Hispanic Diversity in America

 

Hispanic Americans make up a big part of America. At 39 million, this makes Hispanics the largest United States minority group, as said by Haya El Nasser, USA TODAY. This makes Hispanic Americans an important part of our country. You will read through out this paper about several Hispanic groups and the difference between each of the groups. You will also get a chance to be more informed on the challenges each group faces and the ways that each group contributes to America, among many other topics.

 

 

                                                                Hispanic American Diversity

Mexican Americans are a group of people that reside in the United States, but trace their ancestry to Mexico. In the 2000 U.S census, 21.5 million people identified themselves as Mexican Americans and the number today is about 39 million and on the rise. There are about 2 to 3 million illegal immigrants that also live in the United States as said on MSN news online. This greatly adds to the number of Mexican Americans in the U.S.

 

The Spanish language serves as a unifying force in the Mexican American community. There are about 70 percent of Mexican Americans that know how to speak English as well as their native language, Spanish. English is mainly used in the public and in schools. But Spanish is still spoken in their homes and at Mexican events. Spanish is a language that links other Hispanic people together because this is the native language that is spoken in mostly the Caribbean and Central America. The Spanish that is spoken by Mexican Americans have been greatly influenced by the English language. There is now the term called Spanglish, which seems to be a combination of both of the languages. So this means that the Spanish that is spoken by Mexican Americans is different that the Spanish that is spoken in other Spanish speaking counties.

 

Most Mexican Americans are identified with the Roman Catholic faith. But there are a significant number of Mexican Americans that are from the Jewish faith. Along with these religions, the holidays such as Christmas and Easter are celebrated along with their religious beliefs. Cinco de Mayo is also a popular holiday that is celebrated. This is a celebration of the Mexican victory at the Battle of Pubela that happened in 1862.

In traditional Mexican family’s, the mother served as the center of the family. But in the present, many Mexican American women now work outside the home. As with the man in the household, traditionally they were the bread winner, as with many other races. But like with other races, Mexican Americans have come to realize that it now takes both the man and the women to make ends meet at home. But one thing that does set them apart from other races is that it is not uncommon for many adults and children to live under one roof. Also few Mexican marriages end in divorce.

 

Mexican American have started to influence the American culture. Many Mexican Americans have learned to speak the English language to get by in public. But this is now magazines and newspapers and even websites that are in Spanish to help Spanish speaking Americans. These sorts of changes helps Mexican Americans adjust better to deal better in public.

 

One serious problem that still exists in the Mexican American community is poverty. Illegal immigrants often work for less than minimum wage and with no health insurance. There are many Mexican Americans that do not finish school as well. But the Mexican Americans have started to use their political power to help with issues such as immigration and bilingual programs.

 

Another Hispanic group is the Puerto Ricans. It is said that about 2 million Puerto Ricans live here in the United States. Spanish is the spoken language of this country, but since America acquired the island in 1898, there have been a great influence with American culture in Puerto Rico. As with Mexican Spanish, Puerto Ricans have added slang to their Spanish. Spanish is derived from Latin. It is said that Spanish is the second largest language in the world, according to Welcome to Puerto Rico.

Most Puerto Ricans are from the catholic faith, but most do not follow the faith as closely as with other groups.  When it comes to events such as weddings, funerals and any other type, the catholic beliefs are held strongly to.  This group also believes in the passing of onto the after life, where there are days of prayer.

 

Puerto Ricans are said to be a vibrant group of people. They love theater, dance and many other forms of arts. Some of the arts the do are influenced by places like New York, Caribbean and Spain. There has also been African and Latin influences on the Spanish language and overall culture. Puerto Ricans are known for their warm hospitality. Most say they are American, but are very proud of their heritage.

 

Puerto Ricans influence the United States in ways such as with Medicine. Medicine is firmly established in Puerto Rico. This group has also added the colorful culture here to the United States. Also Puerto Rico is considered Commonwealth. They are looked at as a state. Puerto Ricans all have the same rights as someone that was born inside the states. Puerto Rico has been like this since 1917.

 

Cubans are another Hispanic group that lives in the United States. As with the Spanish language with the first two groups, Cubans have developed their own form of Spanish. Spanish speaking Cubans in Miami have one way of using Spanish and Cubans in Cuba have their own way. This is based on American culture and the influence on the Spanish language, as with the first two Hispanic Groups.

 

Cuba is made up of mainly Cuban people and African people. The main religion there is Roman Catholic. The celebration of Christmas is just recently in the 60s been recognized as a holiday in this culture. There is a small Jewish belief there in Cuba as well. There’s beliefs are trying to stay alive through priests and rabies that visit this country.

 

Music is a big part of Cuban culture. This is a colorful and fun group of people as said by some. Also stated in the Culture of Cuba, Cubans are a friendly group of people and are close with their families. Cubans also like to play a variety of sports.

 

 Women do not have a lot of rights in Cuba. Some come to the United States for more freedom than they get in Cuba. In Cuba, the children are even expected to work. It can be understandable why some would choose to make a better life in the States.

 

While not too many Cubans have made a big impact in the States with in our government, the states have made positive changes for the Cuban government. Cuba is one of the world’s last communist countries. The economy is not in the best shape as well. When Bush was in office he tried to make suggestions that might have benefited this county.

 

The last group that I wanted to talk about is the Spaniards. This is a group that comes from Spain. There are about One million Americans that are classified as Spaniards. This is one of the smallest Hispanic Groups in the United States.

Spanish is the spoken language in Spain. The Spanish spoken there is the correct form of Spanish with little influence from American culture. As with the previous languages this is a language that all Hispanic groups use in some form or another.

 

The basic religion of Spaniards is Roman Catholic. This is also a shared religion among the Hispanic groups. But in Spain religious leaders struggle to hold people in the faith. Religion is also losing strength and influence in politics in Spain as well.

 

The Spaniards are based on a social structure and keep even extended family close. Family is important to them as well in other Hispanic groups. Each Hispanic group keeps separate in ways as the foods that come from their countries and the different actives that each groups does.

 

There has not been a big impact from the Spanish group on America. The most influence on America is from the Mexican American group and some by Puerto Ricans.

 

                                                               Conclusion

The Hispanic groups listed above are the same in many ways, but there are things such as the way they speak their native language Spanish and their culture activates that do set them apart from one another.