My Mexican Cultures

I am from Mexico, and I lived for eighteen years in Zacatecas Mexico with my parents, even with an older sister and a younger brother. I remember two specific dates we celebrated in Mexico: “Dia de Muertos” and “Semana Santa.” Those days are very important in my culture, but another more typical thing that represents Mexico is mariachi music and the music was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco. These three things make up my latin roots that identify me as mexican.

Dia de los Muertos is celebrated on November 2, and it’s a holiday. This date is celebrated throughout Mexico and different ways to celebrate.The people create altars in their homes to remember and pray to your loved ones. I remember, my family and I went to the cemetery every year to bring flowers for all our loved ones who have already passed away, and we visited other graves of people we know or friends. Moreover, I remember getting up early, because I feel excited for this day and preparing for this day. We walked to the cemetery in the morning, but one thing I remember most is cutting flowers on the way and braiding them to make little crowns which we put on our heads to decorate our heads with. I miss not being there on this day, and I think that Mexico is the only country that celebrates the Dia de los Muertos in a special way, which is why my tradition is very special.

The Semana Santa or Holy Week is April 2 to April 8. In Mexico, all Catholics celebrate it in a special way, so I remember a lot of it. In those days I participated in all the activities, but the most important are the last three days. The first was representing the washing of feet that Jesus did. for which the father of the church with twelve people who liked to participate represented him. Second day, it was the passion of Christ, so my friends and I participated in doing the scene of the viacrucis or the path of the passion of the christ. For people it was to relive the passion of Christ in a real way. Immediately at night, we continued with a walking procession that was the procession of silence where we walked with a candle in the night without speaking, so It was astonishing. The last day was the condolences to the Virgin Maria where we went to the church for an hour each group first the Children, then the young people and finally the adults. On this day we made different food and the whole family gathered to live together. In my country it is very common to spend moments all together, especially on special dates. Those days were very special for me and I will always remember it.

Finally, mariachi music is famous all over the world, but more interesting mariachi music is the same for mexicans. It is as if it were the flag of Mexico for example. When I listen to music, I think about my country, my food, my family, and my people. The music has broken barriers that almost anywhere in the world can listen to, but when people listen to mariachi music, the people remember Mexico. Now It is very difficult to continue my tradition the same way, but I remember a lot of it. Every culture has beautiful traditions, but my culture is beautiful and I am very proud to be Mexican.