Bernie is a very close friend of mine from Mexico. Bernie left Mexico for the first time to study at USC. He loves to talk about his culture, and speaks with a thick Mexican accent.

Performance: “Another thing that is pretty big for Mexico and that my parents always taught me, related to Catholicism is that every time that you um pass by a church either by car or walking if you don’t do…umm…the cross? (he crosses himself to see if I understand) The cross. Then you’re going to have bad luck. My Mom would always tell me that you gotta do the cross every time you pass a church, if not it would be against your faith and bad luck and everything.”

Response: Crossing one’s self is common practice for Catholics, but i find it interesting that beyond simply being a “bad christian” that Bernie was taught it was actually bad luck. It is interesting when religious practices are sort of hybridized with “luck” which is generally a folk belief tied to folk traditions, rituals, and gestures.