My Culture

The first chapter of the novel, The Thing They Carry by Tim O’Brien, describes some of the intangible things that the characters carry. This is something that I can relate to, and so everyone does. The characters in the novel carry their fears, honor, love, emotions, brotherhood, and so more. They carry more than one thing. I do also myself; however, I will only mention one of the things I carry, my culture. It is the most significant thing that identifies me. As a Mexican, I am proud of my culture, and it is something that I will always protect. I was born Mexican and will stay as Mexican.

There are a lot of problems in my country, Mexico does not have the best economy and security. However, it is a country rich in culture, and I am a part of it. Mexico is a beautiful country and that is something I’m proud of. As a proud Mexican, I love to party, make noise, and be friends with everyone. I like to make everyone have a good time. I come from a culture where everyone is friendly with anybody. For example, the waiters are really attentive. When you are ordering your food, they start to have a conversation even when you did not ask for it. They ask you politely what you want, never giving you a distressed face. Even people on the streets are fun in Mexico. I assure you that if you start dancing randomly in the street there will be people joining you. Even in our way of talking, we are used to saying “ito” at the end of most words. “Ito” is a diminutive suffix. It can be used to show affection, or soften the meaning of the actual word. For example, instead of saying “You want a tequila?” it is said, “You want a tequilita?”. It’s like if you say it that way it’s going to be something simple, and suddenly they bring you a jar full of tequila. The “ito” is a good way to soften anything. You are saying something horrible but you soften the punch with a glove, the glove being the suffix. It makes you seem more friendly, and everyone will respond to you nicely if you ask it politely. If you are lost and you are looking for directions as Mexicans we will do anything to help you. It is part of our culture. The way we were raised. Raised with delicious food and music.

Something I am proud of is the delicious food that Mexico has. Something that would put a smile on any Mexican is when tourists said that they enjoyed the food and that they had a great time. Our food is extensive. There are tons of different dishes in Mexico. Depending on what you are a different dish there would be. However, everything is delicious. It is something that I always miss when I’m studying here, and it is something I would miss if I move out to another country. Mexico has not only delicious food, we have traditional music, too.

The music is unique. Not too many outsiders like Mariachi, banda, and songs that are traditionally from Mexico. I even know Mexicans that it is not their favorite music genre, like my sister for example. However, there is something that almost everyone agrees with, it makes you want to move the body. Most Mexicans like to dance. It is something that is reflected in parties. Everyone is dancing with everyone. We like to shake our bodies, especially me. It is part of our culture, our dances and music. We have traditional dances like “Jarabe tapatío”, which is considered the national dance from Mexico; therefore, the most popular dance. “La Danza de los Viejitos”, “El huapango”, among other traditional dances originated in my country. Our culture is extensive and that is what I love from Mexico. In the novel of The Thing They Carry the characters were shaped on what they carried. My culture is what has shaped me. I’m proud of my Mexican cultural side. I love how friendly Mexican people are, the language, the music, the food, and dances. This intangible aspect of me would never change even if years pass. Mexico is my birth country and even though there are lots of things that I hate about it I love my country.