Culture-Driven
Abstract: Leo Valdez es un personaje de ficciόn. Él está en “The Heroes of Olympus” y “Trials of Apollo” serie de libro. Leo es mexicano. Mexicanos valoran la familia. La cultura mexicana causa Leo ser un héroe.
Leo Valdez is a fictional character in the Heroes of Olympus and the Trials of Apollo series written by Rick Riordan. Leo is a demigod who godly parent is Hephaestus, the god of fire, forges, and technology. Leo is also of hispanic culture and speaks Spanish along with English and Greek. Leo’s hispanic culture drove him to be a hero in the series. A study says, “Possibly the most significant value of Mexicans (and most Latino cultures) is the value of familismo - family unity, welfare and honor. The emphasis is on the group, not the individual... and on family commitment, obligation and responsibility” (Santana, 2001, p.1). Family plays a huge role in mexican culture. Hispanics grow up seeing their parents open their home to visiting relatives and see their family doing everything to help each other. Leo didn’t grow up with a huge family like most mexican families. He only had his mom, but he treasured her more than anything. The Lost Hero says, “His mom had a beautiful face with kind eyes, and curly dark hair, but she looked older than she was because of hard work. The lines around her eyes were deeply etched. Her hands were callused. She was the first person from their family to
graduate from college. She had a degree in mechanical engineering and could design anything, fix anything, build anything” (Riordan, 2010, p.138). You can see the care and love Leo has for his mother as he describes her. Leo cares so much for his mother because they are family. The Blood of Olympus states, “”Hey.” Leo grinned, which was unnerving in the flames, his teeth like molten silver ingots. “I told you I had a plan. When are you going to trust me? And by the way-I love you guys”” (Riordan, 2014, p. 465). Leo lost his mom very early in the series and had no family by blood. However, he went through so much with the other six demigods in the series (Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Jason Grace, and Piper McLean) that he thought of them as family. Leo made so many sacrifices for them throughout their journey. He was even willing to die for them, for his family. When Leo killed Gaea, he had no idea if he would live or not. He cared so much for these people that he was willing to take the risk. In fact, he did die for them. He died so he could fulfill another promise to another part of his family. The Blood of Olympus also states, “”I know. Like I’ve been dead. Probably because I have been. Oath to keep with a final breath and all, but I’m better now-”” (Riordan, 2014, p. 500). Leo knew the only way to find Calypso’s island again was by dying. Calypso was very important to Leo. He thought of her as family. He was willing to die for his family. The Hidden Oracle states, “”Hey brother.” Leo ruffled his hair and had the good sense to look ashamed. “You brought me home with that beacon of yours, H-Meister. You’re a hero! You know I never would’ve left you hanging like that on purpose, don’t you?”” (Riordan, 2016, p. 355). When Leo arrived at Camp Half-Blood, he discovered that he had dozens of family members he didn’t know about. Even though they were only half-siblings and he didn’t spend much time with them before going off on a huge quest, he still loved them because they were family. Mexican cultural values played roles in every decision Leo made throughout the books. The most influential of all of these was the value of family and that drove him to be a hero.