Running head: Cultural Autobiography 1

Cultural Autobiography

Rebeca Garcia

Ivy Tech Community College

Cultural Autobiography 2

Education 255InTASC Standards Description and Rationale

Cover Page

Standard # 2: Learning differencesThe teacher uses understanding of individual differences and diverse cultures and communities to ensure inclusive learning environments that enable each learner to meet high standards.

Name of Artifact: Cultural Autobiography

Date: 7/4/15

Course: EDUC 255 Multicultural Teaching

Brief Description: This is a cultural autobiography. In this autobiography I introduce and describe my and

my family’s cultural background. Some of the information included in this autobiography are information about my close ancestors like: where they were born, the language they spoke. In this autobiography I will describe some key details about the society norms and how is life in Mexico, which is the place where I and my family are from. Rationale:

To document my understanding of InTASC Standard 2, learning differences, I have selected to include my cultural autobiography, which includes an informative narrative about my native country and about my family. I choose this standard because as teachers is important to understand individual differences and diverse cultures. By describing the way my family lived back in my home country, I prove I am able to understand others culture. Being able to understand other peoples’ customs background, is important for teachers because they need to have this skill in order to ensure inclusive learning environments that enable each learner to meet high standards.

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“A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.”

-By Mahatma Gandhi

Introduction:

I am originally from Mexico. My parents and grandparents are all from Mexico City. All of

them were born and raised in Mexico City, in different places of the city; since Mexico City is

one of biggest cities of the World. Each of my grandparents families are from different places of

the country thought. Many people from Mexico City think that I and my family don’t look like

people from Mexico City mainly for our appearance and the way we talk, we have a different

accent. My mother’s family are originally from Acapulco. I think her family moved before my

grandpa was born I am not really sure why. And my grandma’s family from my mother’s side

are from Guanajuato. My grandfather’s family I do know nothing because my grandparents got

divorce when my dad was 3 years old at all about my grandpa but my grandmother’s family

come from Michoacán and from Guanajuato. People from Acapulco look kind of tan their skin

color is medium brown and most of them have curly hair and are tall. And the people from

Guanajuato and Michoacán are light skin and have color eyes. My family have a mixture of this

physical appearances, people from Mexico city tend to be short, their skin color tend to be warm

brown and have straight hair, this why many people don’t think we come from Mexico city. The

native language of all my family is Spanish. My mother’s family grew up and lived in Estado de

Mexico, they lived in there because my grandpa was an hojalatero I think it means a tinsmith,

what he did was fix crashed cars; he owned a repair shop in Estado de Mexico and they lived

close to his repair shop. When I interviewed my mom I asked her for any memories she had from

her childhood back in Mexico. She told me one of the things she remembers was that on Sundays

her dad didn’t work so must of the times they will go buy lunch. What they typically bought was

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barbacoa which is lamb meat marinated with condiments and spices slow cooked over an open

fire. Those days they usually bought traditional candy such as peanuts garapinados which are

sugared peanuts sometimes with a little bit of cinnamon and they were colored usually red. They

also bought cake pastel de tres leaches which is a moist cake, this cake is moist by different

milks and sometimes Ron or Bayle’s cream and they also bought fuit that was on season they

favorite were the champagne mangoes. All of this things they bought them in their local market

which usually was a few blocks away so they will go walking, This local markets are called

mercados or tiangis and they are usually public market with numerous stands inside rented by

individual merchants, which usually sell produce and other typical foods. When I asked her what

was one of the events she most remembered, she told me it was birthdays. They didn’t celebrate

many holydays but they did celebrate birthdays big with cake and an special food most of times

traditional food. And other thing she remembered was New year’s eve for this day they all ate

dinner together and enjoyed time together playing board games or just talking. The traditional

dinner for that night was turkey marinated in sauce, and pasta; for dessert they usually made

ponche which a warm tropical-fruit punch, and they also made bunuelos which are really similar

to funnel cakes but more crunchy. My dad’s side live in Mexico City in a place call Satelite, they

lived in there because his grandpa found a good deal to buy a piece of land in that area, he and

his family built a little apartment complex and live in there and rented the other apartments. They

stayed in there because it was convenient to stay to take care of their business and it was a nice

neighborhood. The area with the time became a suburb like Carmel. Some of things that my dad

remembers about his childhood most is his grandparents. He was practically raised by his

grandparents he remembers playing with all his cousins a lot most of them lived close or some of

them live in the apartment’s complex they had so he remembers how all together were naughty

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with all the neighbors. He also remembers how his grandparents had like a little restaurant where

they sold typical and tamales. They had the restaurant in the first floor of the apartments. One

funny story he remembers was that his grandparents got up really early to make the tamales and

one time he was awoke he remembers his grandpa was sitting in a chair but he was pretending he

was sleeping so my dad got really close to his grandpa and when he less expected his grandpa

put a spoon full of sauce from the tamales they were making he was young so he cried that time

but now he thinks it was really funny. Then he observed that his grandpa usually did that with all

his grandkids o have a little fun while they were cooking; my dad says it was really fun to see

how he did it to the other children.

Major Traditions/History or Events:

My parents meet in church. The church is close to where my Dad use to live in a place call

Tacuba. My dad’s family has been Christian for as long as they remember and went to the same

church all of that time. My mom’s family was catholic but then became Christian when my mom

was five years old. They started going to the church my dad’s family went. It is kind of funny

because my mom’s says that she thought my dad was a prep and she did not like him at all. My

dad is 8 years older then my mom. My dad was the leader of the youth when he was young, and

that is how they began to talk to each other and they eventually fall in love and got married.

After all it seems like my dad wasn’t a prep or my mom like preps. They got married when my

mom was 18 and my dad was 26. My mom says that with the time the reason she fall in love

with my dad was because he was a mature guy and was really polite and respectful. My dad says

that my mom is really pretty and she also seem like a hard worker, smart and clean women that is

why he liked her.

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Both of my parents describe their childhood almost the same. They say it was fun but really

different from now. Children used to be really respectful to all adults, they were expected to help

in the house labors. My mom had kind of a hard childhood though her parents got divorce when

she was young, so she had it to help my grandma with her little siblings. Really young she had it

to be responsible and take care of 6 children while my grandma went out of home to work. My

dad had a different childhood, mainly because when my grandma moved with her parents when

she got divorce and my dad and his brothers were practically raised by his grandparents while

my grandma went to work. The environment in which both grow was similar like I mentioned

parents use to be stricter when they were young. Also they didn’t have as much technology and

electronics, so they played outside most of times with simple toys like yoyo’s, or trompos, and

other typical Mexican toys or they just plaid outside many games similar to tac. Since they both

grew in church their teenager life was really similar, most of the times they went out with the

young. They usually went to the movies, parks, and to other friends’ houses to have sleepovers

all their friends were church members. My dad played soccer a lot when he was young so when

he wasn’t doing church activities, he was working or playing soccer.

Summary/Conclusion

My family is Christian like I mentioned before therefore, we don’t celebrate many holydays

we only celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and New Year’s. For all of this occasions

we do similar things we get together, share food (Mexican food), and spend lots of time talking

most of the conversations are about live in Mexico, or childhood life, or Christian chats. For this

occasions all my family get together and most of the times we invite our church members. So

celebrations are kind of a big feast with lots of food and many people. People from Mexico does

celebrate many holydays must of them are catholic festivities. Some of the custom festivities are

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the Independence Day September 16, the day of the death, Navidad/Chistmas, el dia de Reyes, el

dia de la virgin . Dia the reyes is like a day in which supposedly the kings that visited Jesus when

he was born visit all kids around the world at night and give them toys, kind of like Saint Claus.

El dia de la virgin I am not really sure but I think they celebrate the birthday of Virgin Mary. I

really don’t know much about any of this festivities.

We love Mexican food. The reason we love it I think is because is our native food. Some of

the plates we enjoy are pozole, mole, tamales, tortillas, chiles en nogada, and many other typical

Mexican foods. We love desserts too we love a cake that is call pastel de tres leches is delicious

because is really moist and has real fruit inside.

Since we been in the United States for a long time now we have meet people from other

Hispanic cultures. So now we like to cook and eat food from El Salvador, Guatemala, and

Honduras. Our way of speaking have changed too sometimes we mix English and Spanglish

which now is known as talking Spanglish and we have adopted words from other Hispanic

countries El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Our culture is enriching and changing fast. My

next generation culture I think it will be a lot different since I plan to stay here and live with my

future family and my fiancé is from Honduras.

I think we have a certain list of values that is like a standard for most Mexican families. One

of the most important is to love family, we spend a lot of time together, and family time is a very

important thing, staying close, being caring for the family. I you go to Mexico you can see

family value among almost all families no mattering where they live or economic status. Other

value is respect and politeness, being respectful to adults and parents is a big thing in my family

and in my culture. Many of our values have to do with our religion. Love to God and respect for

our beliefs are very important for us.

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Trompo traditional Mexican toys

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Navidad altars people do for the day of the death

For Independence Day people dress with typical cloths Pozole a corn and chicken soup

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Mole is like sauce typically eaten with chicken and rice Tamales

Stuffed Poblano pepper with a pecan sauce on top Pastel de tres leches

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Michoacán

Guanajuato

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Stadium Azteca one the most important Architectures in Mexico where they play soccer a big

sport in Mexico

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Mercados

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ReferencesCarlos, G. (2015, July 4). Cultural background. (R. Garcia, Interviewer)

Martha, R. (2015, July 4). Cultural Background. (R. Garcia, Interviewer)