Part of San Antonio’s charm as a city is its beautiful mix of Mexican and American culture. The historical richness of the city brings out the best of both cultures in the Alamo City, which is home to over 944,955 people of Mexican origin according to the 2010 census. Much like the city, San Antonio FC midfielder Miguel Salazar carries with him a Mexican-American cultural blend that was a product of his upbringing.
Salazar was born in Mexico, and when he was just eight months old his parents decided to start a life in the United States and moved to Tucson, Arizona, where Salazar would spend the majority of his life. Growing up in Arizona, where Hispanics make up over 30 percent of the population, allowed him to stay connected with his Mexican roots. In addition to the heavy presence of Hispanic culture there, Salazar’s family was a key component to help him identify with Mexican culture, but the greatest privilege for him was having the opportunity to grow up learning two about two cultures at once.
“They say Tucson is a lot like Mexico, but I think mostly I learned about the full Mexican culture through my family,” Salazar said. “It was really cool growing up learning about the culture here at home with my family members, and living in the United States obviously really helped me understand the culture here. It was a cool experience and I think learning two cultures is a good way to live.”
Salazar’s family still has strong ties to their Mexican roots. It’s not uncommon for Spanish to be spoken in their household, and though a large part of his family now lives in the United States, Salazar still has some relatives living in Mexico with whom he keeps in touch often. His family connection with Mexican culture is so strong, in fact, that every year his family celebrates many Mexican holidays as well as American ones, a fact that Salazar believes makes for a great experience at home.
“My parents, my little brother, and everybody in the family knows both languages just like I do,” Salazar said. “We really celebrate the Mexican culture. We celebrate the 16th of September, which is Mexican Independence Day, and we celebrate Dia de los Muertos and Dia de los Reyes (Day of the Kings), which is a lot like Christmas Day in Mexico. We also take part in a lot of Christmas festivities because of the catholic faith, which is big in Mexico and in my family too. But we also celebrate all the U.S. holidays too, like the Fourth of July and all the usual holidays here.”
Naturally, with a Mexican-American cultural blend comes a Mexican-American soccer clash. Despite living in the U.S. most of his life, Salazar grew up a Mexico supporter because of his environment at home. Most of his family and several of his friends root for Mexico, a passion which he picked up as his soccer fandom developed. Nevertheless, Salazar still supports the United States National Team when they aren’t facing El Tri.
“That’s always been a big thing among my friends and me,” Salazar said. “I’ve always followed Mexico more. I know more about their players and growing up with a lot of my Mexican friends we were always more inclined towards supporting them. My whole family and I support Mexico, but the United States is definitely a close second favorite in our household.”
The presence of Hispanic culture in San Antonio has created a sense of comfort and familiarity with the city, which reminds him of home in Tucson. Though there are many people from different areas of Mexico in the Alamo City, Salazar appreciates all the cultural nuances that people bring to the United States. In terms of soccer culture, the environment and passion for the sport in the Alamo City provided a great location for the midfielder to hit the ground running in his professional career.
Arriving in San Antonio to play his first pro season was a big step for Salazar, who enjoyed a successful campaign in which he earned 18 starts in 24 appearances and became a regular in the San Antonio FC starting lineup. Salazar was the third SAFC player to officially return to the club for the 2017 season along with midfielder Victor Araujo.
“I’m really grateful to the SAFC organization and all my family,” Salazar said. “It was awesome to complete my rookie season and really make a dream come true, and especially to have done it in San Antonio, which has huge fan support and is a great city to live in. It was a great start to my professional career.”
Salazar’s transition from collegiate soccer to professional competition was aided by SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell, who coached the 22-year-old for two years while he played Division I soccer at Elon University. As a player, Salazar is motivated tremendously by the faith and support that Powell shows him and his teammates.
“Playing under Coach Powell has been a huge learning experience,” Salazar said. “When I first went to Elon he helped me transition from playing youth soccer to the collegiate level, and now he helped me transition into the professional level. It always helps when your coach has faith in you, that really ties in with your success as a player. If he believes in me, he makes me believe in myself more.”
Salazar is one of just four San Antonio FC players who’s return has been confirmed for the 2017 season. The midfielder is enjoying his offseason break at home, but is eager to join Coach Powell and return to the pitch to represent the silver and black at Toyota Field once again.
Part of San Antonio’s charm as a city is its beautiful mix of Mexican and American culture. The historical richness of the city brings out the best of both cultures in the Alamo City, which is home to over 944,955 people of Mexican origin according to the 2010 census. Much like the city, San Antonio FC midfielder Miguel Salazar carries with him a Mexican-American cultural blend that was a product of his upbringing.
Salazar was born in Mexico, and when he was just eight months old his parents decided to start a life in the United States and moved to Tucson, Arizona, where Salazar would spend the majority of his life. Growing up in Arizona, where Hispanics make up over 30 percent of the population, allowed him to stay connected with his Mexican roots. In addition to the heavy presence of Hispanic culture there, Salazar’s family was a key component to help him identify with Mexican culture, but the greatest privilege for him was having the opportunity to grow up learning two about two cultures at once.
“They say Tucson is a lot like Mexico, but I think mostly I learned about the full Mexican culture through my family,” Salazar said. “It was really cool growing up learning about the culture here at home with my family members, and living in the United States obviously really helped me understand the culture here. It was a cool experience and I think learning two cultures is a good way to live.”
Salazar’s family still has strong ties to their Mexican roots. It’s not uncommon for Spanish to be spoken in their household, and though a large part of his family now lives in the United States, Salazar still has some relatives living in Mexico with whom he keeps in touch often. His family connection with Mexican culture is so strong, in fact, that every year his family celebrates many Mexican holidays as well as American ones, a fact that Salazar believes makes for a great experience at home.
“My parents, my little brother, and everybody in the family knows both languages just like I do,” Salazar said. “We really celebrate the Mexican culture. We celebrate the 16th of September, which is Mexican Independence Day, and we celebrate Dia de los Muertos and Dia de los Reyes (Day of the Kings), which is a lot like Christmas Day in Mexico. We also take part in a lot of Christmas festivities because of the catholic faith, which is big in Mexico and in my family too. But we also celebrate all the U.S. holidays too, like the Fourth of July and all the usual holidays here.”
Naturally, with a Mexican-American cultural blend comes a Mexican-American soccer clash. Despite living in the U.S. most of his life, Salazar grew up a Mexico supporter because of his environment at home. Most of his family and several of his friends root for Mexico, a passion which he picked up as his soccer fandom developed. Nevertheless, Salazar still supports the United States National Team when they aren’t facing El Tri.
“That’s always been a big thing among my friends and me,” Salazar said. “I’ve always followed Mexico more. I know more about their players and growing up with a lot of my Mexican friends we were always more inclined towards supporting them. My whole family and I support Mexico, but the United States is definitely a close second favorite in our household.”
The presence of Hispanic culture in San Antonio has created a sense of comfort and familiarity with the city, which reminds him of home in Tucson. Though there are many people from different areas of Mexico in the Alamo City, Salazar appreciates all the cultural nuances that people bring to the United States. In terms of soccer culture, the environment and passion for the sport in the Alamo City provided a great location for the midfielder to hit the ground running in his professional career.
Arriving in San Antonio to play his first pro season was a big step for Salazar, who enjoyed a successful campaign in which he earned 18 starts in 24 appearances and became a regular in the San Antonio FC starting lineup. Salazar was the third SAFC player to officially return to the club for the 2017 season along with midfielder Victor Araujo.
“I’m really grateful to the SAFC organization and all my family,” Salazar said. “It was awesome to complete my rookie season and really make a dream come true, and especially to have done it in San Antonio, which has huge fan support and is a great city to live in. It was a great start to my professional career.”
Salazar’s transition from collegiate soccer to professional competition was aided by SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell, who coached the 22-year-old for two years while he played Division I soccer at Elon University. As a player, Salazar is motivated tremendously by the faith and support that Powell shows him and his teammates.
“Playing under Coach Powell has been a huge learning experience,” Salazar said. “When I first went to Elon he helped me transition from playing youth soccer to the collegiate level, and now he helped me transition into the professional level. It always helps when your coach has faith in you, that really ties in with your success as a player. If he believes in me, he makes me believe in myself more.”
Salazar is one of just four San Antonio FC players who’s return has been confirmed for the 2017 season. The midfielder is enjoying his offseason break at home, but is eager to join Coach Powell and return to the pitch to represent the silver and black at Toyota Field once again.