By Sandra Wong
The border space between Mexico and the United States is a space in which not only cultures and ideologies intertwine, but also where identity discourses converge.
Questions such as what defines us as Latinos are embedded in the daily lives of the border population; activities that seem everyday are framed in a framework of asymmetries, but also of human factors, of dreams, hopes that go beyond borders and stories that are passed down from generation to generation. The so-called American dream continues to be an ideal for many, in some cases an opportunity and in others an illusion, and yet it has influenced much of the history of the Latino community in North America.
But what really defines us as Latinos and specifically as Mexicans? Are we perhaps the product of a set of elements that allude to our gastronomy, our language and a common historical past? Or is there some underlying, perhaps even nostalgic, aspect of what it means to be Mexican in a cross-border context?
Geographical borders may be delimited, but the concept of identity goes beyond this delimitation. In border areas, which are sometimes filled with constant uncertainty, identity concepts not only generate points of connection, but also networks of solidarity, mutual understanding and human security. Although the concept of identity can also be politicized and used to stigmatize otherness , as human beings we have the need to seek a common space, to identify ourselves, to relate, and ideally to learn from that otherness .
Despite the subjectivity that may be involved in defining a cultural identity as such, the synergies that Mexican culture has generated in cross-border spaces denote the human capacity to generate points of connection alongside a search for opportunities in an increasingly globalized world.
Where we come from does not define where we are going, but sometimes it can be the motivation to get to where we want to be.
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