Throughout Hispanic Heritage Month, Sporting Kansas City will celebrate the club’s players and associates of Hispanic descent, highlighting their unique heritage and culture.
Alan Pulido is a striker for Sporting KC who was born in Ciudad Victoria, Mexico. He previously starred in Mexico’s LIGA MX and has scored well over 100 combined goals for club and country. Pulido has represented the Mexico Men’s National Team on 20 occasions, including the 2011 Copa America and 2014 FIFA World Cup.
A member of Sporting KC since the start of 2020, Pulido still finds ways to stay connected to his Mexican heritage through the Hispanic community in Kansas City as well as the food. Hispanic Heritage Month is a special time for him where he feels excited to reconnect with friends, family and fans.
What are your thoughts on Hispanic Heritage Month and what does it mean to you?
This is a very patriotic month for me. Being in a new country and having these celebrations and festivities while reconnecting with your people is always something very beautiful.
How did you celebrate your heritage growing up?
It’s all about being with family and getting together. Almost all my family would try and get together and celebrate our heritage and special moments. We would cook a ton of food, mostly traditional foods. We made tacos and everything else you can think of.
As kids, my brother and I loved celebrating with family. It was something really special because we were each able to really enjoy time together.
I started to learn about my Mexican heritage from a young age in the schools. I learned a lot about my culture through my family. September 16 is Mexican Independence Day and is one of many dates that will always be important to me because of tradition. It’s something beautiful that at the end of the day represents a lot for your country and your homeland.
Being able to experience these great moments and have these experiences has carried over into different countries as well. The fact that these values are celebrated worldwide helps reinforce the importance of it all. It’s the valuable lessons I learned as a child, and it is something I’ll take forward with me.
In what ways do you feel connected to your heritage today?
I stay connected to my heritage with the community around me, the food and my family.
Being Mexican here in the U.S., I will find myself running into many Mexican people that also speak Spanish and have similar views and ideas on things. It’s also very special to run into
people that support you and really appreciate the sport of soccer and what you do. This is a great feeling.
I don’t have a large immediate family. It’s just me, my brother and my mother and father. My extended family is large including several cousins, lots of aunts and uncles and a grandmother. I stay connected with them and send lots of love from afar.
There are not as many people here to celebrate special occasions with like I used to with my family. I always try to eat a special meal and go somewhere. Certain areas and locations have really great Mexican food. I enjoy trying out different ones around town, and new restaurants that open as well. Of course, it’s not going to be the same, but there are some places that are really good and have great flavor. Altogether I’ve had a great experience with Mexican food in Kansas City and that’s great because it helps you to remember your home. It’s a way to stay connected.
