Averie Singleton

April 25th, 2019

Anthropology 1010

Final Ethnography Paper

Introduction to Mexican Culture

For the assignment, I chose to do the Mexican culture. The reason I wanted to focus on this

culture is, because it’s had an influence on my life by the friends I have. From what I knew before

the assignment, the Mexican culture has many great traditions and the people are great. I wanted

to know more of why they have the celebrations they do, how they think and feel in today’s society,

and to experience their culture with them. I was excited for the opportunity I was given to under-

stand the Mexican culture even more.

Methods
The methods I used to do the research were in my friends home, the school commons area,
at the different event buildings, and in my office room at home. It was all done by using direct
observations, participant observation, mapping, interviews, and fieldwork. It consisted of 22 hrs.
The different visits, and events were 3 times a week.

Body
Language

While observing the Mexican culture, I’ve learned about the Mexican language. The pre-

dominant Mexican culture speaks Spanish as their language. The Spanish language is a beautiful

language that has lots of rolling R’s and strong S’s. I noticed that the English language has shorter

words, while in Spanish if you say the same thing it’s a longer sentence, because their language

has more to it. From talking to the people I’ve met for this class to interview, I’ve learned more
about the language that sets their culture apart from others. They are so passionate about their

language, because it’s how they communicate and reminds them of their Mexican roots. Some

indigenous Mexican words are now a common part of the English language. Like, the words “choc-

olate” and “avocado” are of the Nahuatl language. There is a mix of indigenous languages which

are, Mayan, Nahuatl, Mixteco, Chipilo, and Zapoteco. The Spanish language is spoken by more

than a third of the world’s population. Often times in movies we see the Mexican characters play-

ing the role of the “sexy one” and I think that has a lot to do with the Spanish language just by how

it sounds gives off a more “sexy” sound. Many of the Spanish songs you hear are more about

romance and have romantic tones.

Body

Human Rights

The human rights for the Mexican culture are very violated. They are still wanting more

rights to be equal for them. They feel as though, they are not heard and keep getting forgotten in

this subject. One example brought to my attention was how there isn’t equal pay for Mexicans.

They are paid less even if they have the same job position as a white person. This is frustrating

and makes them feel less important to the society. Their criminal justice system isn’t equal provid-

ing less violence and human right violations. It’s bad for everyone but worse for women, because

they are not only Mexican but a girl, so she’s looked down upon even more. It is much better than

what it was like in the past, but human rights for people of different cultures and especially the

Mexican culture could improve to be more equal.

Body

Race, Racism, Ethnicity, and Nationalism

 The Mexican culture has a lot of negative stereotypes from the past that make it so now

they still experience a lot of judgements against their race. The racism now is played off as a joke,

which is very insulting to them still. How they are treated is different from white people, because

they are treated as if they are going to steal something or be violent. With having others judge

them of this, it makes Mexican’s feel less valued and can be super annoying to deal with everyday.

Our current president said that the Mexicans are taking over other peoples jobs and that doesn’t

make them feel good about being a different race. People are ruthless and disrespectful when they

aren’t even meaning to be, just because they look or act differently in the Mexican culture. The

problem is people are still doing things today that they might not realize is racist and makes others

feel bad. They want to feel respected and accepted just as much as anyone else. Most people that

I know are proud to be Mexican and are grateful that they aren’t rude and racist like a lot of people

are. They are more aware of the small actions and feelings that occur towards them, so they can

make sure to not make others that aren’t of their race feel welcomed.

Body

Gender and Sexuality

When speaking about gender and sexuality, it wasn’t focused on as much as the other things

I’ve observed from the Mexican culture. Everyone is able to believe in what they want about gen-

der and sexuality. They feel it is not for them to judge. Each person knows their own feelings and

can make their own decisions on gender and sexuality. The big thing that was mentioned and that

is not the best for them, is that they are stereotyped as sexual people. I didn’t observe any of this

but stories were told to me about it. Plus I know this from watching movies and seeing how the

Mexican culture is portrayed. People still expect the Mexicans to be sexy and that they only focus

on being sexual. They are not all like this, that is just a stereotype. They are just like all of us in
this area. There is a widespread problem with unwanted pregnancies, but it’s not only just one

cultures problem. The Mexican culture does feel blamed for lots of issues dealing with control in

sexuality. They feel strongly and I have observed that we should value individuals potential and

opportunities with improving their wellbeing regarding sexuality and reproductive health, instead

of the traditional social problems.

Body

Family and Marriage

The Mexican culture has passion for family and marriages. They have strong values, tradi-

tions and thoughts on families that I admire. They have each other to lean on and care for that

brings them much joy and love into their lives. Families are the people who really understand you

and that you can trust. Each time there are family events, it is important for everyone to show up

so they can remember who they are and that they have people to strengthen them.

Families can be different as others join in the family by marriage, as people from other

countries are introduced or by gaining friendships. They are just like other families where people

are mixed in but they understand that unity that happens in families, which is really awesome. You

don’t see the traditional Mexican family as much now, where you are married at the church and

baptized children in the catholic church. There were more of the defined roles for mothers, fathers,

and children. It’s evolving more and more to being casual as lifestyles and society changes. Alt-

hough most traditional Mexican families you used to see are changing there are still important

traditions that they have. Some examples would be, religious festivities, Quinceaneras, wedding

traditions, birthdays, and special holidays that are celebrated in Mexico. The Mexican families will

always be rooted in tradition.

Body
 Class and Inequality

Class and inequality is not very equal for Mexicans. They are judged and that sets limits

on them unless they are able to learn how to make those judgements help them be more driven to

be successful. From interviewing Amy, her dad, and my friend Hamilton from class I learned how

they view themselves regarding class and inequality. They all said they are lower middle class.

Class is something that they felt was hard to talk about, because many of their family members are

lower then them and it’s hard to see them being treated differently. The desire is to be upper middle

class and that’s what each of them are working towards. It’s hard work to be considered upper

middle class, and many people that never have to work their way up don’t understand the struggle

it can be. Amy watches her parents work really hard each day to better the lives of her siblings,

and that is something that inspires Amy, but sadly, that’s such an important thing to the world. My

three friends from the Mexican culture all want equality and understand the effect class has on life.

Their culture is treated with equality, but individually they don’t feel it is equal. Especially in the

work field and community.

Body

Economy, Politics, and Power

We are to work together in making economy, politics, and power run smoothly in society.

The part that is disturbing to the Mexican culture, based off of the interviews, is that Mexican’s

don’t make it to more powerful positions in politics. There isn’t much power in their hands, which

is unfortunate. From my own observations, I don’t know any Mexican’s that have been in political

positions. Hopefully we start seeing more of a diversity in our politics, and power roles. Each

culture is power hungry, which is why there are wars and contention between one another so much.

It seems that people wanting power will always be an issue, so it’s not something for or against a
specific culture. There are many ways to make a living, and if you work hard enough you can

become what you desire. Family members of whom I interviewed, are doctors, lawyers, and what-

ever else they want to be. It is harder to get those jobs where you get paid the most, because they

feel unwanted in those fields. Money holds power in our society, if you have money you can do

anything. Amy and Hamilton don’t feel they have power now in their lives, because they are

young, and broke.

Body

Religion

In Mexico the dominant religion is Catholic Christianity. Amy and her dad have left their

Mexican roots in religion and joined different churches, because they like what other churches

have to offer. Amy and her dad like that they can have freedom of religion, and go to the churches

they agree with. For Amy she has grown up knowing she can choose what she agrees with most,

and that has been a good thing for her. For Amy’s dad, growing up he was not allowed to go to

any other church besides the Catholic Christian church his whole family went to. It was important

to his parents to keep the same religion for their children. They have since learned that it’s not a

bad thing to experience other religions. They are not against Amy’s dad choosing to be a part of

another religion, but Amy’s dad realizes it’s not always that way for other families. Having differ-

ent religions in a family can sometimes bring disagreements and hard feelings, and especially with

Mexican culture, because they are strongly rooted in their religious beliefs. For my friend Hamil-

ton, he had the same experience with moving away from his family, but they aren’t as accepting

with his choice to not believe in what he believed growing up.

Body

Health and Illness

 Along with the other important things in the Mexican culture their healthcare is one of

them. They desire for doctors to know how to help each person in the best ways. Culture can affect

why certain problems are happening, patient communication, and effects of medications. It’s im-

portant that in healthcare doctors are knowledgable in different cultures. Respect for each others

beliefs, values, traditions, language, and backgrounds are to be expected for all cultures when they

are in need of healthcare. From looking at health and illness from Hamilton, and Amy they feel

that, the most successful type of medical care is emergency clinics. Not all family members will

go to a doctor to get medical care, because they feel they aren’t going to be able to help them as

much as their family can help them. Types of treatment patients prefer is different for what people

believe in. When someone gets sick in Amy’s family or Hamilton’s, they administer a blessing

first. The blessing invites God to help them first, but if they are still sick then they take who is sick

to the hospital to see what help they can get. They believe that the ability to first have God heal

who is sick, is the best option, but not always, will God provide miracles in healing. The technol-

ogy that the medical field has now is really good, and can catch things that it couldn’t before, so

the Mexican cultures do use that as a resource when needed.

Body

Art and Media

There are many ways to share your culture and art is a fun way that the Mexican culture

loves to share theirs. Art is an expression of themselves. It sets them a part from other cultures. It

reflects Mexico’s country, and history in ways that words can’t explain. They like art to be color-

ful, and bright. Handcrafted pottery, baskets, clothing, masks, and rugs were in homes, and in their

festivities. Understanding art in a culture is something that has been passed down in Amy’s family,

and she knows it will be something she will teach her children too. Hamilton likes art from his
Mexican culture the most, because he can relate to it the most, but he appreciates all art a lot. He

can admire paintings, and depictions of events from the past, so he can learn from them. There are

a lot of family members in Amy’s family, who create paintings of Jesus Christ. Each of the paint-

ings share a great, powerful, and unique story. Art and media are ways to express our differences,

self communication, relieve stress, and to impact society as a whole and individually.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this ethnography experience was positive work for me to be involved in. A

better understanding of human nature, human society, and human culture within the broadest

comparative framework of human activity was gained after I was able to examine the Mexican

culture. It is good for me to now understand how there is a cultural diversity, and I want to con-

tinue to be aware of ethnocentric viewpoints. The methods used were helpful, but having more

maps, and more beneficial interviews would help even more. I would have provided with better

fieldwork.

Bibliographical References:
Camp, Roderic A. Mexico: What Everyone Needs to Know. New York: Oxford University Press,
2017.
This book caught my attention by the title, because I want to know everything about the
Mexican culture. The different chapters are all things that I need to read about, so I can know more
about it.

"Mexico." Countries and Their Cultures. Accessed January 30, 2019. https://www.everycul-
ture.com/Ma-Ni/Mexico.html.
This website has a lot of good information on it. It was also one of the top websites that
came up, so it must be good.
Zimmermann, Kim Ann. "Mexican Culture: Customs & Traditions." LiveScience. July 19, 2017.
Accessed January 30, 2019. https://www.livescience.com/38647-mexican-culture.html.
The reason I selected this website is, because it has videos on it that explain some of the
Mexican culture and traditions. Being able to watch the videos gives visuals of the food, art, music,
clothing, holidays, and more that is helpful to me. This way I’m able to engage and understand the
Mexican culture in every way.
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