Cinco De Mayo Fiesta

Grab your sombreros and cold cerveza — it’s Cinco de Mayo time on the Genizus podcast! We’re hanging out with Ceci, a fun and fearless relative from León, Guanajuato, Mexico, to get the real scoop on how Mexicans celebrate this day versus how Americans do (spoiler: it’s not just about tacos and margaritas). We dive into wild stuff like cockfighting festivals (yes, really), the official meaning behind Cinco de Mayo, and why little people in sombreros are a thing you didn’t know you needed to know about(not really). Ceci also spills on Mexican beers, Their Government, the Mexican space program (wait, what?), and what Mexicans really think of Americans. It’s a serious chat with plenty of laughs, cultural surprises, and maybe some friendly roasting. Perfect for fans of Mexican culture, holiday shenanigans, and anyone who loves a good mix of history and hilarious stories. Tune in, celebrate with us, and find out why Cinco de Mayo is way cooler than you thought!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Jen is Dust Podcast, where we dive into the dynamic world generational conversation with your host, John, the baby boomer, along with Jessica the Millennial, and Joey, the Gen Z. Hello, hello, all right, all right.

SPEAKER_04 0:22

Some cultural is appropriate.

SPEAKER_00 0:24

Well, yeah, welcome to Janice Us Podcast. Uh, this is the Cinco de Mayo episode. I've got uh my lovely daughter here, Jessica, the millennial. It's me, Jessica! And we have another millennial joining us from Leon, right, Leon Guanajuato, Mexico. Uh, our my second cousin, uh Ceci uh Ceci, right? Ceci. Yes, yes, yes. And uh she's joining us from a very special uh event. Apparently, there's a rooster event going on in uh where where she's at. They had to get a hotel just to be involved in this rooster event. Is this a Cinco de Mayo event?

SPEAKER_02 1:12

Um no, not really. No, not really. It's just uh yeah, it's just uh rooster fight tradition that we have in Mexico, and they do bets. Like some people, yeah, like I bet that this uh rooster is gonna win.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

So it's like so they're cock fights, right? Right, they're cockfights.

SPEAKER_02 1:34

Yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_00 1:35

They're illegal in the United States.

SPEAKER_02 1:37

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_00 1:38

Yeah, yeah, they're illegal in the United States. We have a very famous quarterback uh that played for the Eagles.

SPEAKER_04 1:44

No, that was dog fighting. Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:46

Oh, that was dog fighting? Yeah, Michael Vick. Oh, Michael Vick, that's right. Wrong animal. Sorry about that.

SPEAKER_04 1:52

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 1:54

Um, so yeah, so we have the uh the privilege of having um SEC with us today. We're gonna talk Cinco de Mayo stuff, uh, traditions, what they do opposed to what we do here in the United States. And uh hopefully uh this hour won't go too fast. We're only gonna have it for a half an hour or so. Uh, so we want to get as much information as we can from Cecy's.

SPEAKER_04 2:18

Can you explain our relation? I don't think I've ever met her.

SPEAKER_00 2:21

Okay, well, uh Okay, so um Ceci is my uh first cousin's daughter.

SPEAKER_04 2:29

Who's your first cousin?

SPEAKER_00 2:31

Rossi Rodriguez. Oh, yeah. I know there's about 10 other names after that, but I think it's Rossi Rodriguez, right?

SPEAKER_02 2:37

Ed or mom's side?

SPEAKER_00 2:38

Uh on my mom's side.

unknown 2:40

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:40

On my mom's side.

SPEAKER_02 2:41

Yeah. How old are you? Yeah, so we we are your family members from Mexico, basically. Okay. Hi.

SPEAKER_00 2:50

This is my daughter, says you guys are.

SPEAKER_02 2:54

Yeah, Jessica. I mean, I I know I've known you, I've seen you in in social media before. Oh, God. But that's it. That's scary.

SPEAKER_04 3:04

Yeah, I know everything about you. Right.

SPEAKER_00 3:07

Oh boy. It's across the border.

SPEAKER_04 3:09

I know. So how old are you? Like, you don't have to tell me uh just a range.

SPEAKER_00 3:14

You're both millennials.

SPEAKER_04 3:16

I am 30.

SPEAKER_02 3:17

She's younger than me.

SPEAKER_00 3:18

Yeah, but you're still millennials.

SPEAKER_02 3:21

Yeah, I'm I'm kind of millennial.

SPEAKER_00 3:23

Yeah. I think millennial is between the ages of 45, I think, to no way.

SPEAKER_04 3:30

Well, yeah, I guess so.

SPEAKER_00 3:31

Yeah, 45.

SPEAKER_04 3:31

I mean, it's considered you're born in the 80s.

SPEAKER_02 3:34

Yeah, I am, right? And I am like the last millennial. Right. Like the last generation, let's say. Yes. Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_00 3:41

Right, because after that is uh Joey, who's not with us today.

SPEAKER_04 3:45

No, rest in peace. Yes, just kidding. My mom's about to kill him, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_00 3:53

Oh boy, that's a whole guys.

SPEAKER_02 3:55

You you can you can ask me the questions that you want and I will try to answer.

SPEAKER_04 4:00

So uh isn't Cinco de Mayo not real in Mexico? Like that's an American like a Hallmark holiday. Like, isn't it American made?

SPEAKER_02 4:11

Well, so of course we have this celebration in Mexico, but yeah, it's not as big as it is in the US. And I don't know exactly why, but I heard well, I was investigating a little bit, and I saw that well, uh this happened because there was a battle in Puebla. Puebla is uh state in Mexico, right? Yes, and uh the French uh army was trying to invade Mexico, and it was um the door, let's say, or uh they wanted to invade Mexico first and they and then get to the United States. So it was very interesting. The French army, right?

SPEAKER_00 5:04

Right, right. And uh yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:06

It was uh Napoleon, Napoleon III? Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:12

I didn't know I did not know that. Uh I know that uh General uh Saragoza was uh the ones that defeated um the French um through their resistance and rebellion um in 1865, right? Ignacio, yeah, Saragoza.

SPEAKER_02 5:33

Ignacio Saragoza, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:37

Sarago.

SPEAKER_04 5:38

I'm sure she doesn't agree with that.

SPEAKER_02 5:42

Yeah, and it was really um interesting because the Mexican army wasn't that good. Like uh the French army was much better, they had better uh equipment, better uh weapons, and we still win. We still we still won. So it was like a very special thing, and uh for some reason then um in the uh how do you say consulado in in English?

SPEAKER_00 6:12

Uh the consulate consulate. Was it because the Mexicans had um sombreros, sombreros, and they threw burritos and tacos at them and the French and the French didn't know how to deal with it because they're the French.

SPEAKER_04 6:28

They went wee wee, no, no, we're we no.

SPEAKER_00 6:33

Have you ever known have you ever known the French to actually win a war? They've never won a war. The French. Did you know that?

SPEAKER_02 6:41

Oh, I didn't know it.

SPEAKER_00 6:42

Yeah, they've never won a war. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:45

But they would they were able to conquer a lot of a lot of countries.

SPEAKER_00 6:50

Right. Well, they started out to, but they didn't do real well. I mean, Napoleon uh was defeated.

SPEAKER_04 6:56

He fell short.

SPEAKER_00 6:57

He fell short because he was short.

unknown 7:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 7:02

Okay, so so they got so they defeated the French, and then but I thought it was like an independence day thing.

SPEAKER_00 7:10

No, no, no. That's that what's uh everybody thinks in America. They think it's independence day. Independence day for Mexico is uh September 16th.

SPEAKER_01 7:17

The grito, right.

SPEAKER_00 7:19

El grito, el grito.

SPEAKER_01 7:20

So yeah, that's the one from Spain. That's okay.

SPEAKER_00 7:24

Right, right, right. That's they defeated a Spanish, um, and uh that was the independence. But uh no, um uh the the the war in in Puebla is Cinco de Mayo. That's yeah, that's and I don't know why it became so popular in the United States. It's because the Mexicans, when they migrated to America, decided, hey, you know what, let's open up our coronas and modelos and and party it up.

SPEAKER_02 7:50

Yeah, I don't get it. No, and you know what? I heard that um like around the 80s, um actually Corona, uh a company that imported Corona started doing a very big campaign uh about the 5 de mayo party in order to sell more.

SPEAKER_05 8:12

Right.

SPEAKER_02 8:12

Uh yeah they big like a yeah, like a lot of publicity, and it started becoming a uh bigger party in the US.

SPEAKER_05 8:22

Right.

SPEAKER_02 8:22

And I read I read that um now in that date uh they sell more than um San Patrick's Day and um the Super Bowl. I don't know if that's true.

SPEAKER_00 8:36

Oh, I don't I don't I believe it.

SPEAKER_04 8:38

I have two cases of modello from Costco in my house.

SPEAKER_00 8:43

All right, so uh so Ceci, the important question is what Mexican beer do you like?

SPEAKER_02 8:51

Oh so I don't know if you guys have uh yeah, I definitely like modelo.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

Yeah, we like modelo. Uh we have modelo.

SPEAKER_02 9:01

Yeah, and Victoria? Do you have Victoria there?

SPEAKER_00 9:04

Victoria, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 9:04

Victoria's actually I actually have some information. I don't drink beer anymore, but when I did, it would be a modello.

SPEAKER_00 9:13

You don't drink beer anymore?

SPEAKER_04 9:14

No, I don't drink beer.

SPEAKER_00 9:15

Oh I thought you had a beer last time you were here.

SPEAKER_04 9:18

I mean, if I have to, I will, but I don't necessarily, that's not my first choice anymore. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 9:26

Um let's see.

SPEAKER_04 9:29

How long do you have without drinking, Jessica? Oh no, I drink. I do drink heavily, but um I just gave up. I just gave up beer. Um because I I lost 80 pounds, and so as part of me losing weight, I just stopped drinking beer. So I'll drink like seltzers or like cocktails. You know, I just I try to stay away from beer as much as I can. Oh, yeah, by the way, as a lot of colories, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:55

By the way, Victoria was founded in 1865.

SPEAKER_04 9:58

From the from the blood of the French.

SPEAKER_00 10:01

From the blood of the French.

SPEAKER_02 10:05

See, I like I like Placista. So now you guys you guys tell me how you celebrate Cinco de Mayo in the US. I go to Taco Bell and I order a Nacho's Bel Grande.

SPEAKER_00 10:17

Um, I mean, I like I'll well You know when I was when I was younger, when I was younger, like back in the like 90s uh whatever, I used to party with uh I used to celebrate with my friends. We'd go out to this place called Carlos Murphy, that which was on uh on Ogden Avenue and um uh in Lombard, and it was uh Irish Mexican place. Yeah, and it was uh and we used to drink uh all day. We used to do tequila shots and it was a fun thing. Guinness and Guinness, yeah, Guinness. And um but I haven't done that in a long time. I mean, I don't cinco de mayo is like cuatro de mayo now, so you know it's it doesn't mean it doesn't mean anything to us, it means more to the gringo americanos.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

Yeah, I would say right, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:08

Yeah, yeah, it's not a it's for us, it's not a big day. I mean, you know, it's it's just another day.

SPEAKER_02 11:12

Yeah, you know, I feel like I spent one Cinco de Mayo in the US, uh, because I I was in California for an exchange some time ago. And it was a big day uh in California. You know that there is a lot of uh Latino community, and there was like a parade, and there was um a party in the street with many different uh little stands sending food, sending, no, sorry, selling food. Yeah, uh, but not only Mexican, there was a lot of Salvadorian food and like some other places.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

Oh, that's interesting. Well, yeah, I mean it's like here in Chicago, there's a huge Hispanic community, Mexican community. So they have this year. I th I don't they were gonna have a party this year, but I think they canceled because of all the stuff that's going on with uh uh ice and stuff like that. So I mean but makes sense. Yeah, but every you know, every year it's always they always put the ads and you know, commercials about Cinco de Mayo, modelo's big, Corona's big, you know. So yeah, we don't, you know, it's it's you know, it used to be a big holiday for me when I was younger, but you know, now that I'm you know more mature.

SPEAKER_04 12:30

Oh god, he's not Jessica. Did you ever celebrate it? Not really, like uh no, not really. I mean, we we'll like make Mexican food or we'll go to a Mexican restaurant. But yeah, well um, but we won't it's not like a huge deal. Like for us, I feel like it's um I don't know. It like we celebrate like St. Patrick's Day more, I feel like than we would. Oh really? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:58

Yeah, because you know we're we're still you know um half Irish. No Roscoe or Roscoe.

SPEAKER_04 13:03

Oh really? No, he's lying to you, don't believe him. He is not.

SPEAKER_00 13:08

I am Roscoe.

SPEAKER_04 13:10

I am on my mom's side. My husband's Irish, but yeah, no. Um I just yeah, I don't I don't feel like maybe when I was younger, I think it it probably meant more, but um yeah, not anymore. My kids don't really celebrate that either, even in well, no, it's but when they get to like 21, they probably will. No, I don't know. I bid yeah, yeah. I don't know, but even like thinking about um what's the New Orleans one?

SPEAKER_00 13:43

Oh Mardi Gras.

SPEAKER_04 13:44

Mardi Gras. Yeah, Mardi Gras. People celebrate that Mardi Gras here more than they do Cinco the Mayo.

SPEAKER_00 13:50

Right.

SPEAKER_04 13:50

Maybe just in our area. I don't know. Well, I d yeah, I think so.

SPEAKER_00 13:53

In Mexico, do they celebrate Mardi Gras? That you know it's like the No, I don't I don't even know what it is. Yeah, it's the day before Lent. Before Lent begins.

SPEAKER_02 14:03

Sorry, I I can't hear you. Can you repeat?

SPEAKER_00 14:06

Uh it's like uh Pascua, the beginning of Pascua of Lent.

SPEAKER_02 14:10

Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We celebrate Pascua, we celebrate the holy week, yeah, but we don't have that exact celebration.

SPEAKER_00 14:18

Oh, okay, okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:19

Well, Bardi Gras is from New Orleans, which is in the US, so I don't they wouldn't really celebrate it. It's not in our traditions, I don't think so.

SPEAKER_02 14:29

No.

SPEAKER_00 14:29

So for Mexican Independence Day, that's when you everybody in Mexico goes crazy.

SPEAKER_02 14:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:36

Yeah, we drink a lot of tequila, we stay uh awake all night and nice, all that stuff.

SPEAKER_01 14:44

Well, if you think about it, even Chicago, we have the parade.

SPEAKER_00 14:47

Right. Yeah, we have the parade. Oh, really? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

The parade, they have all the music uh downtown in the band shell. That's where my mom used to go see all the dignitaries that came in. And in September?

SPEAKER_00 15:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:00

So it's called the Grito. We would go every year as kids where my mom's little taquitos made, and we would sit there and eat our taquitos and watch the whole show.

SPEAKER_00 15:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:12

It was free to, you know, it was first come, first serve.

SPEAKER_00 15:14

Taquitos de cabeza.

SPEAKER_01 15:15

They would have Mexican dignitaries all in the original costumes in the the Well, Jessica's more uh Americana.

SPEAKER_00 15:25

Jessica, I mean we grew up, you know, mom and dad, you know, um they they they grew up with all the tradition. So we we saw a grito, we'd stay up uh and watch a grito on TV and uh mom and dad I thought that meant yelling.

SPEAKER_04 15:38

It is, okay. It is that is what it is. Yeah, independence this yellow. No, I don't. I mean, I can understand it.

SPEAKER_00 15:47

Taco Bell.

SPEAKER_04 15:48

Yeah, yeah. Um, but no, I I don't speak it. I but I'll I can understand what you're saying.

SPEAKER_00 15:55

But okay, yeah, yeah, because um when we were we were growing up, um mom and dad would speak Spanish to us and they would understand it, and you know, we'd speak English to them, they would understand us. So when she was when she was little, it was the same thing, she'd understand uh Spanish to a certain degree.

SPEAKER_04 16:15

It was Spanglish by the time it got to me.

SPEAKER_00 16:17

Yeah, it was Spanglish.

SPEAKER_04 16:18

It was like a hybrid language that didn't make any sense. So that's why I can understand it. I just don't feel comfortable enough to say it, you know, speak it. Oh. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 16:30

So Cecil, let me ask you a question. So um you're out there uh watching uh the the Gayos fight. Um what happens uh when they lose? Do you cook them?

SPEAKER_04 16:39

Oh no.

SPEAKER_00 16:41

Do you do you do you eat them after they lose?

SPEAKER_02 16:44

Um there has Gallo Frito. I I mean after after all that, um I mean I've heard that when uh when an animal uh dies uh with so much bad energy, the food is not good anymore. I don't know if it's true.

SPEAKER_00 17:08

I think it's still being it's still chicken to me.

SPEAKER_02 17:11

Oh god, uh whatever. Right? I like my fried chicken. Well, I don't know what they do with the with the roosters, to be honest.

SPEAKER_00 17:22

Well, you know what? In uh we went to Florida a couple of years ago, and Key West has a law that you can't uh kill the gaios or you can't abduct them or kill them.

SPEAKER_01 17:36

Yeah, they're they're uh protected, they roam for they're protected, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:40

They're protected. If you run them over, they run you over.

SPEAKER_01 17:43

Oh my god. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 17:45

They arrest you for yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:47

You when you're in a restaurant, they're just sitting walking around. Yeah, and then they come like wanting like scraps and food.

SPEAKER_00 17:52

Right, right. You you you've gone to Key West. I was like seven. Oh yeah, you don't remember. Yeah, the the the Gaios are the roosters, and it's just roosters? It's roosters, that's it. Yeah, the other ones you can kill.

SPEAKER_02 18:05

Where was that? I put it here.

SPEAKER_00 18:07

Key West in uh Florida?

SPEAKER_04 18:09

Florida.

SPEAKER_00 18:09

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_04 18:15

Oh my god. Okay, right, right. Listen to him.

SPEAKER_00 18:20

But okay, okay, so um, so how are things in in uh Mexico right now? I mean, the government, how how are things out there? Is it as screwed up as our government right now?

SPEAKER_02 18:33

Well, so I'm not super political, but um right now um the the party that is in the government is Morena, and there's people that they support Morena a lot, like uh as with Trump. There's people that is uh really almost religious to Morena, and no matter what they do, they always support them. But I'm not like that. I consider that they have done some good things, obviously, and they are giving so many, how do you say like uh giveaways or like benefits? Benefits, yeah. They they give many benefits, uh, for example, to the people without uh no, sorry, to the old people or to the people without jobs, or to the people with uh disabilities.

SPEAKER_05 19:34

How do you say health health handicapped?

SPEAKER_02 19:38

No, disabled discapacidad, disabled, yeah, disabled, yeah. Disabled, yeah. People with disabilities. Uh unfortunately, they are spending all this money in the giveaways or in the benefits, and they are not uh giving money to another areas. For example, I've heard that uh the health um institutions don't have enough resources, don't have enough medicines. Um so yeah, I don't think this is the best government we have had, and we are actually scared about what could happen in the future. Some people say that they wanna do like a dictatorship.

SPEAKER_00 20:20

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_02 20:21

I don't know if it's true.

SPEAKER_00 20:22

That's not good.

SPEAKER_02 20:23

Yeah, like a like a communist thing.

SPEAKER_00 20:26

Oh, that's not good. Yeah, that's not good.

SPEAKER_02 20:29

Yeah, I don't know if it's true. Yeah, but they have like these kind of ideas. Wow. Like we're gonna give money to the people instead, instead of uh making the economy strong.

SPEAKER_00 20:42

Sounds like our government.

SPEAKER_02 20:44

Sounds familiar.

SPEAKER_00 20:46

Really? Oh, yeah, well, we have two parties. We have the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. The Republicans are greedy, corrupt, and um basically they want to take they want to use all the money for military or for uh corporate uh corporate um for the corporations. Whereas the Democrats want to help uh the economy, help uh people, and uh, you know, keep democracy going.

SPEAKER_05 21:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:12

Um so to me it sounds like you've got sort of the same thing going on over there where you've got a party that's uh more conservative and then another party that's uh probably liberal, like we are.

SPEAKER_02 21:25

Yeah, yeah. Uh but actually in Mexico, we don't have only two. We have like several parties.

SPEAKER_00 21:32

Really?

SPEAKER_02 21:33

Which makes everything more confusing. Yeah, that's a weird thing. Yeah, it's actually more confusing. We have like at least four, four different parties, and you don't even know what their ideas are anymore because they just change their their ideas to to convince the people. You know, like for example, the conservative parties start uh saying liberal things just To get the attention of the people.

SPEAKER_05 22:03

Right.

SPEAKER_02 22:03

Like, I don't know if I'm being clear. Yeah. Yeah, you are.

SPEAKER_04 22:07

Yeah. They change their viewpoints just to get the votes or just to get people to follow them.

SPEAKER_02 22:15

Yeah. And you don't know how to believe anymore. Right. Or you don't you don't know what to believe anymore.

SPEAKER_00 22:20

Well, it's yeah, it's like uh our situation right now. It's the government keeps saying one thing and they're lying to you, basically trying to, you know, uh get approval of the people and trying to make their policies better than others, and it's basically a lie after after lie after lie. So it's yeah, yeah. So what do you guys think of uh our our president?

SPEAKER_04 22:44

No, don't get she's she's gonna get in trouble. No, she's so like I could get in trouble.

SPEAKER_00 22:51

No, you're not gonna get in trouble. Is he gay or nay? Just say yay or nay.

SPEAKER_02 22:57

I would say no, I don't like him.

SPEAKER_00 23:00

I don't that's all you have to say. What's your view on Americans? Yeah, what do you think of Americans?

SPEAKER_02 23:08

Uh Americans or America?

SPEAKER_04 23:10

Yeah, both. Both. Both.

SPEAKER_02 23:14

Well, I don't know everything about America, obviously, but when I was in California, I enjoyed my time a lot. I actually liked the US a lot. Uh because I don't know, especially in California, there's a lot of nature, yes, beautiful landscapes. So I fell in love with that, first of all. Uh secondly, I've heard that there's a lot of racism. But when I was there, I didn't really receive the like in general, they treated me well, I have to say.

SPEAKER_00 23:46

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:47

But you were in California. California is liberal.

SPEAKER_00 23:49

Yeah, very California is very liberal, and there's a lot of Hispanics. So if you look like us, you're gonna be all right. But if you go to like the East Coast or to the south, you're in trouble. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like, yeah, there's a lot of racism in the southern states. Um, and uh sometimes in the northern states, it depends on where you go. I mean, they're a little bit more liberal in the northern states. Southern, forget it.

SPEAKER_04 24:15

Everyone's nuts, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:17

Everybody's nuts.

SPEAKER_04 24:18

You can come across a crazy person anywhere, but right generally speaking, right?

SPEAKER_00 24:23

Right. I mean, I'm sure in Mexico there's people that are the same way, they're you know, crazy. You know what I mean? You're gonna find crazy people. Uh-huh. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:33

You guys who are uh Mexican-American, have you suffered like racism situations?

SPEAKER_00 24:41

Uh yeah, when I was growing up, uh, very much so. Yeah, we, you know, it was it was really bad when I was going to school. We were the first Hispanics. Um, and I keep I I tell this story all the time. When I was growing up, um, we went to a Catholic school, and uh, we had uh sisters, religious sisters, that were really mean, and they had a like a ruler just for me.

SPEAKER_04 25:05

When I'd come to school, they'd hit me on the that was because you were an asshole, not because you were a Hispanic.

SPEAKER_00 25:12

It's because that was his name.

SPEAKER_02 25:16

Yeah, but even if you didn't do anything.

SPEAKER_00 25:18

Oh, yeah, I hit I I punched a nun. I ended up in military school. I ended up going to military school for three years because I accidentally punched a nun. But yeah, it was Oh, accidentally, yeah, sure. Right, right. So yeah, there was there was some uh you know, racism. Um me and my older sister, um, we kind of paved the way for my uh other other uh brothers and sisters to make it to have it a little easier, you know, when they were going to school and all that. But um when we were when I was a kid, it was it was pretty hard. You know, we were we always yeah, we were always constantly um a butt of uh of racism. So yeah, because we lived in a white, predominantly white area.

SPEAKER_04 26:05

Oh, okay. Yeah, so white and yeah, like rich kind of wealthy area.

SPEAKER_00 26:11

White and rich, yeah, exactly. But uh okay. But things have changed. I mean, where we're at now, things have changed quite a bit. Um to a to a certain extent. It's not as bad as it was when I was growing up, but um you still find it everywhere. I mean, you know, it it racism is gonna be racism. I mean, pe white people hate, you know, blacks and Muslims and Mexicans and you know Asians and you know, aliens from Mars and stuff like that. So so yeah, so it's just yeah, yeah. Can you imagine if uh we had uh aliens from another planet come down, it'd be terrible.

SPEAKER_04 26:49

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 26:50

Yeah, I know. I I've heard that um it's just the the color of the skin, and just for the for that, we think that oh, I don't know how to explain it, but yeah, I mean, just for something as simple as the skin color, yeah, we are making such differences, right? Right, right. Yeah, and I mean so yeah, it's crazy.

SPEAKER_04 27:14

Yeah, we're all human. We're right, absolutely. And you know what? We're very proud. Some people might be lizard people, like some people in government might be alligator people, but uh but you know what?

SPEAKER_00 27:25

I'm very proud of being uh Mexican, and uh, you know, I show it, you know, with all the stuff that I do, uh, you know, I'm very proud. And it's funny because when I was younger, I didn't want to be proud of that, you know, my Mexican heritage. I wanted to be Americano and uh all this stuff, but you know, integrate uh into American life. But now as you know, older, um, I see what my parents uh instilled in me and uh how proud I am of my blood, and and I want to instill that in in Jess and her kids.

SPEAKER_04 27:57

I don't want to punch nuns.

SPEAKER_00 27:58

Yeah, you don't want to punch nuns because you don't end up building military school.

SPEAKER_04 28:02

But maybe maybe they deserve it. Yeah, true. Yeah, true, just like the conjuring, you know. I'll punch that nun right in its nose. Um what about you? Like, do you guys experience anything like that? Like if you're in a from a certain area or you know, if somebody is immigrated to Mexico.

SPEAKER_00 28:24

No, if if there's white people in in Mexico, do they do they uh discriminate against white people?

SPEAKER_02 28:30

Yeah, so okay, let me tell you about that, but first let me just finish about my perception of the US. Oh, please. I was going to say something else.

SPEAKER_05 28:39

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 28:39

Um, so in general, I liked the US. Um, but uh it's interesting that sometimes people in the US think that Mexico is really dangerous, and yeah, of course we have some danger, and there is the cartels, I'm not gonna lie. But I lived some insecurity, no, not insecurity. Well, I lived some situations where I didn't feel safe in the United States, so so yeah, even in the US, it can be worse. Oh, absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 29:15

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:17

Like I saw very creepy things in in the US, and I don't I'm not trying to talk bad about the country, right? But in general, once I saw people fighting, and one person set fire to the other one.

SPEAKER_00 29:31

Oh my. Wow, that's that's awful.

SPEAKER_02 29:35

Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_00 29:36

Did they throw water at them? I hope.

SPEAKER_04 29:39

You you've never seen that? Uh no, that typically doesn't happen. I'm gonna say no.

SPEAKER_00 29:44

Yeah, that typically doesn't happen. You know, somebody lights somebody else on fire.

SPEAKER_04 29:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 29:48

Well, unless you're in uh unless you're in Chicago at the train station, it does happen occasionally. But no in big cities, yeah, in big cities. We've I've never seen that. I've I've seen like uh no, I I don't think I've ever seen anything like that. Yeah, no, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:04

So unfortunately I saw it. Wow, and I just thought that yeah, the US has many insecurity problems too, especially because of the drugs, right? Yeah. There's a lot of people who who do drugs in the in the US, and and that's a bad thing, a very bad thing. But well, in general, I had a good experience, I gotta say.

SPEAKER_00 30:25

No, it's good.

SPEAKER_04 30:26

No, I mean that's it's so funny because I have that perception of Mexico that there's a lot of people that do drugs and because of the cartels and stuff. They don't do drugs, they just sell them. Okay, well, who do you sell them to?

SPEAKER_00 30:41

Yeah, Americans.

SPEAKER_02 30:43

I mean, I personally, yeah, I think in the in Mexico they sell the drugs, but the US uh take like there's more people addicted.

SPEAKER_00 30:55

Right. Interesting. Yeah, no, in Mexico, you you you mess with the cartel, they kill you.

SPEAKER_02 31:00

Right.

SPEAKER_00 31:00

Yeah, but I mean they don't I don't see the thing is I've never heard of Mexicans being uh drug addicts. They just sell the stuff.

SPEAKER_01 31:11

Alcoholics.

SPEAKER_00 31:11

Yeah, alcoholics, yes. I mean, you see like the drunken sombreros on the street uh with the the the people coming out of them.

SPEAKER_04 31:18

So yeah, so racist against your own race.

SPEAKER_02 31:23

Yeah, I know. I mean, I think we are being a little racist.

SPEAKER_00 31:26

Yeah, agreed. Hey, can I ask you a question? Can I ask you a question? Are there Mexican midgets in Mexico?

SPEAKER_04 31:32

Oh my god.

unknown 31:33

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 31:34

There are what? Are there Mexican uh midgets? What's uh what's midget in Spanish? Is it nanitos? Chiquito, chiquito, nanitos shorts? Yeah if you put a sombrero on them, do you lose them? They killed me.

SPEAKER_04 31:50

Oh my god. No wonder why you got hit by the ruler at school, got sent to military school. Um so what like what do Mexican okay, so in Mexico, when you think of Americans, like does a stereotype come to mind or do you do you have a different view because you spent time in the US?

SPEAKER_02 32:18

Um I this I have a different view for sure because I was able to live there and meet the people. But in general, I think there is an stereotype and people think that in the US the people is like colder. Like they are not very affectionate. Uh they think that they are more individualist, um, they do a lot of overconsumption too. Like they buy a lot of stuff. I agree with all this. Yes.

SPEAKER_05 32:53

It sounds like me.

SPEAKER_04 32:55

Yeah, I I agree with all that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 32:59

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 32:59

That's and there's no set culture, like it's a majpash of culture, you know, for the Americans. It's uh there's not like one nationality where you think of American, it's it's all mix of everything. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:19

Well, but I think that's really I think that's cool and that's interesting uh to have people from different places. It's like really enriching. Yes, it should be.

SPEAKER_04 33:30

Yes, I agree.

SPEAKER_00 33:32

Well, I you know what in Mexico, I think that when I when I I look at the country, I don't really think of Mexico as a country of diverse uh people, like in the United States. I it's like it they're one nation and they're one people and they stick together, they have basically one religion. Whereas in the United States, you have different diverse people, uh, cultures, uh races, sexes, you know, all sorts of people that are from different walks of life. Whereas in Mexico, it's like a family. I that's the way I look at it. You know what I mean? Yeah. What what do you think?

SPEAKER_02 34:09

Yeah, I think the same. Yeah. Uh obviously we have differences in Mexico too. Uh, but yeah, not as much as in the US, right? Um, it depends on the city too, because I live in a city when there's not that much uh foreign people. Uh but for example, big cities like Mexico City or Guadalajara, uh there you can find uh people from other countries for sure. Uh and it it uh becomes more uh much more mixed. Uh and oh, I remember the question that you were doing to me, uh Jessica, about the racism in Mexico. Yes. Um, so well, yeah, I think unfortunately there is some racism in Mexico and about cla classist, is that a word? Yes, class, yeah. Classist, yeah, yeah, like um even in Mexico, unfortunately, there is this view of white people is better, unfortunately. And maybe the people don't say it, but they express they they um show it with their actions, for example. Uh like they always say, like, oh, the white girl is the prettiest of the of the classroom. Like, they are not able to appreciate the Mexican beauty, you know. Right.

SPEAKER_00 35:47

Right, right. Even though I married a white even though I married a white woman.

SPEAKER_02 35:52

And divorced. And divorced.

SPEAKER_00 35:54

Oh, and divorced.

SPEAKER_02 35:56

Okay. Well, no, I mean, I'm not against the white people. That's that's okay. And but yeah, unfortunately, we tend to not value enough our own roots, and we are like trying to be like the Europeans or like the Americans.

SPEAKER_00 36:16

Like the American. Right, right, right. Because all the shows that come out of uh Mexico are like like the music. The music uh that comes out of Mexico is almost a copy of American music. You know, there's like the rancheta music that my parents grew up with or had, you know, is so different today um than what they had um, you know, when when they were uh you know growing up and all that, you know, like Pedro Infante or Negrete, you know, all those. There's no music like that anymore. There's just like uh the rap music that's integrated with Mexican music.

SPEAKER_02 36:54

Yeah, I mean we still have uh regional music uh these days, they are still doing it, see, but maybe it's not as popular as before, probably.

SPEAKER_00 37:05

Like those, what is it called? Those Los Tigres de Norte.

SPEAKER_04 37:09

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 37:11

They got well, they're about a hundred years old now.

SPEAKER_04 37:13

Do you know them, Jessica? No, no, that sounds that sounds like something from like Game of Thrones. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 37:21

No, no, uh now I one of the on TikTok, there's a young lady who says that she's the granddaughter of Bedher Infante. Uh it's what's her name? Um Taylor Swift. No, not Taylor Swift. Oh my god. Taylor Swift Infante. What was her name? I listened to her uh the other day.

SPEAKER_04 37:41

Becky G.

SPEAKER_00 37:42

No, not Becky Infante, no.

SPEAKER_02 37:44

Um what's her name? What's her name? I got no idea, honestly.

SPEAKER_00 37:48

Uh it's uh Betty Infante's uh granddaughter or something like that. Um yeah, so she just released uh I think she's had uh a couple albums out, but she sounds she sounds pretty good, but you know, I mean it's you know what so what's your favorite singer right now in Mexico?

SPEAKER_02 38:06

In Mexico, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 38:07

Who do you like?

SPEAKER_02 38:08

I actually listen a lot to American music. Oh, yeah. That's why they want to sound more American.

SPEAKER_00 38:15

That's why you want to be American.

SPEAKER_02 38:17

Electronic music a lot. Oh, electronic music. Yeah, but well, no, let me try to find a a Mexican singer singer that I like. Well, do you know Alejandro Fernandez?

SPEAKER_00 38:30

Yeah, that's who we started out with. The music that we started out with uh was Alejandro. Yeah, so I like Alejandro a lot. Yeah, Alejandro Fernandez and then yeah, Vicente Fernandez. I like him. Um from my mom and dad.

SPEAKER_02 38:44

And he has a he has a daughter, she has an incredible voice, and she is uh she's starting her career. And I I think I like both. I like Alejandro and and the daughter.

SPEAKER_00 38:58

Alejandro's daughter or uh uh daughter of Vicente?

SPEAKER_02 39:03

Uh Alejandro's daughter.

SPEAKER_00 39:05

Oh, okay, okay. Yeah, because he's I think he's pretty old too. I think he's in his 50s, right?

SPEAKER_04 39:10

That's not very old.

unknown 39:12

No, I'm in my 50s.

SPEAKER_04 39:13

You're older. You're like way older.

SPEAKER_00 39:16

I'm in my 60s. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 39:20

No, she's like 28.

SPEAKER_00 39:23

Oh, 28?

SPEAKER_02 39:24

She's such a Alejandro Fernandez. Yeah, so she's 28.

SPEAKER_00 39:30

Yeah, she's like 50 something. Yeah, see, yeah, he's 50 something. That's old. Yeah. Uh Julia had a question. Yeah, Julia had what is it?

SPEAKER_04 39:37

Camila Fernandez. Camila.

SPEAKER_00 39:39

Camila Fernandez.

SPEAKER_02 39:41

Camila Fernandez, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:43

Camila Fernandez. Never heard of her.

SPEAKER_01 39:45

She's the his granddaughter.

SPEAKER_02 39:47

You should, you should.

SPEAKER_00 39:48

No, no, I was talking about Pedro Infante's granddaughter.

SPEAKER_02 39:50

Oh, okay, wrong person. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I don't know about her, honestly.

SPEAKER_00 39:55

Um, Julia had a question uh for you, Ceci.

SPEAKER_04 39:58

No, I okay no, she had a comment.

SPEAKER_01 40:01

Oh, a comment because Okay, tell me, Julia. Mi mama is Mexicana, okay? But she looks like a wera.

unknown 40:10

Spanish.

SPEAKER_01 40:10

And I'm light complexed too.

SPEAKER_00 40:12

I look like you look like a weda.

SPEAKER_01 40:13

I look like a weda.

SPEAKER_00 40:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:15

Who? Camila? No, no, no.

SPEAKER_00 40:17

Julia. Julia is una blanca muchacha.

SPEAKER_02 40:21

Ah, Julia is is is white? She's blanca?

SPEAKER_00 40:24

No, it's Mexicana, a Puerto Rican uh what do you say, Puerto Rican? Yeah, yeah, Puerto Rican.

SPEAKER_01 40:30

But my sisters are full Mexican and they're dark. But my mother's full Mexican and she's light. So in Mexico, you have both light Mexicans and dark Mexicans. Is that where their prejudice against the darker Mexicans instead of the light complex?

SPEAKER_00 40:48

My dad was uh darker.

SPEAKER_01 40:50

My mom was white.

SPEAKER_00 40:51

My mom was light, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:53

But there's some that are darker. My sisters were darker.

SPEAKER_00 40:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 40:57

So it's this seems like that's where you get more of the racial prejudice. Oh, the prejudice for the dark complexion of the skin. Even though they're full-blooded Mexican, it doesn't have they don't have to be American, they don't have to be of a different nationality.

SPEAKER_00 41:10

Well, it's it's like my brother. My brother's a little darker than all of them, you know. But I don't I don't remember there being any racism with my brother.

SPEAKER_04 41:18

No, no, it's because we it's because we're in you're in America though. And the racism came from being Hispanic and not she's talking about in Mexico, is it mostly because of the complexion? Right. I think it's probably some of the regions, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:33

Yeah, it's regional and classes. Yeah, so Cecil, is there racism with uh dark meat and white meat out in uh Mexico? That's the question.

SPEAKER_02 41:42

Um about the skin color? Yeah, or sorry, I didn't hear.

SPEAKER_00 41:48

Yeah, the skin color, the skin color, like uh if there's uh the difference between like lighter complexed Hispan Mexicans to darker complexed uh Mexicans, is there like uh uh racism uh from the two, or is it just one big um everybody gets gets along and sells drugs?

SPEAKER_02 42:10

Oh um so so yeah, I think uh I didn't hear your voice really well because it was cut enough, but I'm gonna assume what you told me and and yeah, well, yeah, there's um racism. Well, for example, if I am liked brown and another person is like more brown, uh some people tend to be racist to the people who is more brown, and I think this comes uh from the uh conquer conquer, how do you say? Yeah, the conqueror. When the Spanish came the Spanish came, uh they mistreated all the indigenous people, so they made us hate ourselves, you know. Like now uh the only people who was worth it apparently was the white people from Spain. So that's why um indigenous lost all their power, um and nowadays this still affects us. Like uh most people still see white like better and brown like it's like it's like America.

SPEAKER_04 43:28

Well, yeah, but um I have um black friends and it's the same with black people. The lighter colored com you know complexed, um the lighter complexion, they it's seem to be treated better than the darker complexed. Um even within that own subculture here. Like You know what race is So if they are lighter, they are treated badly? No, better. Yeah, it's the same thing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 44:01

It's the same thing.

SPEAKER_04 44:03

So like Beyonce, you know, she's hot, but you know, then someone who's like super, super, you know, dark complexed, it they don't seem to be treated as well. Um even among you know black culture here.

SPEAKER_00 44:20

You know what race is treated the same? Asians.

SPEAKER_02 44:24

Which one?

SPEAKER_00 44:25

Asians. That's not true. Because the Asians are the same color. I mean, there's no light or dark. Caught. It's just they're Asians.

SPEAKER_04 44:34

Cont.

SPEAKER_00 44:35

Oh no, well, the difference is that their eyes are a little slow. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 44:41

I think we need to stop.

SPEAKER_00 44:43

You know what? Here's a really important question.

SPEAKER_02 44:46

No, but being serious, being serious, yes, I think we have to start thinking differently. We have to really accept our accept and embrace and love our roots. And we have to communicate that to the kids, to the new generations. So one day maybe we appreciate all the color skins in the in the same way, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:15

No, I absolutely I totally agree with you. I think that because our world is so screwed up with the different uh political environment that we live in, um, I I hope that the people that are seeing what's going on in government will say, hey, enough's enough, and decide, hey, you know what, we have to do something about it. And the only ones that are going to be able to make a change are the people.

SPEAKER_05 45:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:41

You know, because the the government is already corrupt and doing their thing, and they all want to take as much money as they can or, you know, uh be in power for as long as they can. The only people that have the power really are us to vote the right way.

SPEAKER_04 45:56

And I think instead of um making the differences a sticking point, we sh you know, we should embrace the fact that differences can cause us to be united. And I I just it's heartbreaking that I think that was the whole point of America. And um, and instead of embracing the differences, we've made it separate us further. And um I think we have to get back to the thought of you know, America being a melting pot of all different types of people, nationalities, beliefs, um, ways of thinking, because that's what's gonna save us. It's you know, it shouldn't be the what's tearing us apart.

SPEAKER_00 46:44

We we the people for the democracy, right? Uh Cecil, one one last question before we let you go. Um, you know, the United States has a space program. Does Mexico have a space program? Or do they have like um what do they have over there in in Mexico? Do they have rockets or um you know what do they have? Are they gonna send uh Mexican astronauts to uh to the moon or um or my god do they have astronauts in Mexico?

SPEAKER_02 47:18

Dad I'm not an expert, uh, but I think we we don't. I think we don't, and I think when we have uh a person who wants to be part of the space studies and stuff, they have to go to the US. They have to go to the US and try to apply to NASA and stuff because here I don't know. I'm not an expert, but I don't think we have something like that. Or if we have it, it it might be like very small, you know.

SPEAKER_04 47:52

I have two questions. Do you have a Renaissance fair?

SPEAKER_00 47:57

What is uh she doesn't know what that is? Can you look up Renaissance Fair in Spanish?

SPEAKER_04 48:03

Okay, so it is a festival.

SPEAKER_00 48:08

Yeah, Wina Fiesta the um what what do you call it?

SPEAKER_04 48:12

She can understand English.

SPEAKER_00 48:14

Yeah, but I don't think they've heard of Renaissance fairs.

SPEAKER_04 48:17

Okay, well, I'm going to explain it. Okay, so it is a festival that goes on all summer. Medieval time where you can dress up like you're in um the Renaissance time, like in England. Like, and you can dress up like an elf if you want. You can watch like shows, you can go to a petting zoo. Her face is just like, what the hell are you talking about?

SPEAKER_00 48:41

I want to know what the hell you're talking about.

SPEAKER_04 48:43

Um, okay, okay. So that was my one question that answers that. Really? That was so you don't wait, you don't pretend like you don't go to a party and pretend that you're like in medieval times.

SPEAKER_00 48:54

Do you pretend to be somebody else? Yeah, costume parties.

SPEAKER_02 48:58

We do have I mean we do have some medieval medieval. Yeah, there you go. Medieval festivals? Medieval times. We do have that.

SPEAKER_04 49:08

Yes! Yeah, do you go to that?

SPEAKER_00 49:10

So important.

SPEAKER_04 49:11

Because I went to my first one this last summer and it was really fun. And I just wonder if that's uh something that is.

SPEAKER_00 49:19

You know what medieval times in Mexico is? It's a it's a cartel party.

SPEAKER_04 49:24

This is okay. So have you ever gone to one?

SPEAKER_02 49:29

Oh, not yet. Oh I'd like to, and I've seen other friends go, but I haven't gone.

SPEAKER_04 49:35

Okay, well, you should go this summer. Um, and then my last question is are you gonna be going to a World Cup game?

SPEAKER_00 49:46

Do you like soccer?

SPEAKER_02 49:48

I should, right?

SPEAKER_00 49:49

Do you like football?

SPEAKER_02 49:50

I'm not really I'm not really a football fan, so I don't care.

SPEAKER_04 49:55

Yeah. It's a big deal though.

SPEAKER_02 49:57

I don't know. I'm just interested in in men. There you go.

SPEAKER_04 50:03

Those are the best looking men too. They have the best bodies, very well distributed, all I can say.

SPEAKER_00 50:09

So is Mexico um uh starting to like American football? Not the guys that kicked a little ball. The American football with the pads, and uh are you guys because every year they have like two games in Mexico City. Uh the NFL does. Do you the does Mexico uh is it are they starting to embrace uh the NFL?

SPEAKER_02 50:31

I think so. Yeah, some friends get together to see the Super Bowl. Uh it's not as big in the US for sure. But yeah, some people like the Super Bowl, or at least they pretend they like it in order to see the halftime show.

SPEAKER_00 50:47

So they can have the beer and the tequila, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 50:49

Chicken wings. Yeah, chicken wings, yeah. They cook those roosters from the fights.

SPEAKER_00 50:54

Uh yeah, gallo frito.

SPEAKER_02 50:57

Yeah, it's an excuse.

SPEAKER_00 50:59

Right.

SPEAKER_02 51:00

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 51:01

God, I know that we have so many questions. Uh is that it? We were oh gosh. He'll just keep asking you questions about thank you for thank you for being with us today. Uh, it was a great CO de Mayo celebration here.

SPEAKER_04 51:15

Yeah, nice meeting you finally, relatives. Nice meeting you. So, yeah, she's we should keep in touch. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 51:22

We'll have to do this again. And like I I uh text you earlier, we have a new program in July that's going to be a paranormal. I want to do some uh ghost stuff from Mexico, so that would be cool.

SPEAKER_02 51:33

Yeah, totally. So we we can do that and we can find people with information about it. So it was a pleasure, guys. Thank you so much for inviting me. I feel so honored.

SPEAKER_00 51:47

We loved you.

SPEAKER_02 51:48

Okay, love you. Bye. Bye. Bye.

SPEAKER_00 51:51

Bye-bye. Well, thank you for being with us, and uh, we'll see you next time on Genesis Us Podcast.

SPEAKER_03 51:58

Thank you for listening to the Gen is Us Podcast. Make sure to subscribe. Everywhere podcasts are available. And follow us on our Instagram and YouTube at Gen is Us Podcast. We want to hear from you, the listeners. Send us any feedback or questions that you would like three generations to answer. Contact at Genes Us.com. Thank you.