This is a guest blog post from our student social media ambassador, Ariadna. Currently studying abroad on the semester program, “Liberal Arts, Migration and Social Change in Mexico.”
Final Reflection
This second half of the semester has been nothing short of eye-opening and grounded in collective care. Our excursions and conversations revealed different dimensions of struggle, identity, and resistance across Mexico City. We engaged with activists who discussed immigration patterns, community organizing, and efforts to protect vulnerable populations facing deportations, as well as speakers who addressed issues like state violence, the war on drugs, and social movements. Alongside these discussions, we encountered artists and cultural practitioners who shared their work and traditions, from Afro-descendant and Indigenous perspectives to feminist artistic expressions. Together, these experiences offered insights into how communities resist erasure, preserve memory, and assert identity, underscoring the transformative power of culture, activism, and collective care.
Coming from my perspective as a first-generation Mexican-American, these experiences resonated deeply. I saw connections between the struggles and resilience of communities in Mexico and the challenges faced by Mexican and Latinx communities in the United States, including my own family’s experiences with migration and systemic barriers. The focus on collective care, how communities support one another, preserve culture, and resist oppression, helped me understand that these struggles are not individual but shared, and that solidarity and mutual support are vital to survival and empowerment. Witnessing these forms of care and resistance firsthand expanded my sense of responsibility to my own community and strengthened my appreciation for the ways identity, memory, and culture are preserved across borders and generations.
