ABSTRACT
Mexican settlers in Southern California date back to the period when the entire area was part of the Mexican nation. The early Mexican impact upon the Los Angeles area is primarily manifest in street names and Spanish architecture. Mexicans began to move to Los Angeles in the late 1920’s; 40 years later, this city had more Mexicans than any other North American community except for Mexico City itself. In addition, almost as many young and middle-aged Mexican American respondents were born in Mexico as elderly respondents, although 1960 census figures showed the foreign-bom to be much older than the native-born. Mexico has seen many changes over time in attitudes and ritual devoted to death. Certainly the reality within which one lives has an effect on one’s conception of death. Much of the general outline of response concerning death can be understood within three important dimensions of traditional culture: family, religion, and feelings.
