Deep Structure of Culture by

u6019295 — 2024-02-15 20:36:53 UTC

Everyone and everything was the subject of jokes. It did not matter if you were younger, older, if it was a serious matter or not, everything was fair game when it came to jokes. My family is always laughing, and because everyone knows we are lighthearted no one gets offended. For example, we joke about implying that my grandma having many boyfriends, or about my dad being a showoff, or even whenever someone accidentally says something with a double meaning.

There is this common understanding that the jokes are for people to laugh at and they do not carry serious meaning. For example, my grandma just plays along the running joke of her boyfriends, my dad will just show off whatever he's doing even more, and whoever said something with a double meaning will just join everyone's reactions . The line is drawn if you joked about someone and they were not present, then it would be considered rude.

u6019295 — 2024-02-15 20:40:08 UTC

The elderly are treated with a lot of respect. We take of the elderly because we love them and they dedicated their lives to us, so it is the least we can do. We always make sure they are included on every activity and that they are isolated or lonely.

Of course, not even the elderly are safe from being the subjects of jokes, but as I said before, no one takes jokes seriously.

The elderly in my family are seen as the heads of the households, specially the grandmas.

u6019295 — 2024-02-15 20:45:56 UTC

Contrary to the what the book says on Latin families, women are the major decision makers of the family. They usually have the last word, and anything of major importance was/is consulted with the grandmas. Usually because they have the most professional and life experience. It is silly but when I say anything of major importance I mostly mean who to invite to a wedding, evaluating the conditions of a contract or loan, or even trying to decide between different jobs.

Everyone still retains their autonomy, but the views and opinions of grandmas are highly regarded in my family.

u6019295 — 2024-02-15 20:48:36 UTC

I would say both were stressed at depending on the situation. If for some reason you had to compete for something, you were encouraged to do your best and try to be first. But if cooperation was called for, then you were encouraged to work harmoniously with others. We were taught to adapt our ways based on the context, so if you were trying to compete when cooperation was expected, you would most likely be scolded. If you tried to cooperate when you were competed, you would be called silly and urged to follow to the rules. At the end, it was more of a blend.

u6019295 — 2024-02-15 20:51:45 UTC

Religion is not super important in my family. Although there are some religious rituals that we participate in, they are mostly done out of tradition rather than because of a deep belief. I was always told that no religion has the absolute truth, and that the best way to approach life was to take the best parts of each religion you come in contact with. My dad called it the "religious pizza" were every slice is a different flavor (religion) and together they make something even greater and better.

Belief on a higher power was always encouraged, but never defined. You could believe in the western version of god, or believe in the power of the universe, or believe in many gods, it did not matter as long as you believed in something.