The cultural activities within Latino families are often filled with inseparable traits that strengthen the bonds within the household. However, some of the traditional family pastimes seem to have faded over generations while others remain prominent.
Some families have set aside their heritage to adapt to American culture, according to Yakima Valley Community College Chicano Studies professor Maria Cuevas. Her studies of Chicano history led her learn more and celebrate Mexico’s unique heritage.
Cuevas is considered third generation as her parents and grandparents were all born in Mexico. Her parents are deceased now, and Cuevas never really got the opportunity to ask them why they chose to leave Mexico for California’s Ventura County in the 1950s.
Her parents were married in 1954, at a time of many racial injustices in California and across the nation.
Maria Cuevas’ parents in 1954, shortly after they married.
“The lynchings of minorities in California at that time were not just designated to Black Americans, but also Asians and Latinos,” Cuevas says. “The discrimination against minorities during the 1950s was so powerful that it generated a strong emphasis to quickly assimilate to American culture.”
As a teenager attending high school in the 1970s, she rarely spoke her native language and wore Americanized clothing, leading many of her peers to assume she was Italian rather than Mexican.
Traditional Mexican occasions such as quinceaneras, Día de los Muertos and Cinco De Mayo were not celebrated at all in the Cuevas household. Cuevas also remembers not consuming conventional Mexican foods growing up.
Her mother attended high school, where Professor Cuevas says she learned to cook American-style food with basic ingredients like salt, pepper and garlic powder. Only at birthdays did Cuevas’ mother cook customary Mexican dishes for Cuevas and her three siblings.
English was the primary language spoken in the household. Cuevas recalls understanding Spanish during visits to the home of her grandparents, but she was never really taught to speak the language. The family’s assimilation extended to occupations as well. Her mother was a loan supervisor at Bank of America while her father worked as a microbiologist and college professor in California’s Central Valley.
While the professor has no children of her own, she holds on to the memories of the traditions her parents did preserve, such as their love of Mariachi music and Mexican crooners. Along with her classical music listening choice, she has intertwined her parents’ musical tastes with her own.
The story of Graciela Villanueva, vice president of the Yakima school board, is quite different. Villanueva’s father was born in Mexico and is the founder of United Workers of Washington state. Her mother was born in the United States and worked in behavioral health for farmworkers, but eventually became a stay-at-home mom for Villanueva, her five older brothers and younger sister.
As migrant workers, her parents were active in addressing the challenges that many farmworkers faced. The Villanuevas celebrated the customary Mexican holidays such as Las Posadas during the Christmas season, piñatas at birthdays, and Villanueva recalls celebrating her quinceañera at age 15.
Yakima school board Vice President Graciela Villanueva — top row, second from left — poses with some of her family.
The food of the Villanueva household was a combination of Mexican dishes, from tacos to menudo. The Villanueva family also embraced American foods such as hamburgers and hotdogs.
Family conversations were bilingual, and Villanueva recalls becoming more comfortable with English as she got older. Translating Spanish to English for her parents, she says, was not necessary in the family’s dynamic.
“I can read and speak both in English and Spanish, but I would not consider myself fluent in Spanish. Both of my parents were monolingual Spanish speakers, so I was able to talk with them and have a relationship with them. They both have a good command of English.
“When I entered the workforce as an adult, I was able to interpret for others,” Villanueva says. Now the mother of two has passed down her love of Mexican cuisines, language and food to her children — a trait she says is still prevalent in today’s Latino families.
Keeping heritage alive
Others in the Yakima Valley share Villanueva’s point of view about family unity.
For Yakima insurance agent Blanca Cisneros, it’s all about keeping the heritage alive by blending hands-on experiences with extended family members.
“During spring break, I took my children to help my parents cut asparagus, and in the summer, we picked cherries with their grandma,” she says. “These experiences teach my children the value of hard work and the importance of education and a good career.
“I also braid my daughters’ hair and often cook traditional recipes with my mother to keep our culinary heritage alive. We celebrate Cinco de Mayo by attending community events together.”
Blanca Cisneros’ daughters Annelisa, Annessa, Vannessa, son Mileon and son-in-law Rigoberto.
The roots of Mexican cultural holidays and celebrations seem more prevalent among first-generation individuals, regardless of age.
Yakima Community College psychology major Lecero Mendez is 25 and is still very much involved in the traditional family celebrations. Both of Mendez’s parents were born in Mexico while she was born in Othello.
Aside from quinceañeras, the Mendez family also celebrates las doce uvas de la suerte, which is Spanish for “the 12 grapes of luck.” It’s a New Year’s Eve tradition in which one eats a grape with each toll of the bells that ring in the new year. Each grape represents one of the 12 months to come.
Lecero Mendez as a child with her mother, Maria.
The family also celebrates Día de los Muertos by planting marigolds in remembrance of their loved ones. Mendez says they often celebrate American holidays like Thanksgiving, too, but tamales are often the featured dish rather than turkey.
The Mendez family language was solely Spanish, but Mendez learned English while being enrolled in English as a Second Language courses. Now, she’s often called on to translate for her parents during doctor visits and other important conversations.
Mendez hopes to someday earn a degree at the University of Washington and become the first person in her family to finish college. Family comes first for the student, though, as she aspires to make her parents proud. When she is ready to start a family of her own, Mendez would like to pass on lessons on cooking cultural foods, a strong work ethic and the importance of education.
Similarly, Yakima lawyer and Latino Civic Alliance secretary and treasurer Sandra Rodarte is a prime example of remembering what’s been passed down to her from previous generations.
“The cooking traditions are very important to me. I have wonderful memories helping my mom and grandma to cook, so now I have my kids help to cook,” she says.
“I try to keep our family as united as possible. We try to all be together during the holidays — and when I mean all, I mean my husband’s immediate family and my side of the family. I try to make it a point to attend as many birthday celebrations as possible for both family members to show my kids the importance of unity,” Rodarte said.
The majority of first- and second-generation Latinos are bilingual, showing their willingness to assimilate with English-speaking Americans while still maintaining their cultural identity.
However, at least three aspects of traditional Mexican home life have stayed the same over the generations: a passion for traditional foods, a love of music and above all, the importance of family.