Life in the Hispanic American Culture
Life in the Hispanic-American Culture: Vida not so Loca Mariah Brooke Cruz Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Life in the Hispanic-American Culture: Vida not so Loca Introduction Family life has always been a topic of research and questioning. However, after reviewing different sources dealing with different backgrounds and perspectives, questions still remain. What makes the family? Do certain cultures really change the upbringing, mindset, and outcome of the individual?
In the following paper, the Hispanic-American family life will be analyzed in-depth with the help of collected data to present the different characteristics of the widespread culture. This paper will prove the point that not everyone is equal; in fact, the differences make quite the statement Background First, the term “Hispanic-American” needs to be defined. Technically, the word Hispanic refers to people of Spanish-speaking descent, whether from Spain, Mexico, or even Cuba. Latino is synonymous with Hispanic, though chicano refers to Mexican-Americans.
For the remainder of the paper, “Hispanic-American” will be used in the common connotation is has earned in the southwestern United States: those that have Mexican heritage that are living in the United States. The story of Hispanic-Americans arrival in the U. S. of A. is not one of magic and fairytales who appeared overnight; in fact, Spanish colonies were established long before the Britain crossed over. (Guisepi) Traditional American history classes focus more on the growth of English colonies in North America, then the rebellious independent nation in 1776 and the development of the United States from east to west.
This treatment easily omits the fact that there was significant colonization by Spain of what is now the American Southwest from the 16th century onward. It also tends to ignore, until the Mexican War is mentioned, that the whole Southwest, from Texas westward to California, was a Spanish-speaking territory with its own distinctive heritage, culture, and customs for many decades. Now the Hispanic population has shown tremendous growth in the United States (Clutter, Nieto). They make up about 11% of the American population; 31 million individuals identify themselves as Hispanic, with Mexicans making up 63. % of those individuals. What makes the Hispanic-American culture different from the “normal” American life style is the strong connection to family. (Segers) It is debatable that all families are close, but in the case of Hispanic-Americans, there is almost an obsessive bond. This does not simply apply to immediate family; aunts, uncles, grandparents, and the wide range of cousins are included in the family link. Parties have that extra oomph, because even though the grandeur might not be present, the love for each other clearly shines.
Since this is so strong, Hispanic parents have a great sense of pride in their child. Again, one could argue that all parents love their children and hope for the best for them. While this is true, Hispanic-Americans just have that extra push for their children. Another thing to understand about the Hispanic-American is their ties to religion. (Clutter, Nieto) It is a significant part of everyday life. 90% of Hispanic-Americans are Roman Catholic- something left over from the conquistadors of Spain- which greatly adds to the culture more.
Since the majority of Hispanic-Americans are Catholic, this contributes to the greater sense of belonging within the discourse community. Yet, the question still remains; do different cultures change the ideas of the individual? Methods To study the question poised, observations and interviews were given. On Tuesdays and Thursdays for three weeks, research was taken on a Hispanic-American family of three children- two girls, ages six and one, and a boy, aged 9- and a single mother. Time of the research ranged from about 35-40 hours, and consisted of quiet observation, along with interview questions for the single mother.
Six questions were asked and went as following: 1. How does your culture play a role in your life? a. The biggest thing that has affected me would probably be my aunt and uncles stepping in to help me when I need someone to watch the kids. 2. What’s the hardest thing about being a Hispanic in American society? b. I guess the hardest thing is when people automatically assume that you’re poor because I speak Spanish. It’s annoying when I get ugly looks. 3. What’s the best part of being a Hispanic in American society? c.
Staying close to your roots is definitely the best. I love that my family has lived here for a long time because it… the history is made here. You know? (laughs) 4. What do you plan on teaching your kids that deals with your culture? d. Oh, they already know a little bit of the culture. Kia (the six year old daughter) goes to church with my aunts and Isaiah (the nine year old son) speaks Spanish every now and then. If I really need to teach them anything, it’s the idea that family is the most important thing when it comes to… our culture. 5.
If you could change your past, what would you do to it? e. Wow, that’s a hard one. Um… I wouldn’t drop out of high school. I love my kids but sometimes I think “I’m not cut out for this. ” It’s frustrating being a single mom who has a job at Wal-Mart. I wish I could’ve done so much more for them. 6. Last question. Who’s been the biggest inspiration to you in the Hispanic culture? f. That’s easy. My aunt has been there for me since Isaiah was kicking inside of me. She’s actually the one who told me to go to church more. I don’t know where I’d be without her.
Along with the interview, research included observations of Hispanic-American culture in the household, including but not limited to: tortilla chips to snack on, talk of religion at least once a day, family members coming over or even calling to check up. Another noticeable aspect in the research is the different lexis. The language was predominately English, but Spanish sentences were common in the household, along with “Spanglish”, or the mixing of English and Spanish in sentences. “Tex-mex”, slang words that have Spanish connotations but aren’t truly Spanish words, were very common as well.
Data Analysis To analyze the data, the Hispanic-American culture must first be defined as a discourse community, according to Swales six characteristics. (Swales 2011) 1. A discourse community has a broadly agreed set of common public goals. a. The Hispanic-American culture, though widespread, has the main goal of growing up in the United States successfully with hard work and dedication. 2. A discourse community has mechanisms of intercommunication among its members. b. Again, though widespread, the Hispanic-American culture stays in touch quite frequently with the new technology of today, uch as Skype, cell phones, and Facebook. 3. A discourse community uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback. c. Feedback can be described as simply letting other members of the community on how their day is going, so check, and check for this section. 4. A discourse community utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims. d. The genres of the Hispanic-American culture include writing letters in English and Spanish, to those far away in Mexico or at college. This again checks out. 5.
In addition to owning genres, a discourse community has acquired some specific lexis. e. As discussed previously (see Methods) the Hispanic-American culture has an abundance of lexis that are woven in the community. 6. A discourse community has a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise. f. This characteristic basically states that there needs to be an even ratio of novices to experts in the discourse community. This is obviously true when it comes to the Hispanic-American culture as old and young cohabitate together.
Now that the community has been defined, the data needs to be analyzed. After reviewing the research, several key components are critical to the research. First off, the mother identifies herself strongly with family, even though she lacks a spouse. In fact, it seems to intensify her family ties. Another component is that the children already are growing up with a strong set of Hispanic-American values, yet they still participate in many traditional American activities. Discussion I’ve come to the conclusion that culture does shape the individual’s ideas.
It’s obvious that culture can play a part in the upbringing, but it was a little blurry when it came to the idea of truly influencing one’s own ideas and mindset. After talking to the single mother and researching her for so long, I began to see where her children would pick up their ideas and how they viewed the world around them. So, in conclusion, the close discourse community of Hispanic-American families did in fact play a part on one’s individual mindset, and I can only hope that one day, my own children can grow up a part of this discourse community which I’ve come to love.
Sources Clutter, A. W. , Nieto, R. D. (2009) Understanding the Hispanic Culture. Retrieved from: http://ohioline. osu. edu/hyg-fact/5000/5237. html Segers, M. (1999) Rovin’ And Ravin’ With Mike. Retrieved from: http://www. peanut. org/mike/text/Lavidano. htm Guisepi, R. (2009) The Story of Hispanics in America. Retrieved from: http://history-world. org/hispanics. htm Johns A. M. (1997) Dicourse Communities and communities of practice: Membership, conflict, and Diversity. New York, Cambridge UP