Camille Fletes / Mexico
I am 3rd generation Mexican American. My grandparents were born in Los Angeles, California. Their parents were from Mexico however, I never met them. My grandparents had 8 children, 5 boys and 3 girls. They lived in a 2 bedroom home in Santa Monica with all of their children. My grandmother and grandfather were hard workers. They moved to Simi Valley in the 1970’s because it was a very small town and they wanted to keep their children out of trouble. Although they did not have a lot of money, my grandparents were still able to purchase multiple properties for their children so they could all live close to each other. This was very special because my cousins and I all grew up together because of my grandparents.
During the time my mother was in High School, there was a lot of racial discrimination, so my grandparents never taught my mother or her siblings how to speak Spanish. They felt that they didn’t need it at that time because Simi Valley had a demographics of primarily Caucasians. However, my mother learned Spanish on her own. Although they did not speak Spanish when they were younger, they sang in Spanish all the time. My grandparents, my mother and her siblings were all singers and musicians. This is the one thing that will always stay with me. Growing up, we always sang our traditional Mexican songs at every holiday and during every family get together. Although I am not a very good singer, I now share this tradition with my children and they love it.
It wasn’t easy growing up as a 3rd generation Mexican American that did not speak Spanish. It was like I wasn’t American enough for the Caucasians and I wasn’t Mexican enough for the Mexicans. Either way, I feel that there was a lot of racial discrimination growing up but I never let is discourage me. That was just motivation for me to prove that I can do and be anything I wanted to be despite my race, color or background. I believe that attitude helped me become the person I am today.
I am very proud to be Mexican American and I love my culture so much. From our Mexican language, to our delicious food that includes tamales, sopes & posale ect, to our festive parties with piñatas filled with chili candy, to the beautiful sounds of our mariachi bands, to our gorgeous traditional dances… these are just some of the things that make our culture so special.
During the time my mother was in High School, there was a lot of racial discrimination, so my grandparents never taught my mother or her siblings how to speak Spanish. They felt that they didn’t need it at that time because Simi Valley had a demographics of primarily Caucasians. However, my mother learned Spanish on her own. Although they did not speak Spanish when they were younger, they sang in Spanish all the time. My grandparents, my mother and her siblings were all singers and musicians. This is the one thing that will always stay with me. Growing up, we always sang our traditional Mexican songs at every holiday and during every family get together. Although I am not a very good singer, I now share this tradition with my children and they love it.
It wasn’t easy growing up as a 3rd generation Mexican American that did not speak Spanish. It was like I wasn’t American enough for the Caucasians and I wasn’t Mexican enough for the Mexicans. Either way, I feel that there was a lot of racial discrimination growing up but I never let is discourage me. That was just motivation for me to prove that I can do and be anything I wanted to be despite my race, color or background. I believe that attitude helped me become the person I am today.
I am very proud to be Mexican American and I love my culture so much. From our Mexican language, to our delicious food that includes tamales, sopes & posale ect, to our festive parties with piñatas filled with chili candy, to the beautiful sounds of our mariachi bands, to our gorgeous traditional dances… these are just some of the things that make our culture so special.