Chimers Chime In: Celebrating our Latin American Culture and Diversity
September 15 marked the start of Latin American Heritage Month, and this year, our Chimer Resource Group, Chimigos, will honor the month through the theme, Finding Power through Culture and Diversity. When we asked several Chimers to share a bit about their Latin American culture, the responses were loaded with flavors, family, traditions, and colorful stories
“I’m first-generation American, and my mom is from Mexico,” says Eva Behrend, Chime’s VP of Communications. “Growing up, we would spend every Christmas, Easter, and Summer with my great-grandmother in a Mexican town known as Cuarenta y Tres (since it was 43 kilometers from Mexicali). I remember wandering around the town’s dirt roads, eating carnitas from my uncle’s stand, seeing movies at my great-grandmother’s movie theater, and setting off (small) fireworks inside the house.”
Sebastian (Seb) Valdivia, a Senior Software Engineer originally from Peru who grew up in Colombia before coming to North America, boils his Latin American culture down to resilience and a welcoming nature. “I love the personality and values we hold in Colombia — we are resilient because of our history and welcoming at the same time,” he says. “Even if you don’t know someone, they will usually treat you as a friend — there is a warmth to culture in Colombia that can make you feel like you’re part of something without necessarily having to belong to it.”
Sara Reyna, who was born in Mexico and emigrated to Texas when she was four, appreciates her Latin American culture because it helps keep her grounded and allows her to forge connections with those around her. “My family is always there for one another, through thick and thin,” she says. “Even though I presently do not live near them, our bond is completely unaffected by distance or time. Whenever I get in my head or down about my modern-day problems, I can reach out for support and am immediately reminded that I come from a long line of fighters. The love and support of my family truly allows me to bounce back from any form of adversity.”
And for Paul Guzman, a Technical Sourcer who is half Mexican and half Puerto Rican, family also comes to mind. “The primary theme of my Latin American heritage that has shaped me the most is family,” he says. “My identity has largely been shaped by my parents, who focused on raising my brother and me to have common sense values that emphasized empathy and human decency — amongst other traits. Work ethic, honesty, loyalty, and compassion are all characteristics that were instilled in me from a very early age.”
To celebrate Latin American Heritage Month, we chatted with Eva, Paul, Sara, and Seb to understand how they celebrate their favorite traditions and bring their Latin American cultural perspectives to work. Here are the takeaways from our conversation!
1. Food is a great way to gather and celebrate
“One of my favorite parts of my Mexican heritage is gathering around food and savoring recipes that have been passed down several generations,” says Sara.
For Paul and Eva, it’s more specifically the tamales their family makes at Christmastime. “Making tamales is always an event filled with anticipatory excitement during the holiday season,” Paul says. “Tamales are very labor-intensive meals, so their production was often the result of a collective effort from both family and friends. There is something special about the shared experience of enjoying the fruits of our labor with one another. Whenever I eat tamales, wherever I am, I always feel connected to my family and the memories we have made together.” Eva, who grew up making the traditional dish at her great-grandmother’s house in Mexico, keeps the tradition going even though her great-grandmother has passed away. “We play board games now instead of going to midnight mass — and we still gather at my mom’s house and make a ton of tamales to eat and share with family and friends,” she says.
For Seb, Peruvian food has always been central to his culture. Even though he doesn’t live in Peru anymore, he carries his appreciation for food wherever he goes: “When I travel, I try to learn about signature dishes and eat new things,” he says. “And when I visit my team in San Francisco, we always get a meal in — last time, we visited a Peruvian restaurant.”
2. Our family values have motivated us in our careers
Seb credits his parents for inspiring him to explore opportunities beyond Peru and Colombia. “My parents moved away from family to have a better career and life for me — and that motivated me to move away and try new things,” he says. “This approach to my career and life has also taught me resilience, something that’s been very useful in my experience working at startups.”
Paul has learned a lot from simply being around and connecting with family: “Socializing is a vital aspect of family and has largely influenced my approach to communication in the workplace,” he says. “I strive to foster authentic relationships that are functionally structured on shared truths to build long-lasting human connections.”
3. The examples of work ethics our families set have pushed us to achieve even more
At a young age, Sara witnessed her parents move to a country where her own mother learned English from reading books to Sara and her sibling. Since then, both of her parents have climbed the corporate ladder. “They’ve always been an inspiration to me — the proof that if I set my mind to something, I can accomplish it,” she says. “I believe their work ethic and determination set me up for success in my career.”
Eva’s mother got her Master’s degree in chemical engineering when she was pregnant with Eva — it’s no surprise her work ethic inspired Eva. “Someone once told my mom she wouldn’t amount to anything because she’s a woman,” Eva says. “She became that person’s boss and then an executive. I’ll never forget a time when she told me that the janitor at her work saw her passing and said to her, ‘Si se puede’ — yes, you can. It made me proud of her and really underscored a lesson she taught me early: to work hard and to believe in myself.”
4. Our cultural backgrounds make us better at the work we do
When Eva worked for the City of Los Angeles, she first noticed how her cultural background helped her better understand and serve the communities she supported. “Being able to identify with the cultural norms of the communities of Downtown and South Los Angeles helped me better articulate their needs,” she says. “It was also powerful to see how impactful it is when community representatives look like those they’re representing — and can speak their language.”
It wasn’t until Sara joined Chime that she thought of her Latin American background as something that could help her at work. “I’m grateful to Chime, a values-driven organization trying to improve the quality of life for so many, for lifting the veil and helping me see my cultural background as a plus,” she says. “It’s been pretty cool to grow into that appreciation as a young professional.”
5. Connecting with each other takes us all further on our mission to support Chime members
“I come from a diverse background and try to open up to others and always listen more than I talk,” Eva says. “I’m excited to be at a place where people are so open about who they are and where they come from — it helps us understand each other and our members by shining a light on the many different perspectives that exist.”
Sara loves working collaboratively and cross-functionally to find common ground and connect with members — and always brings her own experience to the table. “My own experience showed me what I wished I’d known to be set up for financial success,” she says. “Bringing that to work with fellow Chimers helps us fill gaps and create a better end-to-end experience for our members.”
Celebrating our heritage and cultural uniqueness
Sometimes, by connecting over our differences, we can find common ground — whether it’s with our coworkers or members. “There have been countless times when a coworker and I have realized, even though we are different, we’re connected somehow,” Sara says. And when Paul jumped on his first Zoom call with Chimer Resource Group Chimigos, he was very candid about his journey to cultural self-discovery. “Frankly speaking, I have always felt a little self-conscious as someone of Latin American descent but unable to speak Spanish as I was teased for my inability as a youth,” he says. “In being vulnerable with my colleagues, I received a warm, accepting, reassuring, and welcoming response.”
These spaces help us embrace our differences and bring them to work — where they help us connect with each other, understand those we serve, and elevate everyone’s work and working experience. “Sharing our cultural backgrounds and creating community at work helps us identify with others for more reasons than just working together,” Seb says. “And we can stand to learn a thing or two about other cultures that will enrich our lives, too.”
