Brenda Garcia Interview Essay

Brenda Garcia is a 19-year-old Mexican-American, born in the United States but raised in Chihuahua, Mexico. She had been living Chihuahua, Chihuahua Mexico for all of her life with the exception of staying summers trips to the US and to see family members that reside in the States but for the most part Brenda lived in what is considered the main city of Chihuahua, as her family owns a small business. She attended all of grade school in Mexico and lived a normal life until the cartel violence became too prevalent in 2013-2014. Brenda then decided to move to the States in 2014 as a full time student in Colorado State University to pursue a bachelor’s degree in social work and a minor in business. She’s has since been living on campus getting accustomed to living in a different environment both socially and economically.

Chihuahua is the largest state in Mexico and is located in the northwestern part and is adjacent to the New Mexico and Texan border. Mexico is a developing country and has a presidential system much like the Unite

States does. It has a constitution and day of independence. Brenda says that Chihuahua’s major economic boost comes from the service sector, there are a lot of small businesses “one in almost every corner” she says and that are what keeps everything going. Although there are some areas still to be developed, the majority of Chihuahua is modernized. There are indigenous tribes that still reside and are “dying” out due to the modernization; however, there a few governmental organizations that are helping these tribes accommodate to society while at the same time keeping their culture alive.
Concerning their beliefs about individualism versus collectivism, “well that, during my childhood, was hard” says Brenda. She grew up having to wear a school uniform from K-12 and the only liberty she had a saying on appearance speaking was her hair. “My school was very strict, what people here in America would consider the equivalent of a border school or charter school. I had no saying on if I could wear khaki bottoms and blue tops, and it was always expensive when I grew out of my clothes too, because the school doesn’t supply the uniform they just tell you the colors and you have to go find that specific color and apply the school shield on all of my shirts. It was all embroidered by hand too!” To her family however, whatever the cost was to get her through school, they would pay, since they knew that a good education would be very important in the life of Brenda. The education system in Mexico is not at all different from that in America. There is ‘La Primaria’, Primary school that runs grades 1-6, ‘Secundaria’ middle school comprising of grades 7-9, and lastly ‘Preparatoria’ High School being grades 10-12. After that there are a lot of universities and technical schools that help with that of obtaining what here would be the equivalent of a bachelors or master’s degree.
The majority of the population is Christian/Catholic and they are very invested in keeping that part of their culture.

Brenda says that every Sunday is especially reserved for family time. “I am catholic so every Sunday and sometimes even during the week my family and I would attend church activities, and by that I mean bible study or when I was little that meant first communion classes or confirmation.” Ever since approximately 1531, with the sighting of ‘La Virgen De Guadalupe in central Mexico, Catholicism has maintained embedded in the Mexico. Even before the Spanish conquistadores arrived in Mexico the indigenous people of Mexico City, the Aztecs had a very strong belief in gods. So it is no wonder how strong their sense of belief runs in Mexicans. The culture of Mexico reflects the country’s complex history and is the result of the gradual blending that has occurred with the Spanish culture and other immigrant cultures as

well.
Gender roles are very black and white in Mexico Brenda says. There is the role of the man whose expectations are to be the bread winners and are usually the ones in the streets doing ‘stuff’ (work… etc.) While on the other hand there is the role of the women which is to stay at home and be the housewife. But this traditional ideal of gender has been challenged lately with many of the men moving to America to seek higher earning jobs with better wages than those in Mexico. With many of the men moving north the woman that stay are usually expected to find work as well and become ‘the man of the house’ while at the same time representing the delicateness of what a mother also embodies which is a house wife. For children it is expected to for them to be in school and if not school then working to help with the family income. Not that money is always an issue but over half of the population; Brenda says are living in poverty like conditions. The young people of society are for the most part are starting to become educated members of society with more awareness of situations around and concerning them while the ‘old people’ are for the most part still making a living. “Retirement is still somewhat of a new concept in Mexico,” says Brenda. “I remember my grandfather working very late almost every night when I was young, now he stays at home finding ways to keep busy or help with anything he can.” ‘Machismo’ is term that means strong and/or aggressive masculine pride and it will consequentially be brought up a lot especially further on. It is something that is although seems very outdated in other Westernized areas of the world; ‘machismo’ is very prevalent in Mexico.

B. Cultural Ideals of Beauty for Men and Women
The Ideals for both men and woman have become very westernized, especially with the rise of social media. A common reoccurrence is the desire for fair complexion and a desirable body size and shape. For men, it is expected to be tall, built and lean; being ‘macho’ is an important aspect of Mexican masculinity. In a 2000 study Mexican men finished second in a study for the vainest men in the world . A contradicting aspect however, is that Mexican masculinity are also expected to be gentlemen within society. Trimmed facial hair is acceptable and a short on the side and long on the top hair cut look is what is ideal and attractive. Dark hair with a medium skin tone is valued a lot more than the customary dark skin tone. Men must also have muscle definition and with that body ideal come the ‘macho’ look. Men are expected to be tough and a big way that is portrayed in a built body.
While women aren’t expected to be build they are similarly expected to have a medium tone complexion. Tall with wide hips and ample womanly abundance is expected and long hair and straight is viewed as ‘sexy’ Brenda says and there are very few who do sport a short haircut. “Generally the women with the short haircut are the old ladies, like my grandma and sometimes little kids, but for the most part that its old women.” String brow and lip definition is becoming a growing trend & Botox and plastic surgery are paving the way to make that obtainable. But with most of the population of Mexico being considered obese these expectations are too much and lead to many health and psychological problems within adolescents.
C. Past and Present Dress Practices for Men and Women
Mexico has always drawn influence from their upstairs neighbor and with that being said, there are very a couple deep cultural traditional outfits that are occasionally worn. But one should not forget that the reflection of the indigenous and pre-Hispanic Maya civilization is still prominent on the Mexican culture. All these factors developed a pure multi-ethnic and multi-continental society in Mexico. Mayan clothing which consists of loose fitting and colorful tops and bottoms. Another is the China Poblana, a combination of a skirt, shawl and blouse meant to flatter a woman's feminine features. The China Poblana gets its name from Puebla, a country in Mexico, where the style of Mexican clothing emerged. However, the inclusion of "China" in the term is still disputed. The male counterpart of this is El Charro the man usually wears a sombrero with boots and a white shirt and black pant. This is mainly seen during cultural events and national ceremonies most especially both can be seen during the Mexican Independence Day which is September 16th.
After the Spanish arrival, Christianity was spread rapidly and today, almost ninety per cent of the Mexicans have Roman Catholic beliefs. Modesty emerged as a concept inextricably linked to culture. Women's roles were generally themes of protection, respect, grace and beauty. In today’s society it is still scored for young adolescent women to wear provocative clothing, as it was embedded by the catholic religion that modesty is reason for human appreciation. Traditional dress practices still endure today for example, the ‘huarache’, the Mexican pointy boots and the sombreros. For the women el ‘sarape’ or ‘rebozo’ as well as ponchos are still worn all of the time by those with a direct lineage to the indigenous people of Mexico.
The majority of the dress practices are not associated with different types of people; they are worn by one and all. The present dress is not much different from that of here in America. Modesty is just as controversial as it is here in America Brenda says. “The shirt shows to much cleavage, the skirt is too small, you can see all of her *ss. It’s literally the same thing. People assume just because we share the border it means that we are completely different when in reality we are not”. Brenda explains to me that the only way you can tell of a person’s marital status is if they have a wedding ring on, other than that you have to ask and she laughs while explain it, mainly because sometimes after a while the rings don’t fit she says. Young women are challenging the older generation ideals of modesty and that also at times ties in with social class group. People with genuine designer clothing are middle or upper class while many of the imposter designer accessories are typically made available for those with low income.
D. Dress and Practices for Special Events such as Holidays, Weddings, and Funerals.
In the occasion of holidays many might wear new clothes or just dress nice there is not customary dress needed. However, when it comes to Wedding and Funerals there are strict guidelines and formalities expected for those who participate. In a wedding celebration, a bride is expected to wear white as a symbol of purity and a vail has the same amount of meaning as here in the US , and the groom is expected to wear black too. There is a lot of social leniency for what the guests can wear. In comparison to a wedding, everyone wears black. The direct members of the deceased are expected to wear black for approximately a week as a symbol of mourning and absolutely no guest is allowed to wear any other color to the funeral unless stated, if not it is considered extremely disrespectful.
E. Comparison of Two Cultures: How dress customs from this culture are similar to/different from those in your own culture.
In all actuality I think that this is unnecessary to ask in an era where mostly the entire world has a westernized influence. Every culture has become in a sense mixed either due to colonialism and or media. Dress, grooming what makes up an appearance is status of symbols and performance alike. Etiquette in Mexico has an ‘old world’ formality and is seen as a measure of breeding, while in the United States formality is often sacrificed by efficiency or the ‘get to the point’ way of thinking. There’s the difference between cowboy styles and what not but Brenda says that not much is different and when I visited Mexico for this project she was right. There was no evidence of significant difference in dress, the people wear jeans and shirts and dresses there is nothing unusual about anything they wear. There are those who dress nerdy, gothic, punk, rock, cross dress, blue collar, it looks exactly like here except the part where the homeless people in Mexico usually are the indigenous people and unlike in America they wear their traditional customary clothing. This assignment was intended to heighten the students awareness of the cultural patters and learn to apply what has been taught onto aiding this project but there were moments when the simple act of asking the differences in cultures in midst of a very important and controversial election just didn’t feel comfortable. I am a white American and although this project was to learn more about this culture, I couldn’t help but feel as if this task was also uncomfortable for her as well. I could have seen a documentary about life in Mexico, and especially how it has been affected by current world problems either internally or foreign.
Brenda is a junior and attends CSU just like I do. We eat, breathe, wear and pray the same. The only thing making us different is language and national origin. She stays connected to her culture the only way she can and that is by celebrating it and participating in cultural events. I do the same being of British decent. I think it is important to do this type of assignments as it does create more awareness but it did feel a bit uncomfortable due to current national stigmas and events.