One aspect of Oralia's life that struck me as quite different was her family's quick acceptance of her future husband Julio Peralta. Based on the story and individuals discussed throughout the course and Julio's different background, I expected more opposition from his family. As we have seen throughout the course, acceptance of a spouse with a different appearance or skin tone has not always been so easily accepted by families. For example, we can still refer to the case of Rachel in The Color of Water who was shunned by her family and even forgotten because of her intimate relationships with African-Americans throughout her life. Some might argue that Julio's acceptance by Oralia's mother, father and family could have been due to Julio's Mexican ancestry which was similar to that of his mother who also lived in Mexico before emigrating to the UNITED STATES. However, as history has taught us, skin tone has often also been a major factor in deciding whether or not to accept an individual into a family. This perhaps stems from social constructs such as the Spanish caste system in the 16th century, which separated Spaniards in the social order from often darker individuals in the Americas. Perhaps because of social constructs such as the Spanish caste system, American history has often shown us that in American society, a lighter complexion often means an overall higher status in society, while 'A darker skin tone is often associated with lower socio-economic status. . As previously reported, Oralia states that her family was skeptical of this relationship, believing that Mexican immigrants often lived two lives, one in America with their girlfriend and one in Mexico with other family....... middle of paper... ...common in American history, read this course. These similarities and differences helped shape his identity for the better as a mixed-race individual.BibliographyHodes, Martha Elizabeth. Sex, Love, Race: Crossing the Boundaries of North American History. New York, New York UP. 1999. Print. Hodes, Martha. “The Mercurial Nature and Permanent Power of Race: The History of the Transnational Family.” » The American Historical Review 108.1 (2003): 84-118. Print. McBride, James. The color of water: a black man's tribute to his white mother. New York: Riverhead. 1996. Print. McIntosh, Craig and Gorden H Hanson. “The Great Mexican Emigration.” The Review of Economics and Statistics, 92.4 (2010):798-810.Sanchez, Georgia J. Becoming Mexican-American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicago and Los Angeles, 1900-1945. New York: Oxford UP, 1993. Print.