socioeconomic status. She spoke of
how one time for a family trip they went to the Grand Canyon, and other than that they didnt go
on many other vacations. I asked if this might be culturally based, thinking that it might possibly
have to do with Mexican culture and an opposition to conspicuous leisure in their culture, but she
mentioned it was mostly just due them being in a lower income range. Instead, growing up she
would be taken to local parks and playgrounds to play. She stated partly due to income and also
being Hispanic, she never learned to swim. Like blacks, assumedly, who dont like to swim,
apparently neither do Hispanics. Her not knowing how to swim left her out from opportunities to
go to parties and other events and participate in certain leisure and recreation activities.
Damaris living in the United States has become biculturally acculturated. She still is able
to hang on to her heritage while embracing the American culture. When at church and with
family were the times she spoke Spanish. The rest of the time, at school and elsewhere was
English. You might even say there is a little bit of forced acculturation, because at times when
cooking for her husband and his family she misses and is tempted to make classic, spicy
Mexican dishes but cant always because not everyone will generally like it. Also, she misses
certain Mexican traditions that she isnt able to take part in anymore because the confliction with
American culture, such as Christmas traditions, celebrating the night before Christmas. Because
of these things she had stated that she also wants to raise her children bicultural, teaching them
Spanish, and English, and participating in both cultural traditions, but said it would be difficult if
both parents dont speak Spanish. So her husband will need to learn Spanish better. Damaris even

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spoke of her mother, who only speaks Spanish, but has become acculturated or acclimated rather,
and when returning to her hometown of Vera Cruz is very uncomfortable due to the humidity and
heat and she has grown to be very accustomed to the luxuries we have in American society.
Many people from different racial, religious, sexual orientation, ethnic, cultural, and
ability groups face many forms and varying degrees of oppression. Sometimes people from these
different groups are unable to participate in leisure and recreation offered to other groups
because of their being underprivileged. Many cases when someone lives in an area where the
cultural majority is one other than their own, their culture is replaced by the majority but
sometimes they are able to hang on to their culture also and become bicultural.