Results: Art Relates to Life Experience

Sometimes art can reflect or remind us about something from our past or an experience that we've had. I recently experienced this with the film Roma. I thank Alfonso Cuaron for this film because it reminds me so much of my childhood summers in Mexico. The film reflects upon a domestic worker's life with a white European-descent family she works for. Having been born and raised in the U.S., I spent the summers in Mexico with my mother, who was Mexican and of Spanish descent. Her family was middle class, some were upper middle class, and each household had what they called a "servant". I often felt bad for these women and for my relative's prejudicial views, particularly those of my grandmother, towards these girls (yes, some were as young as 14). During the summers, I would friendly to these girls/women in order to get to know them and their backgrounds. I noticed a class difference and learned a great difference between race and classism when in Mexico, which I feel exponentially surpasses what is seen in the U.S. My family resented and tried to control my interest in becoming friends with "las servientas," because of our class difference. Cuaron created this film as a love letter to the women in his life, but mainly to the woman who worked for his family. I thank him for acknowledging her. Additionally, I particularly thank him for creating a film about a family in Mexico City because most of my family lived in Mexico D.F near the airport (the airplane in the film echos a haunting familiar background sound) . I also thank him for creating a film about a white Mexican family in Mexico because for years I had to deny my heritage due to the fact that I was blonde and the common perception North of the border is that in order to be Hispanic you must be dark. I grew tired explaining history, culture, and race beyond the U.S.