Mi Familia

Hey Class,

Sorry for “coming in” late to this course, I am currently a History major and it’s my senior year!!! I’ve taken a ridiculous amount of History classes at SMC prior to transferring to CSUDH and spoke with the Chicano Studies department about the requirements for a Chicano Studies minor. Lo and behold I had fulfilled half of the requirements with prior classes and decided to make it happen. I work and attend school both full-time, as a manager in a boutique in Beverly Hills, yet focused on graduating this Spring, it’s been a decade in the making !!!!!

I have always had an interest in Chicano Studies because I am third-generation Mexican-American on my mother’s side and first generation Mexican-American from my father’s side. My mother was a single parent, working two jobs, raising three children, yet she continuously exposed us to our Mexican culture by taking us to watch theatre performances at East LA theatres.

We were introduced to a local arts program that taught photography and other art at a young age and that outlet allowed us to display our “voices”. The image below was a project my sister did showing what it meant for her to be a Chicana.  Are there any other students who are Mexican-American but from different generations ?

“Best of Both Worlds” This is my sisters self portrait displaying both her Mexican and American roots dressed in her quince dress standing in front of the American Flag.