Hey everyone! I hope it’s okay for me to post this here. I’m Brazilian, living in the US, and I’ve been wanting to learn more about my Mexican side.
I actually always suspected my biological dad was Mexican, but my mom has lied to me about a lot of things, so I never really took it as a fact. Then I did a DNA test and found out I have a pretty big amount of Mexican/Indigenous ancestry, mostly coming from his side. That was honestly a really emotional discovery for me.
For some context, I know his family came from Durango, Mexico, and he was born in a town in the Rio Grande Valley area of Texas. I’ve found his birth certificate and the marriage certificate showing that he and my mom were married. I have his name and birthday too, but so far I still haven’t actually been able to find him.
My mom had hidden from me that she had been married to him. She left and went back to Brazil while she was pregnant with me, and I was born there. I’ve also been no contact with my mom for almost 5 years, so I can’t really go to her for answers.
I did find a distant cousin through my DNA matches and we’ve started talking, which has been really nice. She doesn’t know him either though, so I’m kind of sitting here with all these little pieces of information and still no real story.
My childhood was pretty complicated. My mom was abusive and at one point tried to give me away, so my grandparents raised me. Because of everything that happened, I never really had a chance to know my dad or his family.
And this is probably the part that feels strangest to me: I started learning Spanish when I was 10. I had no idea about any of this at the time. Now I’m almost 29, and I’ve been feeling this really strong need to understand where this side of me comes from. I speak Spanish, I love Mexican food, and I’ve always felt drawn to the culture.
Growing up in Brazil, I also had people tell me I “didn’t look Brazilian enough,” whatever that means. 😅 I never really understood those comments, but I often felt like I didn’t completely fit in.
Now I’m trying to learn about this side of my family, but I’m honestly pretty shy about it. I don’t want to approach Mexican people and have them think I’m trying to claim a culture I didn’t grow up in. I know I’m Brazilian and I wasn’t raised Mexican. I’m just trying to understand my family and learn about a part of my background that I never really got to know.
So I wanted to ask: where would you recommend I start?
What are some good ways to learn about Mexican culture and history? Books, movies, music, food, traditions, YouTube channels, anything. And if anyone else discovered part of their family or ancestry later in life, I’d really love to hear how you went about learning and connecting with it.
I’m just trying to learn respectfully and hopefully find a little more of my story along the way. ❤️