Interviewing my Dad about Christmas

00:00 My name is Valeria. I am 22 years old. Today is November 28, 2023. I'm speaking with my father in my living room and we're doing a Christmas themed interview. Firstly, what is your favorite Christmas song?

00:20 What is my favorite Christmas song? I don't know. What's that song that goes Happy holiday. Happy holidays.

00:47 Happy Holidays?

00:48 I guess. I think that's my favorite song.

00:51 Happy holidays? I don't know.

00:52 Yeah, maybe Feliz Navida. I don't know.

00:55 Okay.

00:56 I think one of those two.

00:57 Okay.

00:59 Awesome.

01:00 Yep. What is the best Christmas gift you've ever gotten?

01:07 So what is my favorite Christmas gift ever? I don't know. I mean, I got a little remote control car when I was little. And then I remember getting an Atari and I remember getting that Nintendo, that first Nintendo nes, but Super Mario, I played that for a while.

01:34 How old were you when you got it?

01:36 Oh, Jesus. The Nintendo, I was probably like 12 or 13. The remote control car, I found it in the closet. That's when I discovered, you know, the secrets of Christmas. I think the Xbox One X was one. What? You got me.

02:02 That was the series X. Yeah.

02:05 That's probably one that kind of like tops it. It's kind of funny that for a 48 year old person likes to play freaking games. Oh, yes, ask me.

02:16 Now. This one's a different question. What is your favorite Christmas memory?

02:21 Oh, Christmas memory. You're funny. I don't know why you asked me this, but I guess living through, you know, several. I don't know. I'm not that old, but I live through different times. And then you slowly start realizing what's important to you. So I think my favorite one was when we did the pictures in Savannah. And that was probably the first year that we decorated a house. I don't know if you remember that. I put all those lights outside of the house and a lot of gold and we get that red and light, you know, red and white lights around the waters of the house. And then we all dressed up and took a picture on that little front area of the house I used to live in. Like on the inside we had the big tree behind us and we took the pictures. And I think that was kind of like one of my favorite times because I never done a family picture done by us. Nobody came over. We did it. So I think that was. That was memorable. I think it was all driven by just family being together, which is kind of like the most important thing to me. So I think that's the one. And I Want to say that was probably the 2014 Christmas. So 2013.

03:37 Did I have a white dress in the picture?

03:39 I think you did.

03:41 Okay. I think I remember that one.

03:42 Yeah.

03:43 Okay, this is the last question. How is Christmas different now than it was when you were younger?

03:52 That's super easy. There's a big difference in the way I used to. Well, not really. It's just where you're at. So my Christmas is to be in Puerto Rico, right. So the music was different. You know, I never. Not that is nothing different to it, but I never heard any of these, like the song that I told you. I like all these American songs, right. Which are Christmas classics. Here we have our own set of Christmas classics and our own set of musical instruments and things that they do. And, you know, like, they used to go house, you know, by house late at night and play music and, you know, eat and drink and then go to the next house and just parranda, we used to call it. And so a bunch of people get together and they go from house to house and they play music and celebrate and be happy. And then that whole group of people from the house add on to us, pile up, and then we go to the next house. So this was something that by the time you're done, there's a whole lot of celebrating, a lot of happiness and a lot of singing and just playing around. That's not something that you can do here. And then so I had to pretty much tweak the things that we used to do and add on to what we do here, Right. So the music is different, the feeling is the same. And then I still have the same food that we used to have. But the. How people get together over there is very different to how they do it here. You know, they might here, they might go to a bar or go to somebody's house, but it's not the same. I don't feel it's the same level of enjoyment with all the music and people playing instruments and somebody with the guitar and somebody with little drums and, I mean, it's just. It's just very different. And the way they celebrate it, again, I don't know if that's something that you can do now with all the, you know, how much society has changed. I know they still do it at home. I know some places where there's a lot of people that are related to my culture. They might still attempt to do it, but it's not the same when you are in a. What we call. Which is kind of like a community and Then you're jumping from house to house, right. And then bringing this happiness to them. And this music, you know, just is one thing that just is everywhere. Right. This is universal and it just ties people together and it's just, it's a good way to just. People just enjoy and have fun and laugh and sing and whatever. Right. Whatever the celebration is. So I think that's something that is really important. And even more when it's just like live performance, perform live, it just gives it a little twist. And then obviously there's alcohol or everything else. But it wasn't like to that level that they got, you know, wasted. It was more about the fun. And you go from another house and you eat their food and they are all happy about it and they get dressed and they get their instruments and they go to the next house and I mean it just becomes a big thing. So that's something that I haven't seen happening since I came here. I don't think they do it. Yes, they do celebrate and they, they go to a house and they eat and they talk. But it's. It's a very different custom. Right. I don't know what to say, how to call it, but it's a very different tradition. Thank you. Which is not done by us. And it's something that is going away because I'm not. I wish I was back home so that you could see that. Yeah.

07:17 Cuz I didn't even know that was a thing.

07:19 It is a big thing. It's called Baranda. Look it up. And it's, it's, it's just a lot of fun. And people dance and they sing and they celebrate and next thing you know is probably 2, 3 o'clock in the morning. It's time to go home. People just don't want to do it, but they do go home at some point. There's no, there's no fight, there's no arguments. None of that nonsense that happens today. So that's probably one of the. One of my favorites.

07:44 Okay, for our final question, what advice would you give to somebody who doesn't know what to get someone as a gift? Or alternatively, what advice would you give someone who doesn't know what to get for their father as a gift?

08:05 That's a loaded question and it's hard to answer. Why would you tell somebody that doesn't know what to give, know who you're giving it to? Right. In the case of me, it's not the gift, but the action. Not that I care for what you give me, but it's really the other way around. I care for how you feel about what we're doing and how you feel about me. So that's probably a bigger gift. And then whatever comes with it, I'm grateful that I get it now. For it to be something that I'm gonna use and enjoy is different. So you guys kind of hated the last time because you got me something that I can play with. I don't play all the time, but it's something that I like to do. So if you know the person that you're given to know what they want, know what they need, or know what they like to do, that's the land that you should go for. But you really need to know the person. If you don't know the person, it's gonna be hard to gift. So my advice would be, know who you're gifting to.