Mexicans–Ties That Bind

Two or three weeks back I listened to an interview with researcher Dan Lund who lives and works in Mexico City.  He has recently done research on Mexicans and what are the common ties that hold Mexicans together–whether in Mexico or living abroad.  The gist of his research question was:  “What are you most proud of as a Mexican?” 

Surprisingly, instead of turning up symbols of the Church or of patriotism, he said he discovered a unique configuration of family, food and place.  How does it work? 

Family.  Mexicans are extremely family oriented.  They love getting together in family groups…often extended family.  Typically the group comes together around a meal…around the table…around the grill…sometimes its a birthday party or some holiday…sometimes its just the weekend.  Food.  Mexicans are proud of their food…and Mexican food is fabulous–tacos, carne asada, mole, pozole, barbacoa, birria, tamales…  And the thing is that Mexicans love to cook and love to eat.  What’s more the food is the conversation.  Each dish has a history and varies from region to region.  Mexicans can talk for hours about the food.  Lund says the metaphor for Mexico is table.  Place.  To be a Mexican is to be from a specific place.  Mexicans feel a strong tie to some specific place…some city or pueblito.  Even when you don’t presently live there, eres de alli.  You are proud of where you are from.  Lund says that the money sent back to Mexico by Mexicans living in the U.S. is not just about the money…but about the connection to a place…it is a social relationship. 

So what does all of this mean?  What does it say to those who want to understand and connect with Mexicans (in Mexico or in the U.S.)?

I think about Jesus and the way table was so important to him, to his ministry…so important in the Kingdom message he lived and proclaimed. 

I think about the potential blessing of eating alot of good Mexican food!

fruit of machismo?

i want to understand better what’s going on in mexico. 

i want to understand what causes some mexicans to do whatever it takes to find a better life. 

i read a quote today from mexico’s president felipe calderon saying that there is a culture of “machismo and misogyny” that pervades in mexico…said that in 2006, 49% of all homicides against women were at the hands of their husbands.

the president called these figures “chilling.”  i agree. 

i wonder what the connection is with drugs and alcohol. 

i wonder what the figure is in other places.