Why Culture is Important

In October, a few weeks before Dia de los Muertos, I sat with an Oaxacan man in a garden that was plotted in the center of a parking lot. Autumn brought an early sunset. It was a brisk two in the afternoon and we had met for an interview about preserving culture.

Juan and his wife have been teaching Oaxacan members of the community traditional dance for decades.

“So, why is it so important to preserve Oaxacan culture through dance?” I asked.

He explained that here in the states, the older generation has to teach the younger generation about Oaxacan culture. South Los Angeles is dangerous and living in poverty makes it easy to drift down the wrong path. If you don’t know who you are, you will get lost. And getting lost makes the travel through life much harder.

Educating the youth about who they are makes them stronger. That strength will help them get through the inevitable rough patches in life.

I am fortunate to grow up in a neighborhood with minimal violence and mediocre distractions. Like many youth, when I went away to college I lost my way. Once removed from the environment that told me who to be, that reinforced who I am, I forgot my purpose. Hearing these words reminded me why I came home, why I returned after leaving so many times.

The voice in my head did not tell me who I could become. It told me who I was inevitably meant to be. The pride of my Latinx cousins, the voices of strong women who paved a path before me, the defiant screams of punk artists, they were silenced by the depressed and anxious pleas of my parents who were both caught in a cyclical pattern of hopelessness, abuse, and working to make ends meet.

It was time to flip a switch. To amplify those voices of strength, silence the voice of defeat, and move forward with who I knew I needed to become.

What is your story? Who are you meant to be?