There is a very interesting building next to our hotel. On our way to the supermarket, we stopped there to ask about the building and its history. Michelle DelaVega, a second generation Mexican immigrant greeted us and was more than happy to tell us about the history of the place.
DelaVega was born in the United States to a French/Mexican mother and Mexican father. Although he lived his whole life in America and in Santa Barbara to be specific. Currently, he runs the "Edgerly House", a house for senior citizens. Formely, it was a place where movie stars met, especially silent movie stars. The conversation we had with DelaVega was very significant not only because he is an immigrant but also because he gave us a good idea about the integration of the Mexican community throughout the years and their changing status in the American society. He told us a bit about his school years where he found difficulties assimilating into the American society. He said that during that time, Mexicans were way lower than White Americans and the fact that he had a disabled brother made it worse.
The present situation seems to have changed and is still changing. He believes that interracial marriages contributed to improving the race relations. Interracial or intercultural marriages proved that different races, ethnicities and cultures can coexist and live in peace. Since America is a multi-cultural and diverse society. I think that Americans started thinking of themselves simply as Americans first and Europeans,Africans,Latinos second. This is the melting pot after all. The differences are not important anymore however, the similarities are acknowledged.
DelaVega introduced us to another immigrant called Pe'a. He is Samoan by birth but he was raised in Hawaii and later on, he moved to the United States. He moved to California to get a better education but he soon became a professional golf player here.I noticed that both DelaVega and Pe'a were comfortable talking about their immigration experiences and they referred to themselves as "immigrants". From the moment we started talking to DelaVega , he told us that he is Mexican. He seemed very proud of his Mexican heritage. I had this idea that immigrants (especially second generation) usually avoid referring to themselves as immigrants and are more attached to the country they live in. I was proven wrong and later that day, another immigrant we met told me a very true fact " some assimilate and some become more Mexican". I also think that some assimilate and become very Mexican at the same time. I will explore this possibility later.
This interesting encounter wasn't the only one that day, we met Jesse Aseba later that day. Aseba was born in Mexico and he spent the first 10 years of his life there. His father immigrated to the United States during the US-Korean war on a guest-workers program implemented because many men went to war. Jesse asked him to come to the US and visit him and then he remained in America . He stayed in Santa Barbara to be more specific.A very interesting thing he said was describing the way he entered America. They simply crossed the borders and his dad said "they are all US citizens".
I started thinking about how it was so easy for Mexicans to cross the borders not so long ago. They just had to cross the border and start a new life in a completely new country. Over the years, not less than 12 million crossed the border and stayed in the US illegally. It is simply because it was so easy to get to America. A first world country next door to a third world country where there is a lot of poverty. Additionally, there are a lot of opportunities in America and most importantly, their labor is wanted. Jesse is a success story in the immigrant population. He went to a boarding school on a soccer scholarship , got a bachelor degree from UCSB and currently, he sells advertising spaces in the yellow pages. Spending the afternoon with Jesse gave us a full view of the Latino life especially the Mexican life in California and even the United States. We went to Oxnard, a little town where about 70% of the residents are of Mexican descent. Our first stop in Oxnard was the herbs shop owned by his brother, Julio. Julio caters healing herbs mostly to the Spanish-Speaking community. Hearing about the Aseba's success stories was inspirational because once upon a time they had nothing now they have everything. Their stories are one of the many inspiring success stories in the latino community. They proved that luck is not enough but seizing opportunities and hard work can get you to a lot of places.
Being in Oxnard, I remembered researching for one of my English papers for school. My main research focus was "Turkish immigrants in Germany". Turkish immigrants and Mexican immigrants are the largest immigrant population in two different countries. First of all, Oxnard is home to a large Mexican immigrant population because they usually like living close to each other. Immigrant populations usually concentrate in a specific area. Turkish immigrants do the same thing. They are concentrated in certain neighborhood. Second of all, both of them keep their languages especially the older generations. In Germany, some of them don't learn German because they don't have to deal with the German community. In Oxnard, I didn't hear anyone speak English and in the supermarket, I talked to a woman and she couldn't speak English. I believe that living in their own communities where they don't have to use the English language at all since they buy their goods from Spanish-Speaking people, go to schools where the majority are Spanish-Speaking will not only make them not bother to learn the language but it will also restrict them to their community and isolate them from the American community. It will make them part of the Mexican community in America but not part of America.In immigrant populations in different countries, it is believed that sticking together makes them stronger and being in your own community or "comfort zone" will make them more comfortable and at home.
Comparing the Turkish immigrants in Germany and the Mexican immigrants in Oxnard really showed me the similarities between immigrant populations around the world. Just like the reasons for immigration are similar , an immigrant can relate to other immigrants in other places.We ended our trip in Oxnard by going to a Mexican restaurant. Having a Mexican neighborhood in Oxnard was another indication of immigrants staying attached to their roots and making sure they don't forget their culture and food is part of your culture.
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