I am a Mexican American and to me the only way for a Mexican American to become successful in this country is to assimilate into the white culture. Think about it. The more ethnic a Mexican looks, the worse off he is in employment, housing, and social situations. Even Mexicans with in the community will refer to darker skinned Mexicans as "wetbacks" or "chunthado." Paulo Freire and Frantz Fanon both speak about how the oppressed class adopts the ideals of their oppressor and internalize the negative feelings of their culture into themselves and other like them.
The more white you become, that is, speaking dressing and acting a certain way, the better off you are.
So I change my name not to sound pretentious or because its the thing to do. I do it to reclaim the little bit of heritage that i have lost. an attempt at least. but whats in a name really. The truth is that it will take a lot more to learn about the things i was taught to forget.
The frustrating thing is that even my names are all Spanish and there is no semblance of any of my Native ancestors in me. They have been forgotten. But i can make some bomb mexican food. : )
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