Mixed Race History : The Color of Water

One aspect of Oralia’s life that struck me as quite different was her families quick acceptance of her future husband Julio Peralta. Based on history and individuals discussed throughout the course and Julio’s different background, I expected more opposition from her family. As we have seen throughout the course, acceptance of a spouse with a different look or complexion has not always been so easily accepted by families. For instance, we can again refer back to the case of Rachel in The Color of Water who was shunned by her family and even forgotten about due to her intimate relationships with African Americans throughout her life. Some could argue that perhaps Julio’s acceptance by Oralia’s Mother, Father, and family could have been due to Julio Mexican ancestry which was similar to her mother’s who also lived in Mexico before emigrating to the United Sates. However, as history has taught us, complexion has often been a major factor as well in deciding whether or not an individuals will be accepted into a family. This perhaps stems from social constructs such as the Spanish Castes System in the 16th century which would separate the Spanish in the social order from the often darker pigmented individuals of the Americas. Perhaps because of social constructs such as the Spanish Caste System, the history of America has often shown us that in American society a lighter complexion would often mean an overall higher status in society while a darker complexion is often associated with a lower socio-economical status. As stated earlier Oralia states that her family was skeptical of this relationship believing that often Mexican immigrants often lived two lives, one in America with their a girlfriend and one in Mexico with another family....

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... common in American history read about in this course. Both these similarities and differences have helped shape her identify as an individual of mixed race for the better.

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