Some time ago, a Mexican coworker asked me what came to my mind when I heard the word “Mexican”?
I answered that I pictured someone with a dark, thick mustache, of medium height, stocky, with a shirt that had a background pattern of roosters or horses or horseshoes, jeans, a big belt buckle and cowboy boots, topped by a cowboy hat...
Time has passed and that stereotype has changed. Diversity and difference are the key in my country... Mexico with so many different kinds of tacos, quesadillas, tamales and atole, beautiful beaches surrounded by striking palm trees... Images, some would say, but does the image not reflect the content?
We are the gateway to Latin America, a source of pride for us and a source of our derision by others. A dark Latin bearing the brunt of modernity, showing our unique identity, preferring what is different, but still eternally proud.
Written by Patagonia for Caras de México. Click here to read more articles examining Mexican identity.