Leave Your Name At The Border By Manuel Munoz

Cultural identity means many different thing to many different people. Each and every person has their own idea of what cultural identity is and what it means to them. According to oxfordreference.com, cultural identity is defined as “The definition of groups or individuals (by themselves or others) in terms of cultural or subcultural categories (including ethnicity, nationality, language, religion, and gender).” I personally believe this is a very broad spectrum of what it really is. My cultural identity means everything to me. I am Mexican American, but do not look Mexican at all. I identify as Mexican, but people tell me that I can’t because I do not have darker skin or speak the language. Their description of me sums up to whitewashed.

Many people end up living a dual existence, meaning they speak English everywhere except for at home, where they would prefer to speak the language they grew up speaking. In an article titled “Leave Your Name at the Border” written by Manuel Muñoz, he talks about how he grew up in America born of Mexican immigrant parents. Muñoz talks about how now in days, as the generations progress, they are losing more and more of their native culture. For example, Muñoz talks about how his nieces and nephews have American names instead of names that are Spanish. When growing up in America, which in itself is a giant melting pot of culture, many people tend to assimilate and embrace the new culture. Just because someone decides to embrace a different culture does not mean they are totally forgetting about their heritage or what they grew up with. As an example, my great-grandfather, who came from Greece as a young man, decided to embrace American culture. He wanted to be an American citizen so badly that he cried when he became a citizen, but he never forgot what his true culture was. Even while living in America, he still continued to speak Greek with the other Greeks in his neighborhood. He would celebrate Greek holidays and would bring greek food and pastry to his children's homes when he would visit. He would go to Greek eateries near his home to get a nostalgic taste of the food he loved. He also never left

They make assumptions by the clothes you are wearing, the way you have your hair done, and even the makeup you are wearing. If you are from a different part of the country, they could make assumptions on details such as the way that you speak. Whether or not you have a southern drawl, or a clipped New England way of talking. They make assumptions according to their first impression of you. The word stereotype, according to vocabulary.com, is defined as defined as “A preconceived notion, especially about a group of people. Many stereotypes are racist, sexist, or homophobic.” Unfortunately, there is no way to escape stereotyping in our current society. It is sad to say that virtually everyone stereotypes someone every day. Whether it be out on the road while someone is driving to work, or while one is standing in line at the grocery store. In the article titled “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria” written by Judith Ortiz Cofer, she reflects a night she went to do a poetry reading at a little shop. While there, a women asked her to come over, the woman(as she assumed she was) thought she was a waitress. The woman hadn’t considered that she was one of the performing poets. The gross majority of people now a days will always generally jump to a conclusion before ever meeting a person. I know that I myself am guilty of