Cultural Biography of Nayeli Arias

Names:
I was named by my lovely mother and the reason why she named me “Nayeli” was
because she really liked the name. I later discovered that my name means “I love you”
​ apotec, A i​ndigenous pre-Columbian civilization that flourished in the Valley of
in Z
Oaxaca, Mexico. My last name “Arias” comes from my dad, it is a Spanish family name.

Ethnic Ancestry:
My Mom is Mexican and my dad is Spanish. They both met here in the US and still
value their culture. Our family goes to either Mexico or Spain at least once a year during
the holidays . I love learning about the Mayan and Aztec culture, I got a chance to visit
some of the ruins this past December.

Religion:
I was baptized Roman Catholic , both my father and my mother were raised Roman
Catholic as well since both Spain and Mexico are dominated by that religion. My family
does value religion but we don’t necessarily go to church every single week, but we do
once in a while.
 
Linguistic:
Spanish is my first language, I know how to talk, read, and write in Spanish. I took a
Spanish class last semester to improve my writing skills. The language we talk at home
the majority of the time is also Spanish.
Family Structures:
I am the middle child, I have a younger brother and an older sister, our family consists
of five people. I have lots and lots of extended family, some live in Mexico, some in
Spain, and a lot of them live in Santa Barbara, California. The oldest member of our
extended family is my 106 year old great grandmother, she is from my mother’s side of
our family.

Geographic Area
I was born in the very beautiful Santa Barbara, California. I attended school there from
grades pre K- 2nd grade, then I moved to Vegas. A lot of our family lives there so I go
there a lot, especially over the summer.