Mexican American Immersion Project

1
Mexican AmericanImmersion Project

• Patty Sibley
• CNDV 5320 Multicultural Counseling
• Section C16
• Lamar University

2
U.S. Histpanic/Latino Population

• 55,279,452 total Hispanic / Latino U.S.
  Population in 2014.
• 35,320,579 of total Hispanic U.S. population are
  of Mexican decent.
• -Factfinder.census.gov

3
Language

• 72 First Generation U.S. Latinos Spanish is
  Dominate or Preferred Language.
• 47 Second Generation U.S. Latinos are Bilingual
• -Villalba in Hays Erford

4
Religion

• Vast Majority of U.S. Latinos are Christian.
• Most Identify as Roman Catholic.
• Latino Population is More Likely to Seek a Priest
  or Minister for Emotional Difficulty.
• -Villalba in Hays Erford

5
Family

• Distinct Family Roles
• Machismo Strong, virile, powerful man who takes
  care of family by providing food and shelter.
• Marianismo Women viewed as pure, making
  sacrifices for husband and children, not engaged
  in premarital sex, and is a nurturing female role
  model for daughters.
• Strong Family Unit of Both Immediate and Extended
  Family.
• Respect for Parental Authority and Elders.
• -Baruth Manning

6
LaFamilia Resource Center
Me, Diana Barrios-Program Coordinator, Sherese
Picornell-Program Director, Sylvia Stelly
Executive Director

• LaFamilia Resource Center is a bilingual
  organization that provides the Lake Charles, LA
  area with services, resources, and referrals that
  are aimed to help multicultural families and
  individuals adapt to life in Southwest Louisiana.
  They offer American citizenship classes, ESL
  (English as second language classes, Spanish)
  classes, family advocacy services, as well as
  translation assistance, after-school tutoring,
  and referrals to other resources.

7
Rositas Authentic Mexican Restaurant
Molcajete is a soup-type dish with fajita meat in
a red sauce with cactus and onions served with
flour tortillas. It was served in an molcajete
bowl, which is crafted in Mexico from volcanic
rock.
Me outside the restaurant, and Maria, owner of
Rositas (Right).

• Maria (the owner of Rositas) chose my meal. She
  served me a molcajete dish and a Jarritos
  mandarin soda. The molcajete dish was a
  soup-type dish with fajita beef meat in a red
  sauce with cactus and onions. It was served with
  flour tortillas to wrap the molcajete. It came
  in an authentic molcajete bowl, which Maria said
  was crafted in Mexico from volcanic rock. The
  side dishes were a bean soup, rice, pico de
  gallo, and guacamole. The drink was an orange
  soda made in Mexico. The visit to Rositas
  Restaurant was educational, and I feel I had the
  opportunity to experience truly authentic Mexican
  food.

8
Immersion Dialogue with Priscila Rodriguez

• Priscila Rodriguez is a substitute teacher at
  Merryville High School, and is originally from
  Brownsville, TX. I had the opportunity to sit
  down with her on several occasions, and she was
  very open to the idea of sharing her past Mexican
  American culture experiences with me. She shared
  her experiences growing up with a twin sister,
  Patricia (I also have a twin) an older sister,
  Mary and a younger brother, Jesus. She taught me
  a great deal about the culture in which she grew
  up.

9
First Communion (Primiera Comunion)

• Before the ceremony of first communion, there are
  classes to teach children prayers called Dotrina
  (in Spanish which is Roman Catholic Catechism).
  Every child takes two years of Dotrina classes
  before they can receive the bread and wine
  received in the Communion ceremony. For this
  grand ceremony, Priscilia and Patricia picked 2
  godparents that paid for their dresses and party.
  The party took place after the religious
  ceremony.

Patricia and Priscila
10
Charro Days Fiesta
Twin sister, Patricia younger brother, Jesus
and Priscila
Priscila
Patricia and Priscila

• In Brownsville Texas where Priscila grew up, the
  Charro Days Fiesta was in late February, and
  celebrated the traditional Mexican horsemen.
  Priscilia remembers dressing up in traditional
  charro costumes and going to huge parades, the
  carnival, street parties, and elaborate firework
  presentations.

Click above to view current video featuring
Charro Days Fiesta.
11
Quinceñera
A quinceñera is a special ceremony that many
Mexican American girls have when they reach the
age of 15. It is a sign of showing that she is
becoming a woman. Priscila and Patricias
quinceñera was funded by their godparents. During
a religious ceremony the girls got blessed by
their priest. An elaborate party followed the
ceremony. They celebrated with cake and dancing.
12
References

• American Fact Finder. (2014). http//factfinder.ce
  nsus.gov/faces/tableservices/ jsf/pages/productvi
  ew.xhtml?pidACS_14_1YR_B03001prodTypetable
• Baruth, L. G., Manning, M. L. (2012).
  Multicultural counseling and psychotherapy
• A lifespan approach (5th ed.). Upper Saddle
  River, NJ Pearson Education.
• Photographs of Priscila Flores-Rodriguez.
  (1989-2016). Dialogue photos,
• Brownsville, TX.
• University of Texas-Brownsville. (2012). Expert
  of the Month Charro Days Video file.
• Retrieved from https//www.youtube.com/watch?ve
  vVDddJtuK8
• Villalba, J. A. (2014). Individuals and Families
  of Latin Descent. In D. G. Hays, B. T.
• Erford (Eds.), Developing multicultural
  counseling competence (2nd ed.,
• pp. 313-340). Upper Saddle River, NJ Pearson
  Education.