Chicana Moderna

Mi Familia

Mi Familia

 

https://citedatthecrossroads.net/chs486/2016/09/21/photo-collage/

My family’s photo collage represents various aspects of my life – from my large family and the city we grew up in, to traditional practices throughout the years. These pictures of my family represent the first generation Mexican perspective, second generation Mexican-Americanism and the third-generation Chicana upbringing. The images are a glimpse into the family values I was instilled with, thanks in large part to the complexity of my family’s makeup.  This allowed for change and, more importantly, the evolution of this Chicano woman.

My family dynamic is unique because my mother’s parents were never married and both my grandfather Casto and grandmother Maggie married other people later. My parents were married very soon after my mother’s 18th birthday and she explained how my father’s machismo and controlling attitude pushed her to find her own strength. She knew that she was strong and should not have to endure both physical and emotional abuse due to the traditional patriarchy of la familia. As discussed in Rodriguez book, that “la familia as a genealogical tradition that entails successive shifts contingent upon chaining kinship discourses and formation,”(Rodriguez 3) and in my family, my parent’s divorce at the age of 5, dismantled the traditional patriarchal structure. My mother nor father remarried.

In my father’s family, his mother was a housewife and his father worked long hours to provide for seven children in a one-bedroom apartment. This family continued the patriarchal structure as the men in the family were required to the provide for the household while the women maintained the domestic front. My father’s side of the family migrated to Los Angeles in the 1970s from Michoacán for better opportunities for their children. The lower photo of my family was take at my grandparents 50th anniversary and it is of my family of four generations; my grandparents, my father and his siblings, my cousins and myself, and their children.

My mother’s side, was slightly different. My mother’s mother, Maggie, was a first generation Mexican American, but related mostly with her American/Chicana side. She was a single mother for a couple of years and would eventually marry my step-grandfather Adolfo. My mother’s father, Casto, was involved in her life but did not provide her that strong emotional support one would expect from a loving father.  My mother and I share a similar experience.  Her father was from Mexico and her mother was first-generation.  We are between two different worlds that helped create OUR Chicana identity.

My mother’s side worked in agriculture in the fields and later participated in the Chicano movement working at co-op markets established by UFW. My grandfather, Casto, would take his children to march during the Grape boycotts of the 1960s that sought benefits for field workers. Casto maintained the male dominance in the household and my step-grandmother Carmen was submissive to him and would do simply as he said. She would not refute my grandfather’s words as a young woman.  Now in her 70s, Carmen challenges him. As my grandfather witnessed his granddaughters succeeding with and without having children, he tells us how proud he is with the changes we have made.  It makes us feel good that in some way we are helping the older generations stand up for themselves.  It shows us that it is never too late to change gender dynamics and that change can and will come if we allow it. The top photo is a family celebration for my grandfather’s birthday and this side of the family is considerably smaller than the Alejandre side.

The images from the collage also illuminate the prominence of the Venice circle and the importance that it held in my own upbringing.  It represents the first city my father’s side settled in until the 2000s and remains the residence of my Grandfather Casto.  This played a vital part to my own development.  Venice’s culture was so infused with such rich cultural diversity that my Mexican traditions included other cultures as well.  My mother exposed me to photography, dance, and other skills through the Venice Arts program. These activities lead to meeting people of different ethnicities and faiths that would widened my perspective.  These new perspectives would clash with my traditional family views. The social and cultural changes allowed me to infuse my Mexican beliefs with others and mold it to my own personal insight.

The photo of my grandfather Adolfo cutting turkey represents the flip side of the cultural revolution I am describing.  In traditional Mexican household women are “supposed” to do the cooking. Despite this cultural expectation, my grandfather and grandmother would alternate and now my grandfather predominately cooks. I’d like to think that his profession, as a cook, allowed for this transition of skills from work to the home, creating and shifting toward a more matriarchal structure. My grandmother Maggie is very opinionated and makes the household decisions, and was my example of what a strong Chicana woman is. Yet when I asked her when was her happiest moment in life, she responded, “the day I married your grandfather Adolfo.” She explained she was fearful of being a single parent and was relieved to no longer be. She was able to hold two opposing positions, yet created her own identity.

The other photos show my Mexican culture of the mercado in East Los Angeles and a family game night of lotería. During a BBQ or small gathering, the frijoles and quarters were taken out to play lotería amongst the family. Growing up on the Westside, we would have to assimilate into the “gringo” society and my mother would take us every few months to different parts of Los Angeles that were predominately Latino. She would expose us to bilingual theatre, music, and events to remind me and my siblings of how powerful our cultural foundation is when overcoming systematic oppression. Si se puede.

My generation is an extension of the hardships and perseverance through the norm to obtain one’s happiness.  We are able to understand that some of the Chicano family structures are not as concrete as believed and disruption of these cultural norms can lead to a healthier household. By deconstructing the traditions, we are able to dig deeper into the core challenges found within la familia and produce more fruitful relationships among and between the family. My family is proof that  breaking down barriers and seeking beyond the norms is the basis of the strength, tenacity, and endurance to emerge with a new and, maybe even, improved Chicano.  La Chicana Moderna.

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