Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: JP Uribe
September 25, 2020 | General, Men's Soccer
From Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the people, their ancestors, cultures and powerful impact they've made in the U.S. Throughout this month, we will be highlighting Boston University student-athletes who are proud to identify as Hispanic and are thrilled to share their heritage and culture with the rest of Terrier Nation.
First up, meet Jose Pablo Uribe Stevens, a junior on the men's soccer team with a love for his family, heritage and a really good breakfast.
In terms of your Hispanic heritage, how do you identify?
I identify as 100% Mexican. I was born in Mexico City.
Tell us a little bit about your family.
My parents were born in Mexico City. I have three brothers. We are quadruplets, which is insane. I love it. We're all boys, all fraternal, so we don't look alike. I actually prefer it because it's easier to have your own identity. We're a very traditional Mexican family. My father works in financial services. Actually, I would say almost non-traditional because usually the mother does not work, but my mom is a food photographer for food magazines and those types of editorials. She studied photography in New York. She's fantastic at what she does and is very creative. My father's more of a numbers guy…more analytical.
What was the dynamic like growing up with your brothers?
I would say it was near perfect. It was fantastic because it's way easier to get along with somebody your own age. We had similar friend groups too. It was also easy for my parents because if one of us got something, we all got it technically. I don't want to say that was the majority of the time, but it was a good excuse for them. Two of my brothers go to BU. The other brother is at NYU in New York. He was actually just here this past weekend. It was really good to have all four of us together.
What holidays does your family celebrate?
Christmas, New Year's, I guess here it's called Spring Break, but in Mexico, it's called Semana Santa, which is just like a week off. We usually do a trip there, but now I guess, we do it on the dates of Spring Break. We also do Thanksgiving because my mother really likes it.
What traditions does your family have?
We celebrate Día De Los Muertos if we're in Mexico. They'll do a parade or an actual festivity event. During Christmas, they have these little parties called posadas. There's a lot of tradition and structure to how things go, and you do a lot of singing. There are special dishes that are cooked on that day. You may have a soup that's made out of chickpeas with meat or whatever you want to add to it. Everyone in your social group will choose the weekend to do their posada. It's not on a certain day. It's just during the Christmas holiday season, so almost every weekend you have a posada that you need to go to. I wouldn't say it's formal, but people do dress nice. You host it in your own house. We always do it in my house as well, and we have fireworks. We'll put up the lights in the house around the trees and stuff. My mother goes all out.
What does your Mexican heritage mean to you?
For me, it's a way of life that you identify with. It's the group of people that you're most like. You can meet somebody that you don't know, but they're also Hispanic and you do things, certain things, similarly to them. Whether that's, I don't know, in a job or what you do on the weekends or what restaurants you like to go to, or what trips you'd like to do, where you like to go…in all aspects, they're probably going to be most similar to you versus any other cultural group. For me, it's an identity that I really like. The people that I identify with the closest are those people.
What's something that you want people to know about being Hispanic?
Hispanic means you speak Spanish. That's completely different than Latino people, A lot of times people get those confused. Some people think being Latino and being Hispanic are the same thing. Latino means you come from Latin America.
Do you speak Spanish?
Yes, Spanish is my first language. I started learning English once I started school. Out of my family of six, my mother speaks the least proficient English, but she's very good at English. I would say that a lot of times people forget to consider it's not very common for people to be bilingual. Some people have said stuff about my accent and it's not very considerate. At the end of the day, I have an accent because English is not my first language. One thing that I do want to say is it's a very, very, very difficult language to learn.
How have you found the BU community in receiving your culture?
This one is easy because on the soccer team there are three of my teammates [I found community with]. One is from Venezuela and he speaks Spanish. And then we have two guys from Spain. I'm a year older than them. When I joined the team, it was difficult because we didn't have other guys who spoke Spanish. So then when these guys came in, one had two other friends, and then another introduced me to another three. And since then, we now have a group of 10 – one Peruvian guy and one other from El Salvador, and then me and my two brothers. We're a very tight knit group, and they are my community. Also, if I go out to dinner with other friends, there's surprisingly a very big Latino and Hispanic community here in Boston.
Do you have an example of the struggle of being Hispanic in this culture and then how you overcame it?
Yes, the language barrier. I remember one thing that was always very difficult for me in English. When you're saying chocolate ice cream, you say the adjective first and then the noun. In Spanish, it's flipped, and so a lot of times, I would say ice cream chocolate. Then I would say that for everything, like chair black, but it's black chair. In Spanish, you say the noun first, so I remember my parents were very tough correcting me.
What's your favorite Hispanic dish?
I'm between two. One is the traditional street taco. You can go anywhere in Mexico, and it's going to be good for the most part. It has to be done right though. The little tortilla with meat is bistec. It has onion, cilantro, lime and a bit of salsa. They're tiny, so you need like eight of them! I really like breakfast in Mexico because in Mexico, breakfast and dinner are the biggest meals of the day. People have very, very heavy breakfasts…like scrambled eggs with ham and cheese and beans...maybe a little cassava and fruit. I miss that so much because here, I know some people that don't even eat breakfast. In Boston, I go to one or two places, like Casa Romero. They have tacos and enchiladas…they do it very well. The chef is very good.
Do you have a favorite music genre or artist?
I like two. I like reggaeton, like, Annuel and Bad Bunny. I love all that. The second is more traditional or old school stuff I could listen to with my mother and father, like Julieta Venegas.
Who is someone you look up to and why?
My father. I'm interested in starting a business, so I'm interested in the stuff he does first and foremost. I also like soccer players because it's always been in my life and I grew up watching it. From the Mexican national team specifically, Chucky Lozano…And I'm a big fan myself. Not a lot of players make the transition from Mexican soccer to European soccer or football. It's so rare that when you do see somebody and you see them come from a team that maybe you supported or maybe you played on when you were a kid, and you've been watching them grow up and develop, and then you see in the headlines, like Chucky Lozano going to Napoli, you kind of see yourself in them a little bit.
What's one thing people should know about Hispanic culture, or your Mexican culture?
It's going to sound kind of cliche, but how tight knit families are. From a young age with my family, we had a home cooked meal and ate at the dinner table for all three meals of the day. We would eat at the dinner table all together. My father never missed it unless he was away on a trip or something, but if he was home, he would not miss it. That was always super important. Sometimes I'll speak to one of my friends here and they say, "I haven't talked to my mom in like two or three weeks." I call my mother every other day, and my father more or less often. He knows that if I need something, I'll call him or my mother, especially because my father is away on business a lot. Sometimes I'll call my mother three or four days in a row. We're super tight.
First up, meet Jose Pablo Uribe Stevens, a junior on the men's soccer team with a love for his family, heritage and a really good breakfast.
In terms of your Hispanic heritage, how do you identify?
I identify as 100% Mexican. I was born in Mexico City.
Tell us a little bit about your family.
My parents were born in Mexico City. I have three brothers. We are quadruplets, which is insane. I love it. We're all boys, all fraternal, so we don't look alike. I actually prefer it because it's easier to have your own identity. We're a very traditional Mexican family. My father works in financial services. Actually, I would say almost non-traditional because usually the mother does not work, but my mom is a food photographer for food magazines and those types of editorials. She studied photography in New York. She's fantastic at what she does and is very creative. My father's more of a numbers guy…more analytical.
What was the dynamic like growing up with your brothers?
I would say it was near perfect. It was fantastic because it's way easier to get along with somebody your own age. We had similar friend groups too. It was also easy for my parents because if one of us got something, we all got it technically. I don't want to say that was the majority of the time, but it was a good excuse for them. Two of my brothers go to BU. The other brother is at NYU in New York. He was actually just here this past weekend. It was really good to have all four of us together.
What holidays does your family celebrate?
Christmas, New Year's, I guess here it's called Spring Break, but in Mexico, it's called Semana Santa, which is just like a week off. We usually do a trip there, but now I guess, we do it on the dates of Spring Break. We also do Thanksgiving because my mother really likes it.
What traditions does your family have?
We celebrate Día De Los Muertos if we're in Mexico. They'll do a parade or an actual festivity event. During Christmas, they have these little parties called posadas. There's a lot of tradition and structure to how things go, and you do a lot of singing. There are special dishes that are cooked on that day. You may have a soup that's made out of chickpeas with meat or whatever you want to add to it. Everyone in your social group will choose the weekend to do their posada. It's not on a certain day. It's just during the Christmas holiday season, so almost every weekend you have a posada that you need to go to. I wouldn't say it's formal, but people do dress nice. You host it in your own house. We always do it in my house as well, and we have fireworks. We'll put up the lights in the house around the trees and stuff. My mother goes all out.
What does your Mexican heritage mean to you?
For me, it's a way of life that you identify with. It's the group of people that you're most like. You can meet somebody that you don't know, but they're also Hispanic and you do things, certain things, similarly to them. Whether that's, I don't know, in a job or what you do on the weekends or what restaurants you like to go to, or what trips you'd like to do, where you like to go…in all aspects, they're probably going to be most similar to you versus any other cultural group. For me, it's an identity that I really like. The people that I identify with the closest are those people.
What's something that you want people to know about being Hispanic?
Hispanic means you speak Spanish. That's completely different than Latino people, A lot of times people get those confused. Some people think being Latino and being Hispanic are the same thing. Latino means you come from Latin America.
Do you speak Spanish?
Yes, Spanish is my first language. I started learning English once I started school. Out of my family of six, my mother speaks the least proficient English, but she's very good at English. I would say that a lot of times people forget to consider it's not very common for people to be bilingual. Some people have said stuff about my accent and it's not very considerate. At the end of the day, I have an accent because English is not my first language. One thing that I do want to say is it's a very, very, very difficult language to learn.
How have you found the BU community in receiving your culture?
This one is easy because on the soccer team there are three of my teammates [I found community with]. One is from Venezuela and he speaks Spanish. And then we have two guys from Spain. I'm a year older than them. When I joined the team, it was difficult because we didn't have other guys who spoke Spanish. So then when these guys came in, one had two other friends, and then another introduced me to another three. And since then, we now have a group of 10 – one Peruvian guy and one other from El Salvador, and then me and my two brothers. We're a very tight knit group, and they are my community. Also, if I go out to dinner with other friends, there's surprisingly a very big Latino and Hispanic community here in Boston.
Do you have an example of the struggle of being Hispanic in this culture and then how you overcame it?
Yes, the language barrier. I remember one thing that was always very difficult for me in English. When you're saying chocolate ice cream, you say the adjective first and then the noun. In Spanish, it's flipped, and so a lot of times, I would say ice cream chocolate. Then I would say that for everything, like chair black, but it's black chair. In Spanish, you say the noun first, so I remember my parents were very tough correcting me.
What's your favorite Hispanic dish?
I'm between two. One is the traditional street taco. You can go anywhere in Mexico, and it's going to be good for the most part. It has to be done right though. The little tortilla with meat is bistec. It has onion, cilantro, lime and a bit of salsa. They're tiny, so you need like eight of them! I really like breakfast in Mexico because in Mexico, breakfast and dinner are the biggest meals of the day. People have very, very heavy breakfasts…like scrambled eggs with ham and cheese and beans...maybe a little cassava and fruit. I miss that so much because here, I know some people that don't even eat breakfast. In Boston, I go to one or two places, like Casa Romero. They have tacos and enchiladas…they do it very well. The chef is very good.
Do you have a favorite music genre or artist?
I like two. I like reggaeton, like, Annuel and Bad Bunny. I love all that. The second is more traditional or old school stuff I could listen to with my mother and father, like Julieta Venegas.
Who is someone you look up to and why?
My father. I'm interested in starting a business, so I'm interested in the stuff he does first and foremost. I also like soccer players because it's always been in my life and I grew up watching it. From the Mexican national team specifically, Chucky Lozano…And I'm a big fan myself. Not a lot of players make the transition from Mexican soccer to European soccer or football. It's so rare that when you do see somebody and you see them come from a team that maybe you supported or maybe you played on when you were a kid, and you've been watching them grow up and develop, and then you see in the headlines, like Chucky Lozano going to Napoli, you kind of see yourself in them a little bit.
What's one thing people should know about Hispanic culture, or your Mexican culture?
It's going to sound kind of cliche, but how tight knit families are. From a young age with my family, we had a home cooked meal and ate at the dinner table for all three meals of the day. We would eat at the dinner table all together. My father never missed it unless he was away on a trip or something, but if he was home, he would not miss it. That was always super important. Sometimes I'll speak to one of my friends here and they say, "I haven't talked to my mom in like two or three weeks." I call my mother every other day, and my father more or less often. He knows that if I need something, I'll call him or my mother, especially because my father is away on business a lot. Sometimes I'll call my mother three or four days in a row. We're super tight.
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