Chicano Wedding Songs

Are you passionate about Chicano culture and want to have a Chicano wedding? Or maybe you want to make a surprise to your spouse or friends that have Chicano origins. Whatever the case, here you have some information about the Chicano wedding traditions and music.

The terms Chicano are referring to United States citizens of Mexican descent. They were widely used during the Chicano Movement, among Mexican Americans. The word “Chicano” is the shorter form of Mexicano, meaning Mexican in Spanish.

Speaking about Chicano weddings, Chicanos have a family oriented culture. Usually the Chicano family is more extensive including also the grandparents and some aunts and uncles. Families are extremely helpful during celebration events such as birthdays or weddings. Even when a member of the family is in trouble, everyone does as much as they can to help.

Marriage is considered to be very sacred in the Chicano culture. It’s usually the groom’s family that does all the marriage arrangements. Mothers in laws are a big part in any family. They are in charge of all the big dinners and preparations. Chicano weddings were usually catholic and traditional but with the passage of time, they became more modern.

The older people in the family are very traditional. They believe that the bride and groom should not live together before wedding. Tradition says that the bride should not see her groom before wedding. Chicanos are known to celebrate weddings with big meaning, a lot of live music and sometimes they even make big wedding parades.

Chicano weddings have a statue of the Virgin Mary almost always present. This is a prominent Chicano wedding tradition. During the wedding ceremony, weds are presented with gold coins these coins, symbolizing that the couple will have a good financial status. Another tradition in a Chicano wedding is a Lasso put around the bride and the groom, usually a huge rosary decorated with flowers to symbolize the unity of the couple.

Chicano families discourage divorce. They believe that once the couple weds that it is forever. When a Chicano girl turns 15, this is a huge deal for the entire family. That involves a big celebration, accompanied by a church ceremony, a dinner and a dance. When a girl turns 15, this symbolizes that she is turning into a woman. During the church ceremony the priest explains to her what the meaning of turning 15 is. During the dance ceremony, the girl is presented wearing her 1st pair of high heel shoes, a crown of jewels, a necklace with the Virgin Mary, a bracelet, a doll and a bouquet of flowers, considered to be the symbols of becoming a woman.

During the dance, the girl is accompanied by a court consisting of 14 boys and 14 girls, all younger than her. These are very important things in a Chicano family. Speaking about popular Chicano love songs that you could use for your Chicano wedding these are:

Angel de mi Vida by Big Lokote

Love Song by Diablo

Mi Reyna by Big Lokote