I never would’ve thought that my mother wanted to come to America. Every time she would tell me stories as a kid, she’d say how much she misses her country, Mexico. However, after she married my father she took the risk of coming to the United States in 1998. My mother never brought anything valuable to this country until recently. An old friend of ours gifted her this mug from Mexico before passing away a couple of years later. This object may seem like an average mug but it's something that my family uses during a tradition we call “Posada”. Posada is usually held a couple of weeks before Christmas and my family goes and prays for a week straight. After praying, we distribute these mugs around to everyone and serve “atole” which is a thick version of hot chocolate. This ties back to my culture because ceramics is a popular skill in Mexico that takes time and effort to master. The process of pottery making begins by going to an area where clay dirt is located. Next, you dig until you reach the clay itself. After that, you extract all the clay, and you’re allowed to mold the clay into any kind of pottery. After you’re satisfied with your creation, you can stain it however you’d like. To conclude, this object holds value to me because it signifies my culture and reminds me of our friend.

– Estrella Aldama

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant