Editors Note: This is the First Installment of the NWN’s International Week Series.

Ever since freshman Sam Paloma was a little boy, his Mexican heritage has been a part of him.

“It’s nice because my mom has never once let either me, or my siblings forget where we come from. Usually, at least three nights a week, she’ll make a home cooked meal of traditional Mexican food,” Paloma said.

His mother makes a bunch of different foods to mix it up every week.

“My favorite is when she makes ‘rajas’ which are just spicy peppers,” he said. “She makes so many different dishes though. Like ‘fideo’ which is basically pasta with broth, ‘caldo de res’ which is a steak soup, ‘sopa’ which is just a type of Mexican rice, and of course you can never go wrong with tacos.”

But Mexican food isn’t the only thing that makes his family cultural.

“It’s really nice because every year usually around this time, my Tia (aunt) bakes a type of bread called ‘La Rosca’. My entire family comes over and we cut it up so that everybody gets a piece. Baked into the bread is a mini plastic figure of baby Jesus. The person who gets the piece with the figure in it is known to hold the next party which is Levantada des Nino Dios. This year, my sister got the figure so my family and I will be hosting that party.”

Paloma is proud to talk about his family’s traditions and his Mexican heritage.

“Not to mention more traditions around this time of year but every Christmas my Tia and my mom make almost 300 tamales just for all of us to enjoy. We don’t get tamales often so it’s always something to look forward too.”

Also, Paloma and his family often take summer trips to Mexico.

“This past summer, I went to Mexico with my family and we visited an old Mayan civilization. We learned about how the Mayans created the calendar and figured out how to tell what day of the year it was. It was interesting to learn that time telling came from my cultural background.”

His family strictly follows the rules of the bible and pray periodically.

“Another family thing we do is pray to the rosary. A rosary is a necklace with twelve beads and each bead hold a specific prayer, different from the previous one. It’s something I have been doing for as long as I can remember.”

Paloma and his family also annually celebrate ‘the Day of the Dead.’

“People often misinterpret the Day of the Dead by thinking that it’s gruesome and scary. In reality though, it’s a beautiful ceremony to remember the loved ones who have passed. My grandfather died in 2012 and every year since we have attended a Day of the Dead ritual to honor his life,” Paloma said.

He is very proud to be able to honor his culture the way that he does and wouldn’t consider changing it for anything.

“I love who I am and the cultural background I live with,” he said. “I know that when I have kids I’m going to make sure that their culture stays apart of them just like my mother did to my siblings and me.”