Some of you may or may not know that Sept 15th - Oct 15th is Hispanic Heritage Month. Interestingly, I am more excited about this than Felipe. So far I've tried to get him to go to the Independence Day celebration on Lake Street (although that was technically on the 14th) and a free Flamenco Dance event in Minnehaha Park. Both times I was shot down. I've already printed off tickets for a Latino Family Day on Oct 11th in St. Paul which I'm sure we won't go to either. I will put my foot down on Oct 26th when there is a Day of the Dead event at the MN History Center and go without him if I have to.
I've told him that I would like to explore different Latino outreach events because when/if we have children I think it is incredibly important for them to feel a part of the Latino community. We have talked about living in Mexico for 6 to 9 months when/if we have kids when they are about 3 to 5 so they can really become fluent in Spanish and, more importantly, get to know Felipe's family and town. We both agree on this point and hope our jobs at that time would allow us to do this. I think it is crucial that any children we have would spend time in Mexico and I believe it would help them appreciate life in the States a lot more.
Since when/if the day (still way in the future) comes to have children and decide to raise them I think these discussions about Latino/American culture will become a lot more at the forefront of our lives. I don't force Felipe to attend events even though I am interested in them and try to support him by going. The only one he does enjoy is the Cinco de Mayo celebration in St. Paul. Trying to blend our cultures is very difficult and I feel like his Mexican heritage is always getting watered down. We only speak English together, don't dance to salsa or reggae music (we don't dance at all actually!), don't attend many Quincenera's (girl's 15th bday parties) or huge baptisms parties of strangers like his family does... The only thing we really do is cook Mexican food and try to share it with others.
Felipe seems generally disinterested in events here, mainly because he views them as not really "Mexican." I won't say he is ashamed of being Mexican because he is definitely not. He's just not the type who pastes a flag on the back of his car or flies one over his house. When we were in Mexico he enjoyed listening to music in Spanish, talking in Spanish, telling me stories about Mexico. When he is in Minnesota he focuses his thoughts here. What he should be doing here to be successful, to communicate, etc.
I asked him once if he knew what his heritage was, what kind of Indian was in his blood or how much Spanish. He says they are all mixed and has no idea what kind and no interest in finding out. To me it would be fascinating to know if his Indian blood was Aztec or Mayan or Incan or some other tribe. Just like I traced my family tree back to see what country all my ancestors came from so I can tell you exactly how much of everything I am (except for 1/16 that is up in the air between Danish and French/Canadian due to birth certificate discrepency). I think many Americans can identify exactly what their heritage is and Felipe has no interest in that discovery and really no resource to find out even if he did want to know.
In Mexico, for hundreds of years full-blooded Indians were the lowest class and then mestizos (a mix of Indian and Spanish or African) were the next lowest. There is still a definite divide in the country between these groups, especially when looking at income level. Most of the poorest people in the country are the indigenous people. I guess that is why Felipe never really thought about what parts had made him a whole... In Mexico you are a Mexican first and you don't really want to draw attention to the other parts of your heritage, especially the indigenous ones.
Hopefully, Felipe and I will find a better balance between the American and Latino worlds here in Minnesota because part of what makes him special to me is his culture and his past and I want to help him keep those things alive and appreciate them with him... As much as he'll allow me to I guess!
No comments:
Post a Comment