The Garcia Family

This paper will examine the dynamics of the Garcia family, who faces a cultural divide within their household. Ana, the daughter, is greatly influenced by the American culture, while her parents are influenced by the Mexican culture. Two skills that would be needed to help this family, is the ability to be culturally competent and having the understanding of acculturation. Obtaining both of these skills is very important when working with families like the Garcia’s, because as social helpers we come from varying backgrounds that influence our ability to help. By being culturally competent and understanding acculturation, we would be able to effectively find the most appropriate resources to help families like the Garcia’s. The Garcia family

is also greatly impacted by the assumptions that are placed upon their family and the context of which their family is in. Once the Garcia family has access to skilled people who can help and resources that are appropriate, then they will be able to overcome the obstacles that hinder their ability to succeed.

Final Paper: The Garcia Family
The Garcia family, in “Real Women Have Curves”, depicts a family is who is greatly influenced by two cultures. These cultures are Mexican and American. The Garcia’s are extremely family oriented and expected to take care of one another. They emphasis the importance of hard work and loyalty as being some of the most vital values they have as a family.
Ana Garcia, is a first-generation American teenager who has dreams to go to college.

She is heavily influenced by the American culture, which creates a divide between her and her parents. Ana is very open and focuses on her future success, not as mother and wife, but as an independent women. Carmen Garcia, Ana’s mother, is influenced by traditional Mexican culture. She believes Ana needs to work to help support her family, and she needs to make sure she is fit to be a perfect wife. Carmen is very critical of Ana’s body and has a difficult time understanding Ana’s standpoint on topics like going to college. Estella, Ana’s sister, is a very hard working women who is not married, which is very frustrating for her mother Carmen. Estella operates a dress factory, where she can barely make ends meet. She struggles every day to make sure she can pay rent and her employees. Raul Garcia, Ana’s father, is very hardworking as well. He has multiple labor jobs in order to provide for his family. He is more understanding of Ana’s desire to go to college and is always willing to help out his children. Within the Garcia household, there is also Ana’s grandfather who is supportive of Ana’s decisions. Overall, the Garcia family’s problems are a result of the generational and cultural divide between Ana and her parents, specifically her

mother.
Skills to Help the Garcia Family
One essential skill that is needed to help the Garcia family, is to be culturally competent.

Cultural competency involves being able to appropriately interact with people of different cultures other than one’s own culture. Not only is it being able to work effectively with other cultures, it is being able to work effectively with other socio-economic backgrounds and ethnicities. A main component of being culturally competent, is being able to be culturally sensitive. This mean that the person helping would have to be aware of other cultures and how those cultures effect an individual’s or family’s values and behaviors. Being culturally competent is important because it helps bridge the divide between professional’s culture and their client’s culture. Understanding the clients culture allows for the person helping to find the most appropriate resources to help the family. If I were to help the Garcia family, I would need to examine how their Mexican heritage and circumstances drive their family structures, values, behaviors and their ability to adapt to a new culture. Understanding and being aware of my own culture and their culture would help me see what barriers might stand in their way and ways to overcome those

hindrances.
The second skill that would be vital in helping this family, is understanding acculturation. Acculturation can be described as the margining of multiple cultures and the adaptation of traits from different cultures. This involves loosing or gaining new values, behaviors, and structures. Acculturation can occur when an individual of family moves from one culture to another. The Garcia family for instance, is starting to adapt to the American culture. Many times when acculturation happens faster for some members of a family, it can cause conflict between members, which is reflected in the relationship between Carmen and Ana. The Garcia family, although in the United States, was still surrounded by a strong Mexican influence within their community. Ana though was accepted to high school outside of the family community, which allowed her to see and adapt a more Americanized way of life. I would need this skill when helping families like the Garcias, because it helps me see why and how the families have adapted. Acculturation would give me an added perspective as to why the Garcia family is facing conflict and ways I can help bridge the culturally divide between Ana and her parents.
These two skills are very important when working with families like the Garcia’s, because as social helpers we come from varying backgrounds that influence our ability to help. Being culturally competent and understanding acculturation are vital because they would allow me to better understand the dynamics of the Garcia Family and what resources would be most appropriate to assist them succeed.