For context they are they descended from Spanish colonialists from the 1500s and they have their own language dialects and culture. Many identity with their Spanish and don’t consider themselves Mexicans do you feel some type of way?
Race-by-first-name breakdowns were first released by the Census Bureau in April 2026 (timing is potentially icky), but there are some interesting tidbits in the data: Daniel and David are the most-Hispanic "white" names for men in the US, while Elizabeth, Jessica, and Jennifer take that role on the women's side.
I'm a half-Punjabi millennial in the Northeast (AKA an outsider here sorry) so there were some surprises here for me but I would bet that folks here could guess the top 5 or 10 almost perfectly. The "crossover" names were most surprising to me, but I really want to hear your thoughts!
full disclosure: I built the linked site; it has no ads or trackers. I'm kind of a name nerd.
by kip kirby. song pairing: cancion mixteca
What's crackin everyone. I’m writing this post to share a perspective that’s been driving me lately. I’m a Chicano, and I am currently on the path to becoming a professional counselor/therapist. A huge reason I’m entering this field is to help out our community, but also to help everyone else who is fighting this same battle.
Because at the end of the day, mental health struggles are a universal human experience. It doesn't matter what your background is, what language you speak, or where you grew up—pain is pain, and the need to be understood is exactly the same across the board.
But we also have to be critical of how we got here. For generations, mental health has been systematically neglected and deeply invalidated, both by institutions and within our own families and cultures.
The healthcare system at large has historically ignored minority communities. It was built by and for a demographic that doesn't understand the nuance of walking in two worlds, the weight of familismo, immigration stress, or generational trauma.
For decades, the lack of culturally competent, affordable care essentially told us: Your trauma isn't worth the resources, and we'll consider it as such.
We've all heard the dismissals from our parents such as: "¿Para qué vas al psicólogo si no estás loco?", "Ponte a trabajar y se te quita", or "La ropa sucia se lava en casa."
By treating depression as "laziness" and anxiety as a "lack of character," the people who should have been protecting our peace instead invalidated our pain. They made us feel like bringing up our struggles was a betrayal of the family or a sign of weakness, and that's a huge problem.
Let’s be completely honest: taking that first step to seek help is going to feel incredibly tough at first. It goes against everything we were conditioned to do. It feels uncomfortable, unnatural, and maybe even a little guilt-inducing but that's ok because smaller steps is what will make the healing process bearable and break down many barriers towards that goal.
Having someone sit with you in a safe space, look you in the eye, and validate your experiences is revolutionary. It gives you the floor to unpack your burdens, heal, and actively transform into the version of yourself you always desired to be. It changes how you carry yourself, how you love, and how you see your own future.
As someone training to step into the therapy room to create that space for everyone, I wanted to open up the discussion here in this sub:
How did you push through the noise of the skeptics and find the people who actually cared about your mental wellness? How did having that support transform you into the person you wanted to become?
This is not a shaming post, but more of a culture shock post with some harsh realities included.
As someone with Mexican parents (who doesn’t live in the USA, but visits frequently and knows a lot about American culture) What surprised me the most is the amount of Chicanos that don’t speak Spanish. Maybe it’s just because my country is a little more tolerant of other languages and cultures, so you’ll almost never find someone with Latino parents who doesn’t speak Spanish.
I’ve heard all the reasons why the parents don’t teach it: because they think the kids will learn English slower/not adapt/face racism.
Well guess what? These kids are going to be WORSE off not knowing Spanish because they’re going to face “double discrimination.” They will almost always face some sort of discrimination in the USA if they’re not white, white passing, or have a name that’s not Anglo-sounding. They will also be shamed or excluded by their own community for not speaking the language. It also takes away so many opportunities. It will give your kids an identity crisis
The other problem is, is that if the parents have Spanish language accents, and only speak to their kid in English, the kids are going to learn English with Spanish language accents, and it’s going to be even worse for them because imagine having an accent with a language you don’t even speak? (My little cousin is a prime example of this until I started teaching her Spanish myself to avoid further tormenting from both cultures)
Also, the kids will be fine learning English elsewhere. In the streets, at school, with friends. Kids are like sponges. I repeat: THEY. WILL. BE. FINE. It’s gonna be 10x harder to teach them a non-dominant language later in life.
Now, I understand several families do speak 100% Spanish when the kids are little, and slowly give up over time as English dominates their lives, which I guess there’s not much they can do.
Like I said, earlier, no shame, but this is a harsh reality that needs to be addressed.
“No greater fighting combat team has ever deployed for battle,” General Douglas McArthur noted after the war of the 158th Infantry Regiment “Bushmasters,” which was made up predominantly of Mexican Americans and members of the Pima and Navajo tribes from Arizona.
The Legacy of the Praise
When MacArthur called them "No greater fighting combat team has ever deployed for battle," he was acknowledging that the Bushmasters possessed a specific, lethal skill set that regular infantry divisions simply didn't have. They were custom-built for the unique horrors of the Pacific war.
The Bushmasters fought continuously for over 300 days in combat without being rotated out. When the war ended, they were chosen for a final, prestigious duty: they were selected to serve as part of the personal honor guard for General MacArthur during the initial occupation of Japan in Tokyo. For a unit made up heavily of Mexican Americans and Native Americans who faced discrimination back home in the Southwest, it was the ultimate validation of their equality and elite status on the world stage.
I’ve noticed there can sometimes be a little tension or misunderstanding between Tejanos and California Mexicans, but I’m not trying to say one is “more” or “less” Mexican than the other. It just seems like there are some real differences depending on upbringing and environment.
Spanish Profeciency - A lot of Tejanos in grow up speaking mostly English with some “no sabo” Spanish or heavy Spanglish mixed in, while many Mexican communities in tend to be more bilingual overall, though Spanglish is still common there too.
Social vibe – From what I’ve seen, Tejanos tend to be a bit more socially conservative, while California Mexicans, especially younger people and women, often lean more progressive.
Clothing Style – Style-wise, Tejanos usually lean more ranchero/cowboy, boots, jeans, big belt buckles, western wear while a lot of Mexican communities in California tend to have more of a urban fashion vibe, like muscle shirts, sneakers, sports hats, etc.
Identity – Sometimes, California Mexicans can place a stronger emphasis on expressing Mexican identity through music, clothing, language, or cultural traditions, and that expectation can sometimes come from within the community itself. Tejanos, on the other hand, tend to have a longer-established identity tied to Texas history, where many see themselves as both Mexican and Texan at the same time, simply Texans.
Appearance – Most Californian Mexicans I've met have stereotypical Latin features like darker hair and tan skin, but when I visited places in Texas such as San Antonio or the RGV, I noticed a lot more racial variation.
Origins/Influence - Tejanos have been rooted in Texas since the New Spain era, with a culture heavily shaped by northern Mexican states like Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, and Coahuila. Meanwhile, Mexican communities in California are more of a melting pot, with family roots coming from all over Mexico like Michoacán, Durango, Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Baja California and many are 1st to 3rd generation families.
Music - California Mexicans have musical influences tied to regions across Mexico, so genres like banda, mariachi, and cumbia are especially popular. Tejanos, meanwhile, tend to have a different regional music style shaped by northern Mexico and Texas traditions, with stronger connections to conjunto, norteño, and German/Czech polka influences.
Food - Tejanos are mostly linked to Tex-Mex and Norteño things like breakfast tacos, barbacoa, fajitas, enchiladas, and flour tortillas. California, however, has a strong street taco and tequeria culture and has different varieties from all over Mexico.
At the end of the day, it seems like these are just different experiences shaped by where and how people grow up, not better or worse. Both groups share the same roots, culture, and pride in being Mexican, even if it shows up differently in daily life. A lot of the differences seem to come from the environment, language exposure, and lifestyle rather than any real divide in identity. Overall, there’s probably more that connects California Mexican and Tejanos than separates them.
Has anyone else noticed these differences or had a different experience?
To continue to showcase my culture through clothing I made a luchador mask from scratch using a sunfaded green sweater I cut up and screenprinted Mexico on the sides with the Mexico emblem on top. I used vintage floral fabric for the accents. I also made a Mexican tie from red green and white scraps. The center emblem is made of canvas fabric and a green sweater and the last piece is a screenprinted T-shirt me and my brother made using inspiration from Mexico.
Obviously #1 is LA but my list after would go:
San Diego
Phoenix
Chicago
Texas cities tied( Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, El Paso, etc)
I am white and want to dress like cholos. Eastern European White to be more specific. No Hispanic in me.
I thought I had a speech impediment.
That I was slow.
That maybe a muscle in my face had been torn wrong at birth.
But later I realized it was just an accent.
My tongue is the first in my bloodline forced to dance to this tune.
My mouth still reaches for home every time it opens.
English sits heavy on me.
Like teaching a river to flow backward.
Like tying branches of a tree into shapes they were never meant to grow.
My mouth reacts like a reflex.
Like autocorrect.
Constantly translating before I even have the chance to think.
Bending sounds into something more acceptable.
Something easier for others to digest.
There are certain words my tongue still trips over,
not because it is broken,
but because it remembers another language first.
People hear hesitation.
I hear generations colliding inside my mouth.
My mother tongue lives in the muscles of my face,
in the way I roll my r’s too long,
in the pauses where Spanish still tries to save me before English arrives.
Sometimes I envy people whose mouths were born belonging here.
Whose sentences walk out effortlessly without an accent dragging behind them like luggage.
But then I remember:
my tongue crossed borders before the rest of me ever could.
It survived.
Even after being bent into new sounds,
it still carries the echo of where I came from.
🪴