Dulci–The Mexican Custodian at UC Berkeley

What was it like immigrating from Mexico to the US

 

It’s really hard. Because first you didn’t know the language. I come here when I was 18 years old. I couldn’t go to school because I needed to pay my bills. I learned English on my own. The culture is also different. It’s hard to adapt, especially when sometimes people see you in a bad way. Hopefully it gets better. I also don’t like the food because everything tastes so different. 

 

How do you see yourself in the Mexican community? And what makes the Mexican American community special?

 

Back in Mexico, I have a lot of friends because I lived in a small town where everybody knows each other. Everybody says hi even if they don’t know you. Here, even my neighbors don’t say hi. 

 

In the United States, my community is my family. I have a big family and I do almost everything with them. We still follow our traditions as a family, a community. We moved to here because we want to give our kids a better future. We are hard workers. Even if we came here with no knowledge and language, we moved our way up to provide for our kids.

 

What’s your favorite Mexican food?

 

Most Mexican people would say tacos. But my favorite Mexican food is Chile relleno. It’s made from bell peppers. You grill the pepper and fill it with potato and cheese and coat it with fried egg batter.

 

What’s your favorite part about the Mexican culture?

 

Christmas. For Christmas, we have something called Las Posadas. It’s like 10 days before Dec 24th. Every family has a reunion on this day. We take Christian figures from one house to another house. We sing and ask for a place for the figures to have the baby. We are recreating what Maria did before she gave birth to Jesus.

 

What’s your favorite Mexican cultural activity to do?

 

My entire family get together from outside. My grandma is still alive, and she is 86 years old. All her kids gather together to cook for her. But the moms in the family don’t cook. Instead, men and single women cook and do the chores.