There is something I love about the southwest - not just that it is the homeland of my people (family, friends, ancestors, etc.), but that it means something to understand what it is all about.
This past winter vacation I spent two weeks in my beloved southwest and I was reminded, daily, that life and culture(s) are soooo not like the northeast (Thank GOD!) Below are my observations:
1. Over any type of intercom you will hear Latino last names pronounced correctly - not Hair-nan-deez but Err-Nan-Dez.
2. White people seem afraid and uncomfortable. For the most part white people are suspicious of non-white people.
3. Everything is cheaper - cars, houses, gas, food, luxury goods, hotels, etc. This means that middle class is a large, large portion of the population. To find the highest income people in the city takes a lot of looking! Unfortunately, this holds true for the lowest income groups as well. Good luck finding those neighborhoods.
4. There is cultural infighting (or at least discomfort) - e.g. Mexican-Americans complaining about Mexican immigrants draining the city's resources. Mexicans complaining about how rude Mexican-Americans are to them...etc.
5. Everyone knows basic Spanish. Vietnamese, Filipino, Chinese, African-Americans - everyone can say basic things like "Quiero un cerveza!" or "Bano?"
6. Being a (fair-weather) Catholic is not the norm anymore. There are hundreds of new churches popping up all across the SW. Lord, I hope this doesn't contribute to the growing number of registered Republicans in SW too.
7. The best paying jobs on the border for Latinos is the Border Patrol. Where do I even start??
8. The SW cuisine is quite diverse and quite yummy, but that also leads to mi gente eating way too much: http://www.menshealth.com/fattestcities2010/ (5 of the top 10 are in Texas) DIABETES PEOPLE!!
9. Despite diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure - our abuelitos are still eating horribly and no one tells them anything! SHAME!
10. My SW is still the kindest place in the world. People are still nice to you - everywhere.
