Iraheta 1

Yessenia Iraheta
Professor Beadle
English 113B
20 February 2016
Cultural Identity
Cultures is a stage or period of trends or values of a certain nation or period of time.
There are many cultures in the United States, let alone in the world. Cultures can define or shape
a persons identity; some people belong to culture that is known for popular trends, popular
music, and popular media, which shape that person identity and the way they are as a person.
Where someone else belong to a culture that is known for the newest technologies, newest apps
and newest updates which does the same thing of shaping the persons identity. However, many
can identify with more than one culture. As an individual who belongs with three cultures, each
culture presents me in different parts of my personality. As a Latina, I belong to the Latinos
culture; as an art major in college, I belong to the art culture and as a family oriented person, I
belong to the family culture. Although many would say that you cannot be in multiple cultures as
there should be only one culture that shapes your identity, it is a possibility to be in multiple
cultures because in all three I share the important values of each culture, share the different
languages between the three cultures, and share the different places that each culture has.
As a Latina, the important values that are hold is the importance of your Latina
background. My family is from Central America in the countryside of El Salvador. My
grandmother moved to the United States during the war of the guerrillas. She worked hard in the
States until she had enough finances to bring my mother and my uncle to the States, as well as

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support them. Soon they all became citizens of the United States. My mother always told me to
hold the importance of hard work, for everything I do always remember where everything all
started because without that start, I would probably have been born and raised in El Salvador
instead in the United States. The cultures value of hard work is a part of me because I know that
the reason I have a good education and where I am now is because of my hard work of my
grandmother and my mother did to come to the United States.
The cultures value of the arts is the appreciation for the creativity of others, the different
point of views that the arts give you. Ever since I can remember, I always loved the arts. I started
to draw during the fourth grade after a classmate complimented my doodles in my notebook and
on my art assignments. I remember going to a field trip at a museum where I saw an art piece
that, at the time, did not seem anything really special. It was not until I learned about the artists
story, their techniques and their stories behind the art piece. That was when my point of the view
changed about the piece as I now knew about the story behind it. This cultures value shaped part
of my personality as it grew my love for art and show me how to see past the art work, its feeling
and emotion put in the art work, instead looking at just the surface of it.
In my family, our important value is togetherness. This value showed me to have strong
bonds with people I care about. It shaped my personality as I always try to have great
relationship with people I consider good friends with and as well with family members. The
culture of family values became the most important after the death of my grandmother. My
grandmother was the one who would have everyone together for everything. After her death, the
whole family, as a way to honor her memory, would continue to be close and would try our
hardest to not lose the bond my grandmother had created. All these values from each different
culture shape many parts of my personality and the way I am.

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In all the cultures that I connect to, they all a have their unique way of communicating. In
each culture, they have differences in vocabulary and the way of speaking. However, it joins
people and describes who you are. As Jason Del Gandio explains that Language and identity are
inherently connected (109). It shows in my identity as I would talk to people about things and as
well with people who are in the same cultures. In the Latino culture, they are many languages but
one of the main ones is Spanish. When I speak in Spanish with other Latinos it feels normal since
we grow up listening and learning the language. Jason Del Gandio writes in his book, Rhetoric
for Radicals, My language expresses my heritage and my heritage expresses my language
(110). Spanish express my Latino culture identity as it shows my Salvadorian background.
However, if I start talking about art things, even in Spanish, to someone who does not know the
vocab, two cultures I connect while showing the differences as well.
When I express my art culture, I express with my art assignments and doodles I would do
now and then. When I talk to other art students, there would be some words that mostly art
students would understand what they mean. Same as well with family culture, when I have
family events the way we speak is a little different from regular Spanish. My family would use
either informal Spanish or broken Spanish. If I speak the way I speak Spanish to other Spanish
speakers, they would understand some words but think I am saying other words wrong. Thus the
way I speak with my family is how Language is fundamental to cultural identity (Hate,
department of education). Because of how I speak Spanish, it a part of my identity as it is unique
to my personality. Culture have places where the traditions or area where the culture are heavily
influenced.
All three culture have a place where the influence the most. There are also traditions that
happen as well. With my art culture, the most influencing places are art classes, art museums,

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and art gallerias. Those places are where the art culture is most shown because people who are in
the culture would be there talking things about the arts and admire the art that is being display.
With the Latina culture, place that would be influence by a place like the flea markets. The flea
market are little stores all together in one place for a period of time and place. They usual have
items or foods from different Latin countries.
In my family culture, the places are family parties or events in parks. Some traditions
with my family are have Christmas at one family house and at new years at another family house
every year. Everyone would go to that one family member place and stay awake until midnight
to open gifts. With my art culture, one tradition is having critique after every art assignment.
Everyone would have their art pieces up and have comments about each other art. In Latina
tradition in celebrating the independence day of their country. My family celebrates our
independence day every year at my uncle house. However, many would say that only one culture
and shape your identity.
With the three cultures I connect with, all three do have conflicts. In The Latina culture,
people would say that I am not in the Latina culture because I do not know how to speak Spanish
that well, even though I can understand the language completely. In art culture as well can say I
am not a part because I do not like displaying my art that much or not have advance technique
yet. Despite all that, I do feel that belong in those culture because of my background and my love
for the arts.
The important values and traditions, the different languages, and the different places of
each culture shapes my identity because I show them in every day. Culture shape many parts of
peoples identity as it shows in their background. No matter what people say about not able to be
in more than one culture, it is possible.

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Work cited
Gandio, Jason Del. Rhetoric for Radicals: A Handbook for 21st Century Activists.
Gabriola Island, BC: New Society, 2008. Print.
Hale, Ken. "Rascimnoway." Department of Education, 2015. Web. 2015