How to connect with Mexican traditions if you live abroad

Keep the ties with your country even living on the other side of the world

Being Mexican is very special. Our land has extensive cultural wealth that makes it a magical place. Unfortunately, the daily routine pulls us apart from this magic; it makes us forget how wonderful Mexico is, we just simply don’t appreciate our country.

We don’t value our land until we are not there anymore when we don’t feel it warming us when we start to forget it’s flavoring. This is the challenge that many Mexicans live with; those Mexicans that, for whatever reasons, left their country to make a new life abroad.

Three years ago I started an adventure in Europe looking for something new. Immediately I noticed something missing, something that only my country could give me. Therefore, I looked for ways to connect with Mexican traditions, which I will share with you below.

1.- Go into the kitchen, no matter if you’re clueless

The cuisine is a fundamental part of the Mexican culture and also the first thing you will miss living in another country. You will have a mix of emotions: the excitement of knowing your new home, but also the homesickness, missing some tacos and spiciness in your life.

Trying “Mexican' restaurants will be your first try to fight the nostalgia, but the real solution will be to step into the kitchen, no matter your expertise. It can be a complicated process where you will learn a lot from family, friends, and youtube tutorials to overcome every challenge.

Once you taste that desired dish you will appreciate the effort on it, you will value the art of Mexican Cuisine as well as the natural and cultural wealth behind it. But above all this, that dish will be instant travel to Mexico.

Read: 10 Authentic dishes of Mexican gastronomy

2.- Keep your traditions alive

Mexico has an extensive amount of traditions that shape our identity; we can’t lay them aside even living far away from home. To celebrate them means keeping our culture alive, but it is also a link with our memories, family, and roots.

Keeping these traditions shouldn’t be complicated: meet with other Mexicans to celebrate the National Holidays; place an Ofrenda for Día de Los Muertos, or get together to celebrate Posadas. The most important is to make that day special; to avoid the routine to overtake your traditions.

Read: Xcaret: Mexico seen from its artistic presentations

3.- Connect yourself with the Mexican inside

Living in another country will be a great experience; you will learn from another culture and their traditions. Nevertheless, it’s still important to keep a connection with your own land, which can be done in different ways.

Meeting other Mexicans will help you to keep your language and cultural identity, even if you leave in a Spanish-speaking country. The slang and idiosyncrasy seem to be irrelevant, but the shape and identify us as Mexicans.

The most important is to find something that connects you every day, at least for one second, with your land. It can be decoration, music, a movie, or writing to your friends or family. Don’t mistreat those small links with your roots.

Read: Movies and documentaries to feel Mexico on your skin

4.- Support Mexico

Giving something to the people who helped us is a nice way to show respect and gratitude; the same can be done with the land who raised us. There are many ways to show gratefulness to our country; at the same time they can be a way to connect us with it.

You can support non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) who have activities in Mexico like sponsoring kids, protecting nature, or promoting the culture. Maybe your action will not help the whole country, but it might be relevant for a specific person.

There are other small and easy actions that you can take to support Mexico: consume and promote Mexican brands and products; ask your friends to make holidays in Mexico (and to visit Xcaret as well ?) or simply tell everybody the nice things your country has. There is no limit for your creativity and good intentions.

Now it is your turn, tell me, what do you miss, or would you miss it, from Mexico? We all have different ways to show how proud we are of our land, what is yours?

Which other forms to connect with Mexican traditions would you suggest?