Marco A.

Cedeno Aguayo
06/24/2021

Personal cultural Project

EDU 203
Cultural Belonging:
Mexico
please open link to see video.

This is the land that sow my birth, avoiding ethnocentrism and accepting the grandeur of the
land of origin of my classmates. I want to tell you what I love about my country of origin. I have
the same love and affection for my mother land as I have towards my parents, its traditions, its
culture, its music, its cuisine, the language, in few words…I am Mexico.

Morelia
please open link to see video.

Morelia is the city where I am from, Morelia is the capital city of the Mexican state that I am
from. It was founded by the Spaniards in 1541, almost 500 years ago. This is where I grew up,
where my family lives. Its climate is template and nice most of the year.
Abuela (Grand Mother)

She is the lady that forged me with love and care, I am what I am because of her she took care of
me, she gave the life lesson that up to these days guides my actions, words and thoughts. She left
this world in the year of 1999, but my heat still feels al the love that I have had, since I was a
baby.

Cultural Belonging:
Planetarium

In this place is where I spent most of my mid childhood, my mom used to work there, she used to
run the cafeteria, the director of the planetarium was my uncle, and he always encouraged me to
study astronomy, he exerted a tremendous influence in me to start learning languages, German,
English and French, in my teenage years he allowed me to come inside of the planetarium and
help him calibrate the projector, which was to show the exact stellar map of the night sky when
the show was featured.

“Always Ready!”
Also, most of my childhood, until I was 21, I was a Boy Scout. Being a boy scout, I learnt to
explore, to be self-sufficient, as well as with my family, with the Scouts I learn the civic
principles that still direct my life. Spend many summer, Christmas vacations and spring breaks
camping, exploring, trailing in touch with nature and God. With the Scouts I developed a dream
of one day, venture far away from my motherland to explore new horizons.

Your World View

Fabulous 80’s

Growing up in the 80’s and enjoying the music of those years also played a very important role
in developing this dream of venturing to far, far away horizons, watching videos of “born in the
USA.” “beat it”, “the eye of the tiger” “ Walk of Life” and many, many others awoke on me the
desire of living the American dream, not because I was poor and I did not have opportunities in
my home country, that was not my case I wanted to come here because I wanted to be part of this
culture, its music, its work force, and it was trough long working days and exhausting tasks at
work, this is how I wanted to become part of this great nation by contributing to its grow.

Immigrant
This is how I became an immigrant, because I came following a dream, to be part of this
beautiful, rich and immensely diverse culture.

Ethnocentrism
One of the prejudices I use to have was ethnocentrism, specially while still living in Mexico, but
it was a very ‘negative’ ethnocentrism, I used to believe that Mexicans were the most “macho”
misogynist people of the world, I also thought that Mexicans were lazy and mediocre people. It
was very awkward, because me, being Mexican I used to thing this about my own people, and all
those negative characteristics are not just because where are you from, people develop all these
bad behaviors because many other factors, like education, family problems, idiosyncrasy,
economy, etc.
Cultural Artifacts
Rosary

This artifact, is very important in my culture, because most Mexicans are deeply Catholics, and
the Rosary is one of the most important tools for us to appeal for God’s grace and salvation
through his son Jesus and at the same time, we get to Jesus through Mother Mary, who is to
show us Jesus and she intercedes for us to god the father, and God the son, and inherently we get
the blessings of the holy Spirit. So, the holy rosary is a remainder to be in constant contact with
God. Praying the Rosary.

Flags

Now I am part of two countries, I was born Mexican, but I have spent more years of my life in
the United States, which does not make less Mexican, but United States gave my wife, my sons,
my family. I became what I am thanks to all the work that may hands have done for this country,
I have built, I have nourished, I have educated, I have fought, not in the war front line, but in the
daily struggle for growth, excellence, in the struggle to becoming one of the strongest economies
in the world, and keeping the leadership that characterizes this great nation, I have not bled blood
in this struggle, but I bled the best years of my life building, nourishing, educating. Doing hard
work.