The Evolution of Culture and Tradition in Utah's Mexican-American Community

The Evolution of Culture and Tradition in Utah's Mexican-American Community

BY EDWARD H. MAYER

DESPITE LOCAL EMPHASIS ON the early Spanish and Mexican history of Utah — particularly the Dominguez-Escalante expedition of 1776-77 — the establishment of an energetic Mexican-American culture has been a twentieth-century phenomenon. That culture varies from those developed in other states of the Southwest, perhaps because of population density. New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona have substantially larger Mexican-American populations and a greater attachment to Mexican culture. Additionally, many Southwest communities are continuously rejuvenated by immigration. Much of the history of Utah's Spanish speaking peoples has been chronicled. It is time now to look at the culture more specifically and see how it has changed and why it developed differently in Utah.

EARLY IMMIGRANTS PRESERVED TRADITION

In the early part of the twentieth century most Spanish-speaking people who lived along the Wasatch Front were forced here from Mexico by the Mexican Revolution of 1910-20. They found work on the railroads, in the mines, and on the farms around Salt Lake City and Ogden. Initially, most were young single men who came to make some money and return to Mexico. Few ever intended to remain in Utah. As the revolution and subsequent depression intensified, more and more family groups came to Utah until there were sizeable communities in Salt Lake, Bingham, and Ogden. Approximately 2,300 first- or second-generation Mexicans (about .5 percent of the total population) lived in Utah in 1920. In more rural areas, such as Monticello, Spanish-speaking families from northern New Mexico and southern Colorado moved in to work as sheepherders and on farms and ranches. In both rural and urban areas Mexican traditions and culture were preserved.

Among these early immigrants the importance of the traditional Mexican family was deep. In the rural areas of Utah, life on the farm and ranch strengthened family ties. The burdens and responsibilities of the farm kept the individual rooted both physically and socially to the family. Within the Mexican-American farm family the parents preserved the language and customs of their heritage. As Leonor Gonzalez Edmunds recalls: "I remember sitting on the floor on Sunday evenings while our father would lead us in the Rosary." This was said in the language of the home — Spanish. Outside of the home the children spoke English and participated in the dominant culture.

The extended family and kinship ties among Mexican-Americans were very important in reinforcing traditions. Emotional, financial, and spiritual needs were met within the family, and it was considered shameful to seek outside help. Although the extended kin network is found within some other American families, reliance on kin is much more important to the traditional Mexican-American family than to the dominant Anglo-American culture.

One important factor not found in Anglo culture that strengthens the family and buttresses tradition is the compadrazgo (the spiritual relationship between a child's parents and the godfather). Among Mexican-Americans, as with most Catholic groups, godparents have certain obligations toward their godchildren. In the Mexican and Mexican- American structure the responsibility is even greater than in other Catholic ethnic groups, for the compadrazgo establishes an influential relationship between the parents and godparents. The two couples become compadres or comadres, thus forming a bond even stronger than that between the godparents and godchildren. The compadrazgo had a definite reinforcing effect on the extended family and the maintenance of traditions:

Our family was made up of grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins. Besides them, the people who influenced me most were my "padrinos" (godparents). They came to our house for every family celebration, birthdays, anniversaries, baptisms, confirmations and deaths. They also gave me advice and an occasional scolding. This is what I expected from my "padrinos."

Although this influence has diminished somewhat in more recent times, it remains a cultural factor in both urban and rural settings.

In urban areas the Mexican community created other support systems that helped to sustain tradition and culture, organizations such as Comite Patriotico Mexicano ("Patriotic Mexican Committee"), 1914; Comision Honoriftca Mexicana ("Honorary Mexican Commission"), 1921; and the Centro Civico Mexicano ("Mexican Civic Center"), 1943. The principal objectives of these societies were to aid Mexican immigrants and to maintain Mexican culture, tradition, and language. Because many Mexican families planned to return to their native land they remained Mexican citizens for many years and also retained the celebrations and customs of Mexico. The celebration of Mexican holidays by Utah residents is still observed: Cinco de Mayo (Battle of Puebla—independence from the French) and 16 de Septiembre (independence from the Spanish) are the two most important holidays. Finally, up until the most recent times children were taught reverence for the Mexican flag and sang the Mexican national anthem, a practice that is apparently fading. According to one informant: "I don't know what is the matter with the Mexicano today. They have no pride in the flag (Mexican) and they don't even know the words to the 'Himno NacionaP ('Mexican National Anthem')."

Other institutions that lent support to the developing Mexican community were churches. Ironically, although most Mexicanos are Roman Catholic the first Mexican church in Utah was la Rama Mexicana, the Mexican Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints established in 1920. Many Mexican Mormons from Mexico and other parts of the country had come to Utah to be close to the center of the church. Because families are important to both Mexicans and Mormons they came as families. Thus, although smaller in number, they probably constituted a more community-minded group than the majority of early Mexican-Americans in Utah who were mostly single and not concerned about putting down roots. Although they were part of a church with a strong American tradition, the Mexican Mormons attempted to preserve their Mexicanness. The Mexican Branch, later the Lucero Ward, conducted all its meetings in Spanish. Some efforts were made (and still are) to teach the dances and songs of Mexico. Most of the young men of the Lucero Ward were sent on proselytizing missions to Mexico or other Spanish-speaking areas, helping to maintain a strong Spanish language base within the Mexican Mormon community.

The Catholic Mission, after having served the Italian community in Salt Lake City's westside, changed its focus to the Spanish-speaking Catholics in the late 1920s. The Mission of Our Lady of Guadalupe was established in 1930, and with the help of Mexican nuns of the Order of Perpetual Adoration and Father James Earl Collins, the parish became a center for cultural activities and celebrations.

Factors other than the support systems mentioned above also helped to preserve culture. Prior to World War II, for example, families in Salt Lake, Ogden, and Bingham remained somewhat isolated from the influences of the non-Mexican world. The language of the home, friends, church, and celebrations w 7 as Spanish. The first-generation immigrants also took a great pride in being Mexican. Frances Yafiez recalls what her father told her as a young girl: "Remember, no matter how light you are, or how dark you are, you are a Mexican. And always be proud that you are a Mexican." However, by the end of World War II the nature of the Mexican-American in Utah began to change.

DECLINE OF MEXICAN CULTURAL INFLUENCES

Although fewer immigrants came from Mexico and some who had come earlier moved away, the Mexican-American population increased in the postwar years through new Spanish-speaking immigrants from Colorado and New Mexico and because of the large size of many Mexican-American families. As the number of second- and third-generation Mexican-Americans increased, the Mexican cultural influence began to decrease. As acculturation took place in the young Mexican-American, certain losses of culture could be measured. Perhaps the most important cultural trait, and one of the most easily measured, is bilingualism.

Although bilingualism does not necessarily measure the Mexicanness of a person, it bears some relationship to the degree of acculturation. Four stages of bilingualism can be observed. An example of stable bilingualism can be found along the U.S.-Mexican border where business and local government employees are equally proficient in both languages, and radio and television as well as all types of written materials are available in both languages.

In Utah dynamic and transitional bilingualism have been most evident in the Mexican-American community. With the attempt to assimilate into the dominant society, most Mexican-Americans appropriated English as the language of literacy, work, education, and recreation. Spanish was limited to intimate situations, especially in the home. The acquisition of English was facilitated because the use of Spanish among Mexican-Americans was primarily oral rather than written. In a family setting it was not uncommon for parents to address each other in Spanish while addressing their children in English. In other cases parents addressed their children in Spanish but their children responded exclusively in English:

I wish that I had kept up with my Spanish. When my parents would speak in Spanish I would answer in English. In public, many times I would ignore my parents if they spoke to me in Spanish. I was ashamed of being Mexican. Nowadays it is different, but it is too late now.

Thus, even when parents wanted their children to maintain the Spanish language, peer and social pressures had a greater impact on the language choice of the child. The reduced use of spoken Spanish and the exclusive use of English as the written language soon caused a significant language shift in the Mexican-American population.

The loss of frequent Spanish usage has placed the majority of second-, third-, and fourth-generation Mexican-Americans into the category called vestigial bilingualism. This group has completely assimilated the English language but retains a few words or expressions in Spanish as ethnic markers.

Many second- and third-generation Mexican-Americans were caught between two cultures: the Mexican and the Anglo-American. Even many who came from Colorado and New Mexico were caught in this identity crisis when they left strongholds of Mexican and Spanish culture to come to Utah, an area predominantly Anglo. The young Mexican- Americans of the late forties and fifties soon felt the influence of the world beyond the home and the Mexican community. At school and outside the family they experienced prejudice toward the Mexican. The Spanish language used in the home, at church, and at celebrations was discouraged in the schools:

I remember in Bingham being kept after class because I was speaking Spanish to a friend. I was told by the teacher to only use English in class or at the playground. From that time I didn't want to speak Spanish and was ashamed when my parents would use it outside of the home.

The attitude of the Anglo-American toward Spanish, especially Mexican Spanish, was only one of the negative images of the Mexican- American, images as prevalent in Utah as elsewhere. These myths and stereotypes proved destructive because people acted as if they were true: "I remember as a young girl that the only way I could see a Mexican was sleeping against a tree under a big hat." Even though Frances Yafiez was herself a Mexican and from an industrious family, she saw the Mexican as others had painted him. This stereotype of the Mexican as a passive peasant, fat and lazy, may have derived from the siesta as an institution in Mexico; otherwise, it has little ascertainable basis in fact. Guy Lane of Provo, who employed many Mexicans, said "I have never met a harder working group of people. They are willing to do the dirtiest and hardest jobs for the longest hours. It is not unusual to see them work in fields from five o'clock in the morning until eight in the evening."

Another characteristic attributed to Mexican-Americans accuses them of being dirty, greasy, and unkempt. The lack of personal cleanliness, as viewed by middle-class Anglo-Americans, also served as a measure of one's virtue and morals. This attribute was generally based on observation of the Mexican laboring in the fields, railroads, and mines, hardly the type of environment that allowed the same kind of hygienic practices found among white-collar workers. One informant remembers how important cleanliness was: "It was very important that all of us children were clean and neat whenever we went to church or to town. Mother didn't want us to look like poor and dirty Mexicans."

One of the most negative images to plague the Mexican-American has been that of inveterate drunkenness and criminal tendencies. It is true that drinking is an accepted activity among most Mexican-Americans, and total abstinence is rare. But the image of excessive drinking has created ongoing problems with local police. The continued mistrust between Mexican-Americans and law enforcement personnel has been magnified by the press to the point where authorities and the community at large expect violent behavior from the Mexican. As one man stated it:

Sure it's true that we have our problems with alcohol. Our people feel a frustration which they hope to alleviate through drinking. Yet, because of the press coverage it appears the Mexicans are always drunk and violent. Whenever there is a shooting among Mexican Americans the Spanish surname will give us away every time, and then everyone says: "See, there they go again. Another drunk Mexican involved in a shooting.

However, not all images are as negative as these. Among those usually meant to be complimentary, yet are equally stereotypical, are: all Mexicans are musical and play a guitar, they are always ready for fiesta, and they are very romantic. A particularly vivid personal account is recalled as follows:

One evening after a dinner party, everyone went into the living room for entertainment and [to] socialize. The hostess came into the room and handed me a guitar. You can image her embarrassment when she learned that not all Mexicans play the guitar.

These images and the decline of Spanish language usage marked the low point in Mexican cultural identification.

CULTURAL REAWAKENING

Recently there has been a concerted effort among some Mexican- Americans to resist acculturation and to retain portions of their Mexican culture. The Chicano movement is a political and social reform movement that calls for the improvement and social well-being of all Chicanos in a manner that preserves their culture and personal dignity. The attitude of Basta! ("Enough!") has become characteristic of the group of Mexican-Americans who prefer to be known as Chicanos.

Chicanos are not identified with all Mexican Americans but basically with the poor Mexican Americans. We are identified with the worker. Chicanos want to do something to eliminate the injustices of the system as these work against the Mexican Americans. American society as it exists today lends itself to group association, to class association, to class struggle, not to individual struggle. You see we are Mexican Americans: we are a member of a group. We are labeled as a group by the rest of society and more important, we are a member of a class, usually the lower economic class. Therefore, we are not just involved in individualistic struggle, but in a class struggle.

The Chicano movement also involves a cultural struggle as defined in the following statement:

Chicanos identify with Mexico, not as a nation but as a culture. We are socialized here in this environment by Anglo institutions. We can't be molded into Mexicano, our personalities, our behavior is different, our outlook on life is different from the Mexican. We cannot reject ourselves and part of us is Anglo whether we admit it or not. We are Americans. Although we want to change the existing system with new ideology and a new economic system, we cannot change our personalities. We want to accept ourselves as having historical roots in Mexico, of being descendants of a culture that is not inferior. We want to appreciate those things of which we are descendants, but also, we will have to appreciate those things which are not Mexican.

There are some who believe that there is a Chicano renaissance taking place, a reawakening of those aspects of life that nurture and sustain language and the cultural heritage. The maintenance and development of Mexican folk music, folk dance, and folklore is gaining greater importance among writers and teachers. The 1970s proved to be important in the Mexican-American's quest for sociopolitical and economic status. This new social and political consciousness brought forth a literary and artistic awareness. Newspapers, magazines, and journals are springing up throughout the Southwest, and Mexican- American writers and scholars are being published in recognized journals. The emergence of El Teatro Campesino, the Chicano Migrant Theatre, in Delano, California, in 1965 and its performances throughout the United States and abroad encouraged the creation of similar theater groups elsewhere.

In Utah several Mexican-American organizations were established prior to the Chicano movement, but it was not until 1968 that a statewide organization was formed. Under the leadership of Jorge Arce- Larreta, Richard Barbero, and Father Jerald Merrill, SOCIO (Spanish Speaking Organization for Community, Integrity, and Opportunity) was established to give a voice to all the Spanish-speaking in Utah. In addition to establishing the Utah Migrant Council, SOCIO has been instrumental in forming and supporting the Chicano Studies Program at the University of Utah, the Utah Ballet Folklorico Company, and the Chicano ombudsman position for the state. The importance of these organizations and positions cannot be overestimated. First, they have established a political base from which Chicanos can unify in an attempt to better the Mexican-American position. Second, their visibility and the visibility of Chicano leaders in the state has created a different attitude among the people of the community. Young Mexican-Americans can now envision careers that previously appeared out of their grasp. This same attitude has fostered a pride in the heritage and language of their ancestors, a pride which had all but been lost among the young of the forties, fifties, and sixties in Utah. It is the rule rather than the exception now that most Mexican-Americans will admit to being of Mexican descent, whereas some ten to thirty years ago they would rather have been called Spanish.

This new aggressiveness causes some concern within the Mexican- American population of Utah. Not all consider themselves Chicanos, and many of the older generation prefer to be called Mexicanos: "I don't know what it is with Chicano this or Chicano that. As far as I'm concerned you are Mexican because both your father and I are Mexican. This is something you should be proud of." It remains to be seen whether all Mexican-Americans can be convinced that the more aggressive course is better, but many do recognize the impact culturally as well as politically that El Movimiento is having: "The word Chicano doesn't bother me anymore. I see the good that all these things have done for our people. I only wish that my husband would let me get more involved. We need this kind of help here in the West side."

The cultural implications for Utah are significant. The new attitude of the Mexican-American is to retain and in many cases regain those portions of the culture that express a degree of Mexicanness. No longer does he want to become totally assimilated into Anglo society. He is American but wants to enjoy his Mexican heritage:

And finally after having found an identity I think what we seek then is cultural pluralism. We are no longer striving very diligently for assimilation. We're not too happy with compensatory programs such as "English as a Second Language"; it tries to help us fit into the total society. We feel that we are what we are, that we are richer because of it, and that we can be good contributors and citizens of this country without having to compromise our heritage and traditions.

Nevertheless, the Mexican-American in Utah is not experiencing the same renewal as in other, more heavily populated areas of the Southwest and urban centers of the Midwest. There are some important reasons for this: Utah is not in the mainstream of the immigration of Mexican or other Spanish-speaking people. Many Mexican immigrants who do come to Utah come on a temporary basis to harvest seasonal crops. The once close-knit Mexican community is not being culturally rejuvenated by new immigrants as it was prior to the 1930s. Although there are areas where more Spanish-speaking are found, there is not a barrio or a large concentration of the Spanish-speaking as in New Mexico and Colorado. Unless contact is maintained with others who share the Mexican-American culture, people soon become assimilated, intentionally or not.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

It is impossible to measure accurately the rate of assimilation or acculturation of the Utah Spanish-speaking, but certain changes seen within this culture suggest some conclusions. During the early settlement in Utah by the Spanish-speaking the Mexican culture remained very strong within that community. The pride of the first-generation Mexicans for their native land and its culture received support not only from family and kinship systems, i.e., compadrazgo but from civic and religious institutions. The actual physical location of the Mexican community in the urban centers made it both a refuge and a barrier to assimilation. In the rural areas the emphasis on the family served to preserve language and culture.

The post-World War II years witnessed the dissolution of the Spanish language and Mexican culture. Second- and third-generation Mexican-Americans rejected the language and culture of their parents. An identity crisis caused by the lack of pride in the Mexican heritage and the prejudice of society forced many young people to seek assimilation into the Anglo culture.

The Chicano movement of the sixties and seventies has done much to increase the sociopolitical and economic consciousness of the Mexican- American in Utah. Leaders and agencies have emerged to attempt to deal with problems such as education and employment. Much has been and is being done to accomplish the goals of the Chicano movement. In parts of the Southwest the Mexican-American culture is closely knitted to the Chicano movement, but in Utah situations exist that prevent this close relationship. Many Mexican-Americans here have difficulty relating to the word Chicano and the methods outlined to reach Chicano goals. This tends to fragment the community. Many of Utah's first- and second-generation Mexican-Americans lack sufficient political motivation to participate in confrontation to bring about change. Ironically, many of these same people are the ones who retain most of the important aspects of Mexican culture such as language, religion, compadrazgo. A middle group consists of those who are politically active and still maintain some cultural identity. Even though they generally recognize the great importance of the Mexican-American culture they are unable to maintain it to the degree their parents have and rarely transfer it to their children. The third identifiable group includes young Chicanos who have become politically active and want to regain the language and traditions of their parents. In most cases this is difficult because they have lost so much, especially language, and in some cases have known only the Anglo culture. For these young people much of their heritage and culture must be learned for the first time.

Classes in Spanish culture, history, and literature are now available at Utah's major universities. Community organizations provide cultural events. Movies and local celebrations in Spanish are available to the Mexican-American community. And bilingual education is offered in school districts. Yet, a continuous dissolution cf language and culture continues among the young. This is especially tragic at a time when pride and a positive attitude toward being of Mexican ancestry has developed anew among many Mexican-Americans in Utah. However, until such time that the community can be continually rejuvenated by first- and second-generation Mexican-Americans — as is the case in much of the Southwest — the Utah Spanish-speaking will have to expend as much energy to preserve their culture as they have given to achieve their sociopolitical objectives.

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