50mm, f2, ISO 3.375, 1/64
For this prompt, we were assigned to make a photo blog and take a picture of something related to our respective cultures, so I decided to take this picture of a red envelope my dad found in his desk. Each year whenever it’s my birthday, my aunt gives me an envelope with a Chinese symbol on it, and it commonly expresses good wishes and luck. I wasn’t too aware that he was part-Chinese, because he was born in Mexico, until I was 13 years old. My dad was born in Mexico but his mother is half-Mexican and half-Chinese. Getting to know about cultures is hard for me if I can’t understand the languages. But over the years, I’ve learned a lot from my dad’s family whenever we celebrate a holiday or a birthday. I love dim sum, hotpot, and red envelopes!
For Dias Los Muertos, we are decorating an altar for the Mexican side of the family. We have a restaurant that’s down the street called “Estrellitas” that’s been part of my dad’s family since the 1970s, and we go there a lot for family gatherings.