I recently learned there’s something called the immigrant paradox or “the evidence that immigrants, even those from poor, violent lands who live hard lives in the United States, tend to be physically and mentally healthier than the rest of us.” A lot has to do with the customs and traditions that immigrants bring to their adopted land, as journalist Claudia Kolker discovered and decided to put into a book, The Immigrant Advantage, which was just published.
As an immigrant myself, just reading the description of the book was enough to get me interested in it. As we’ve written about in the past, traditions are one of the best ways to preserve our culture, but who would’ve known they make for a better life too. While Kolker writes about some Latino traditions, I really like that she also enlightened me about other people’s customs from Vietnam to Jamaica. Some of it sounded kind of familiar – as in the multigenerational households – while a lot of it was completely new.
After I finished with the introduction (in which Kolker describes growing up Jewish and Mexican in the Maryland suburbs), I was immediately drawn to the chapter on the Mexican cuarentena – a maternity leave of sorts that pretty much doesn’t allow a woman to do anything for forty days after the baby is born. While the concept was not new to me, I just wanted to learn the history behind it. I did and a lot more because Kolker not only explains the roots of the traditions she writes about, but also tells interesting stories about the people that practice them.
I didn’t enjoy a full-blown cuarentena when I had Vanessa, but after reading that chapter, I realized I was pretty darn close to it.
One of the biggest reasons we moved to Denver from Miami was that I was pregnant with my first child and I didn’t want my husband and I to have to raise her on our own. I wanted to be able to rely on my tight-knit family in the good times and the bad. I wanted Vanessa to be as close as possible to her roots.
As the majority of people in this country; however, my mom and my sister are working women. So when the time came for me to give birth, I relied on the help of my mother-in-law to see me through my first few weeks as a first time mom. And I will never regret it.
Vanessa’s birth story has all the elements birth stories can have. From pushing for hours without a single drop of drugs to an unwanted but necessary C-section so she could be born. I know for a fact that one of the biggest reasons I was able to recover from all that was because I had my mother-in-law by my side.
Although those first few days after Vanessa was born seem like a blur, I do remember not doing much expect taking care of her and trying to figure out the breastfeeding thing. For weeks after she was born, I never had to worry about cooking and cleaning and for that I will be forever grateful to my suegra.
This post is an official tour stop of The Immigrant Advantage Book Tour.
Monday, October 24, 2011: Juan of Words
Tuesday, October 25, 2011: Chicano Soul
Wednesday, October 26, 2011: SpanglishBaby
Thursday, October 27, 2011: Latinaish
Friday, October 28, 2011: TikiTiki Blog
Tuesday, November 1, 2011: Voto Latino
Wednesday, November 2, 2011: Motherhood in Mexico
Thursday, November 3, 2011: Atzlan Reads
Friday, November 4, 2011: Multicultural Familia
About the author of the book:
THE GIVEAWAY!
This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to the winner: Jessica !
We’re giving away one copy of The Immigrant Advantage to one lucky winner.
To enter, just leave a comment telling us if you follow any traditions or customs, such as the cuarentena.
That’s all you have to do to enter this giveaway. If you want to up your chances at winning, then this is how you can get additional entries (only after you’ve completed the step above):
**Please leave a separate comment for each so we can count them and avoid mistakes.
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This giveaway ends Sunday, Oct. 30 at midnight PST and is open to everyone over 18 years of age. Check out the Giveaway Rules.
Disclosure: We received a sample to review the product. All opinions are our own.
Hi, is this giveaway US only? If not I would like to share a tradition I always follow everywhere I am. The New Year’s Eve grapes.
In Spain, we don’t do a the countdown. When the midnight 12 bells or dingsstart we eat 12 grapes. The trick is to eat and swallow all of them before the sound is over, and it might be difficult if the grapes are big or you start laughing (which you usually do). Then you start accumulating grapes on your mouth with the juice dripping down your chin. So funny! In Toronto I used to do it twice, at 6 pm (midnight in Spain) and at midninght in Toronto : )
I also suscribed.
OK, I already follow you in Twitter, and this is my tweet:
Really want to read this as a former immigrant–> The Immigrant Advantage {Giveaway} @spanglishbaby awe.sm/5XzhM
I hope I can entre the contest, I’m back in Spain now!
My husband is from Mexico. Recently our 20 month old had 16 days straight of diarrhea, and after three trips to medical doctors, two blood draws, and ‘pooey’ testing, they gave me no answers. Their advice was to give it time. My husband finally broke his silence and said “She has Empacho.” I tend to dismiss the ‘backwoods’ thinking that some of his family have about weird illnesses and their holistic healing approaches that seem bizarre. However, after 16 days she had lost over three pounds and quit eating and drinking. I was ready to give it a try, whatever IT was. He immediately called his sister-in-law who came over that same night. She massaged her with olive oil on her tummy, then her back, then tented and snapped her skin. She claimed this would dislodge whatever had blocked her stomach/intestine. I doubted it, but thanked her anyway. To my complete shock, my daughter started to show improvement the very next morning with only a wet diaper, and by the next day she was completely cured. I truly believe “Empacho” was real, and thankfully my husband had the wherewithall to say something to me about it, knowing I would first mock his cultural belief, but then likely accept it after he showed me that it was real.
I say a real scientist would be the first to tell you science does not know everything. For just one example, the idea that getting your feet wet or cold leads to catching a cold seems to make no sense, but a while ago I read a study where they took some poor college students, stuck their feet in ice water for a bit, and then whaddaya know they had a higher rate of getting colds afterward. So who knows where the cause and effect is, but definitely there could be something to it. I am sure things like electricity or fire were considered magical at one time. The human body is so complicated it seems unlikely we will ever really understand all the details of exactly everything.
I am grateful that my husband is willing to consider that our son could be sick because his cousins were sick days ago and don’t tend to wash their hands with actual soap. A lot of the stuff I say he hasn’t heard before, but he listens. It’s true there is not a lot of understanding, for example knowing that a virus can take several days to make a person sick after exposure (probably, to me, a bit more likely than a possible “ojo” yesterday from some neighbor lady). But I cannot say with certainty nobody has ever gotten sick from an “ojo”, either. When our son was born my mother-in-law sent an amulet made from a deer’s eye for him to wear and you best believe I had him wearing that thing every day!
When I am sick I go to bed and take Nyquil but I also think it is fine for my sister-in-law to move a room-temperature egg all over above me and crack it into a glass of water to determine what type of candle we need to put in the Niche, also for my husband to burn alcohol in a bowl & pass my feet over it and then rub my legs all over with rubbing alcohol & wrap them up in extra blankets. I really don’t know if it helps but I don’t think it’s harmful, and who knows?
My daughter has even spread the word among all her friends that my husband’s tea of oregano or spearmint is good for tummy troubles. I usually take some Pepto as well as the tea, but she is more into being all natural.
I enjoyed reading your response…and agree wholeheartedly about science vs. nature vs. beliefs.
I’m looking forward to reading this book, and wonder how many medical mysteries will be included as cultural beliefs that make their lives easier without having to run to doctors for answers. I enjoy the steeped teas that my suegra made when I couldn’t sleep. They worked…and without side effects and long term addiciton possibilities that prescribed drugs would have offered.
And…I subscribe via RSS feeds.
Growing up weve always stayed up until midnight on Christmas Eve and opened gifts then rather than wait until Christmas morning. And on Christmas morning we wake up to my mom re-heating the last nights tamales and making some “chocolate” to drink. We also like to leave our shoes out on the day of “los reyes magos” and we usually get small treats from the “reyes” passing by.
I “like” spanglish baby” on facebook!
What interesting comments. I grew up doing the 12 grapes tradition too (got it by way of Mexico). While The Immigrant Advantage explores goals like maternal health, school success, and thrift, I’d say grapes and champagne fall under that other all-important category: “general well-being”!
We are 3rd generation Americans so a lot of our traditions have dwindled. Mostly food related traditions have been carrried on – tamales at Christmas, menudo on Sunday mornings after family gatherings and the “secret” recipes for salsa & guacamole from their individual families have been passed down through the years.
I’m an e-mail subscriber.
rmelton[at]hotmail[dot]com
Follow you on Twitter – @4emsmom – and tweeted:
http://twitter.com/#!/4emsmom/status/129263043224932352
Like you on FB – Rita Melton
I do follow most of my family traditions and superstitions as well, when I found out last year that I was pregnant, I called my sister and asked her for a “mano de azabache” for my baby, to keep him away from “mal de ojo”.
This made me laugh….it was “mal de ojo” that first introduced me to what I considered bizarre beliefs. I have been proven wrong too many times now to dismiss his family’s beliefs as bogus. I enjoy every time I hear about these.
Well…I come from a long line of European-Americans. One “tradition” my family has always observed is the Easter Egg hunt. I am 27, and my parents STILL host “the kids” (and now, also the grandkids!) for an egg hunt.
I get the SpanglishBaby emails.
I tweeted about this giveaway!
http://twitter.com/#!/annagrace19/status/129318898603536385
I like SpanglishBaby on FB.
We celebrate Chinese New Year by having Chinese food for dinner and giving out red envelopes filled with money to the kids each year.
A family tradition we all follow here in Chicago is a 2 tier birthday celebration for girls: At 3, a girls birthday celebration/party is preceded by a “Presentación”/Presentation Mass. Part 2 happens at age 15, when this same girl has a celebración de Quince Años or as it is better known in the U.S. a debutante ball but at 15 not 18. But it is the Mass again preceding the party that is the most important part for my family as that is when this young lady in our family re-affirms her faith, is accompanied by her maid of honor to present a bouquet of Roses to la Virgen de Guadalupe (virgin mary) & makes special intentions/prayers. It’s something my 11 year old daughter is looking forward to in 4 years not just for the party but because of the “special/customized” mass that will be held in her honor.
I still follow/believe many of my family’s traditions. mal de ojo, empacho etc. It’s amazing that science is not ‘always’ right! My husband is of European descent and to my surprise he shares many of our same traditions!
We stay up as soon as we get done with Thanksgiving to decorate for Christmas. We love traditions… I think we are making up our own to pass on to our children.
I like Spanglishbaby on Facebook
I subscribe via e-mail. … this book looks so fascinating! I am very intrigued!
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My husband, who is from Mexico, and I have started putting up a Day of the Dead altar each year. I really like doing it! It’s such a special way of honoring our loved ones who have passed on.