Just like Richard Blanco once dreamed of becoming like his gringo friends who ate “Pop-Tarts, Ritz Crackers and Cool Whip,” I also once had the same fascination. American culture assimilation was a running theme in the book The Prince of Los Cocuyos. Growing up in Little Haiti meant I would be surrounded a lot by my parents’ cultural heritage without actually living in Haiti. I never went to Haiti and do not plan on visiting any time soon. Honestly, I was always embarrassed of my culture like Blanco growing up because I was a minority in my classes and always felt ostracized by my peers. I was clearly different because my parents were immigrants from a Caribbean island just trying to live the American dream and provide for their kids in a way they couldn’t if they stayed in their home country. …show more content…
Richard Blanco tried so hard to get his family to assimilate into the American culture, but his efforts fell short to Cuba’s permanent cultural residence in their hearts. His abuela, abuelo, mom, and dad couldn’t forget Cuba even if they tried, especially because a lot of things in the United States of America reminded them of their past lives in Cuba before Castro came into power. When Blanco got the chance to plan his first real Thanksgiving Day meal for his family, he tried to integrate common American dishes including cranberry jelly, candied yams, turkey, and pumpkin pie. His family just made fun of the foreign food to them like the pumpkin pie, which translated to feet in Spanish. They were resilient to change just like how my family is now with fashion, foods, and learning new