The Stakes of Cultural Assimilation

A few years ago, my mother and I spent some time looking through old photographs of our family. We observed how our community evolved over time. One thing that stood out to both of us was the fact that in the 1980’s and 90’s, most Mexican men from our community sported longer hair. If we look at some of the earliest photos in our possession—dating to the 1950s—our male family members did not have this hair style. My father was of this immigrant cohort. With curiosity, we asked him why he chose to wear long hair during this period. Most of the pictures in question documented his experiences in different parts of the United States as a migrant agricultural laborer, which was his first source of employment. His response communicated what should have been obvious to us: there were no Spanish-speaking stylists in the places he worked. They only had access to English-speaking stylists but feared discrimination or were just too ashamed to go into a space that seemed so foreign and unwelcoming to them. They preferred to just let their hair grow out during their stints in the US. We must recall that this was only a couple decades removed from de jure segregation was formally abolished in the country.

One would imagine that upon returning to Mexico, my father and his contemporaries would choose to receive haircuts. But the pressure to ‘modernize’ in rural Mexico was strong and when migrants returned to their hometowns, community members assumed the long hair was trendy in the United States. Tenía que haber sido la moda del otro lado. It was not long before most men in this corner of rural Guanajuato, both those who stayed and those who left, were sporting longer hair. While the long hair fad has since subsided and finding a Spanish-speaking stylist is relatively easy endeavor in much of the US, this anecdote illustrates some of the challenges faced by Mexican immigrants in a time when Spanish speaking people formed a much smaller part of US society.

In the nearly four decades that have passed since my father arrived at the south Texas border, how much has changed for people of Mexican descent in the United States? A quick glance at demographic data will show improvement in many aspects: educational attainment, income, and business ownership among many other forms of categorical analysis. Even though we have, as a community, improved our position relative to historical designations (the mass lynching, dispossession, and segregation of Mexicans in Texas comes to mind), why is it the case that groups more well-established groups continue to lambast our communities for a perceived failure to assimilate the dominant society?[1] Ironically, it is the same group of people who most harshly criticize us for “failing to assimilate” who also advocate for the removal of institutionalized support that facilitates this very process—such as affirmative action.[2] This logical inconsistency is not the only issue with the greater discussion on assimilation.

Even those who seemingly throw their support behind the Mexican community do so on the terms established by those who do not want us here. By solely arguing the contrary—that we are indeed assimilating—these seemingly supportive commentators fail to question the idea that assimilation is a necessary or even beneficial endeavor for those who come to the country.[3]

Yes, it is true that many prior immigrants who arrived here eventually assimilated into English-speaking, white “American” identity, but I ask my fellow European-Americans: at what cost? Was is necessary or beneficial for you to lose your native language, cultural and worldview in order to live here? Did your ancestors happily and eagerly make this decision or were they pressured by the established European-descendant communities to abandon their roots? Your ancestors possessed millennia of cultural, spiritual, and linguistic development, was it necessary to abandon that to fit into a culturally sanitized identity? I argue that this process was harmful for your ancestors and their descendants. I urge to reconsider projecting this historical injustice onto other people just because it was done to you.

In 1984, two years before my father arrived in the US, Los Tigres del Norte released La Jaula de Oro, or The Gilded Cage. Speaking for the growing undocumented community in the US, Los Tigres share that life without documentation resembles the life of a prisoner. They are unable to come and go as they please due to threats of deportation. One of the most striking verses is in which the lead singer laments that his son has lost the desire to return to Mexico and also refuses to speak Spanish with him. 

“Despite having my color, they think like Americans and deny that they are Mexican.”

This reality causes him great sadness and heartbreak. He values his Mexican roots and culture which he failed to pass on to his children. With 28 million views on YouTube, this song clearly still resonates with many who are familiar with the sentiments and feelings immigrants communicated four decades ago. We come back to the question of what has changed, then? Fortunately, Calibre 50, another regional Mexican group, has addressed our contemporary condition in their 2018 song, “El Corrido de Juanito”. With 500 million views, this updated take remains a relevant topic to Mexicans and the diaspora. The theme of restricted mobility persists. In the song, Mexican immigrants are still overworked and relegated to gardeners, cooks, and other undervalued positions. Finally, the painful process of assimilations rears itself again. The immigrant regrets the fact that his children have lost the ability to speak Spanish with him. New generations do not understand him anymore.

This disconnect, between parents and children, children and ancestors, is what is at stake in this discussion. Why are arguing for continuing the problematic tradition of intentionally eradicating our culture? In what ways does an understanding of our history, culture, and language negatively impact people outside of our community? I urge the European-American reader to to reconsider their attacks on us—which are based on our connection to our history and ancestors—and instead, to do the work of recovering what was taken from you and your ancestors when they were pressured into assimilation.

NOTES

[1] See Gonzalez, Gilbert. Chicano Education in the Era of Segregation. Denton: University of North Texas Press, 2013; and Muñoz Martinez, Monica. The Injustice Never Leaves You: Anti-Mexican Violence in Texas. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2020.

[2] Contreras, Russell. “Anti-Assimilation Claims Haunt Latinos, Asians.” The Associated Press, January 29, 2019; Shapiro, Rebecca. “Tom Brokaw: ‘Hispanics Should Work Harder at Assimilation.’” Huffington Post, January 27, 2019.

[3] Cardona, Maria. “Latinos Do Assimilate, Mr. Brokaw.” The Hill, January 28, 2019.

Richard Velázquez Perales is a Chicano socialist of indigenous descent residing in New Haven, Connecticut. He writes about 20th century Mexican and Chicano history, with a particular focus on post-revolutionary, rural Mexico.