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Transcription
The speaker talks about the tradition of the annual fair in her small Mexican town. The community comes together to celebrate the Virgin Mary for a week in February. There are traditional dances, bullfighting, fireworks, and food. The community is united and dedicated to preserving the tradition. The speaker also discusses the sense of community in her predominantly Hispanic neighborhood in New York. People support and uplift each other, especially in salon settings. Overall, the speaker feels a strong sense of unity and connection in both her hometown in Mexico and her current community in New York. Could you also share some traditions within your community that you have? Yeah, so I think the biggest tradition that... I mean, we have a lot of traditions in the Mexican culture, but the biggest one that I've experienced, I think it was two years ago, the first time... I've been to Mexico since... No, the first time I went to Mexico was when I was eight, but... No, when I was like seven, I think. And then... And then last... No, two years ago, that was the first time where I actually went to Mexico for the annual fair that they have in my town, like my pueblo. Oh, awesome. Yeah, and then the pueblo that my dad is from, that's where my house is, it's really tiny, so the community is like really, really close. It's like max, like 200 people there. Oh, wow. Yeah, it's really tiny, yeah. So like everybody knows each other there. It's like you don't know their face, like you know. It's really tiny. And so the first time when I was for that, for la feria, and basically the whole community just comes together for like a week, and they just celebrate the... Oh, because we're Catholic, like everybody is Catholic also there, so they all like celebrate the Virgin Mary for that week, and they like have a lot of parties, a lot of traditional dances, like by the students from the schools, like they learn it over the school year, and they perform it like during that week of February. And there's also like bullfighting and like food that they give out, like they don't celebrate, they give it out to the people who are going. And let's see what else. That sounds beautiful. You can cut it out. I feel like the other one I was able to say more things, but like I'm trying to remember. Oh, they also do like a lot of fireworks, and everything is basically like handmade. Like the fireworks, I saw it this year, the way the workers are making the fireworks like by hand, and they even made it to like the design of the Virgin Mary, like it was really cool. That's insane. How do you make fireworks? Right? Yeah, like they just put like the wood pieces together, and like I don't know, it's very dangerous, like what if like the sun is too high or something, like you could just go on fire. Anyways, they make it work, and it just amazes me how like united the communities, and also from New York, like some of my family who is also from the same town, like they live here now, but they still send money like to cooperate for the funding for that week, and it's just like a very special week, and it's just like really fun. Yeah, it sounds super special, especially since, you know, you mentioned like the kids in their school are practicing the dances for it all year, and like people are like committed to, you know, keeping the tradition in the community together, and working, you know, like putting in the work and like the funds, you know, to make that happen, like that's such a united thing like you said. Yeah, like there's a whole committee, committee? Yeah, committee dedicated like tours like that, like the whole year, just kind of like the whole year, like my uncle this year, he's a part of the committee, he lives in New York here, and basically he's been like hosting like parties, and but like people who go to parties gotta pay for the ticket, and all the money that they make at the parties, they send it just for that, that party, so it's like a big party where they invite like a lot of like bands and groups to play, and DJs and all that, and I feel like the first time I went to Mexico, and I experienced that like fair, like feria party, festival I guess, yeah, it was like, it was the first time that I felt like I was like feeling the authenticity of my country, because like I've been to like fairs here like in New York, like in Cinco de Mayo, and they have like some festivals here and there, and like to celebrate their independence, the independence of Mexico, but it's like, it's different when you're actually at the home country, and with the people like who are from there, and it's really nice, yeah, that's amazing, so my last question, just like a little follow up to that, I'm just wondering, because you mentioned you live in like a mostly Hispanic, or like Mexican specifically, or just like Hispanic in general, it's just Hispanic in general, it's mainly Dominican, oh nice, yeah, I was just wondering like how that sense of community compares to, you know, being in your hometown, or your family hometown in Mexico, so it's like, I feel the sense of unity as well, because it's mainly Dominican, so it's like near the heights, and it's predominantly Dominican there too, but I feel the sense of, I feel like within all Hispanic culture, like the people are very united, like I remember on, this week when I went to go get my hair dyed, it was this Dominican salon, and everybody there was just like, so like, they're like so like, what's it called, like united, like they're always like gassing you out, they're giving you compliments, like if they knew you like your whole life, I remember like the guy, there's this guy who just like, is in the salon just to be there, because he likes chilling with the people, oh, I love that so much, that makes me so happy, yeah, it was so nice, he was like telling me, he was like, damn niña, like, cuando vayas a la escuela el lunes, vas a cagar a todos los hombres, basically he was saying, when you go to school on, I mean on Tuesday, like all the boys who are rejecting you, they're going to want you right now, they're going to ask you to like meet a girl, and then I was just like laughing, and I feel like, you just feel that connection, yeah, it's definitely in that setting, like I love how much of a community is built by like salon, or like beauty, you know, settings, it's definitely built like this, I don't know, sense of like uplifting each other, and like, I don't know, supporting like the beauty of each other, and that community, yeah, it was really nice, and I feel like, going back to your question, I feel the same in my hometown, like, you know, we're all together, like united, except like, there's like a bit, like, you know, there's, there'll be some people in there, like in the hometown, that try like making drama for no reason, besides that part, I feel like, everybody's family in there, especially like, my family's really big, I have a big family, so it's like, in Mexico, it's like, they're also like, what am I saying, they're like, kind of like the majority of it, because like, I don't know, like your family is the majority of the town, you mean? I don't want to, I don't want to gas it up too much, but it's a lot, but yeah, there's a lot, there's a lot, a lot of people that are your, like, family, yeah, in there, so it's like, yeah, basically we're like all, everybody knows each other, yeah, thank you, that's such a, that's such a cool thing, and I'm, it's amazing that you're, you know, having all those experiences, and being a part of all those communities, yeah, that was really nice, yeah, okay, that was my last question, so, I guess that kind of wraps up this episode, Emily, thank you so much for telling us, no problem, so much about your family history, and, and you and your identity, thank you for having me, it's an amazing conversation, yeah, okay, thank you so much for listening, and, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye,
