Personal Cultural Project

By Dolores Lopez
 GROWING UP MY PATERNAL GRANDPARENTS WERE A
BIG PART OF MY LIFE & THAT IS WHY SO MUCH OF THE
MEXICAN CULTURE WAS INFUSED IN MY LIFE ALONG
WITH MY AMERICAN CULTURE. HAVING MEXICAN
GRANDPARENTS IT WAS A MUST TO UNDERSTAND AND
SPEAK SPANISH. THANKS TO THAT I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN
BILINGUAL IN SPANISH AND ENGLISH.
I grew up in the area of Santa Cruz
California where communities are small
and warm although there was not a lot of
diversity of cultures in my area we were
comfortable and I do not remember
racism or prejudice being a part of my
upbringing in my community or home.

CULTURAL BELONGING

Holidays and gatherings were wonderful times to share

memories and food! Thanksgiving always had the main focus
of the turkey but to bring in the Mexican culture we always
added other traditional Mexican dishes like pozole, mole, &
carne asada to name a few. Christmas was always a time to
eat tamales which my grandmother along with my mom and
aunts would work together in making a long but enjoyable
BEING FROM A MEXICAN FAMILY MEANT THAT
process when in the company of all those wonderful women. GATHERINGS AND CELEBRATIONS WERE
FILLED WITH UNCLES, AUNTS, COUSINS, &
CLOSE FRIENDS THAT EVENTUALLY BECAME
PART OF THE FAMILY.
MY PATERNAL GRANDPARENTS WORKED
VERY HARD TO BRING THEIR FAMILY TO
THIS COUNTRY. THEY FIRST ARRIVED Life Experiences
WITH A WORK VISA IN 1958 THEY MY GRANDPARENTS HAD CHALLENGES
WORKED IN MANY STATES INCLUDING WHEN COMING HERE BEING AWAY FROM
NEBRASKA , SOUTH DAKOTA , TEXAS, THEIR CHILDREN AT FIRST AND SETTLING IN
WISCONSIN, COLORADO, LOUISIANA ,
OKL AHOMA , & CALIFORNIA. WHEN TO A NEW LIFE ONCE THEY WHERE ABLE TO
THEY BECAME RESIDENTS OF THE BRING THEIR CHILDREN. GROWING UP I WAS
UNITED STATES THEY WERE ABLE TO ALWAYS REMINDED OR THE SACRIFICES MY
BRING THEIR CHILDREN AND THEY FAMILY TOOK TO GET HERE AND THAT MADE
CHOSE TO SETTLE IN CALIFORNIA HAVING A GOOD EDUCATION A PRIORITY.
WHICH IS WHERE I WAS BORN.
I LOVE WHERE I GREW UP I WAS FIVE MINUTES FROM
THE BEACH THAT WAS AMAZING AND ALTHOUGH I DID
NOT SURF I DID BUGGY BOARD A LOT. I SPENT A LOT OF
TIME AT THE BEACH. HOBBIES THAT I ALWAYS ENJOYED
INCLUDED HIKING TRAILS WITH MY GRANDFATHER,
BROTHER, & COUSINS. I ALSO ENJOYED BEING AT MY
BROTHER’S BASEBALL GAMES AND CHEERING HIM ON.
SOME OF MY OTHER INTERESTS GROWING UP WERE
ATTENDING TOWN EVENTS LIKE THE MANY FESTIVALS
THAT OUR AREA HAD WHICH INCLUDED STRAWBERRY,
GARLIC, ARTICHOKE, & RIB FESTIVALS TO NAME A FEW.
CULTURAL ARTIFACTS

I LOVE BEING A DAUGHTER,

MOM, WIFE, SISTER, COUSIN,
AUNT, FRIEND, & A TEACHER
HERE IS A COUPLE OF THE
THINGS THAT MAKE ME!