Hispanic American Diversity

In the United States, the word Hispanic is used to describe a wide range of people that are from Spanish decent. Although Americans use one word to describe them are very different from each other in many different ways. Some of the Hispanics in America are actually Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, and Brazilian Americans. This paper will identify the linguistic, political, social, economic, religious, and familial conventions and statuses of these four groups. Mexican Americans are the largest of the Hispanic population in the United States. Their primary language is English. In 1990, a study was done by Merie that stated that 90% of Mexican Americans could speak Spanish but only 5.3% spoke it at home. Their family situations still hold on to some of the same culture views as they did in Mexico with the husband being the authority figure, now the parents seem to share much of the responsibilities of household management and the woman also hold jobs and help with the finances. Their religious beliefs are mostly Catholic but some are of Protestant denominations. Most of them have preferred to hold on to this as a part of their culture and religious traditions. Many of the original rituals and festivals are still important in their lives in the United Sates. The Mexican Americans have dealt with much segregation and discrimination in American life. Over the years, they have started many organizations to help them through this. The Community Service Organization was formed to promote political participation and help to improve social conditions. Another organization that was started in 1960 was MAPA, Mexican American Political Association, which helped get several Mexican Americans elected into political offices. Originally, they were in the agricultural, forestry, and mining occupations but as occupational changes occurred, they began to move to Midwest states where they could find jobs in meat packing and manufacturing. Despite all of the occupational changes over the years, most of the wages stayed low for them. This is mostly because of their low levels of education lead them to entry-level positions. Puerto Ricans are the second largest Hispanic population in the United States. Most migrants are less than fluent in English but the following generations are usually bilingual and fluent in both Spanish and English. Many of the younger generations have accustomed English into their Spanish and call it Spanglish even though it does not have any formal structure. Their families seem to have a strong Spanish influence with the father being the head of house and mothers tending to day-to-day roles. When raising their children the girls are brought up to be quite and the boys to be aggressive but both are expected to show respect to elders. Some of their family cultures are beginning to diminish because of American socialization and economics. Their religion is mostly Roman Catholic but some are Protestant of different denominations. Some even practice a version of Santeria, which is an African American pagan religion with its roots from West Africa. Puerto Rico has a special relationship with the United States because it is a commonwealth of the United States so therefore anyone born on the mainland or in Puerto Rico are natural American citizens. As of 1992, the Puerto Rican delegate was able to vote on the House floor and since then many debates have occurred about becoming statehood or

staying commonwealth and each time it has not passed by very few votes. Most want to continue to stay commonwealth. This also helps them with their economics because they can work as seasonal contract laborers on the mainland through the harvest and then return to the island in the off-season. They are also known for working in the service and industrial industries. Although they do this type of work, it has been a big challenge to urban Puerto Ricans with a large unemployment spike. They have many traditional customs and are known for their big social events where they gather for dancing and singing. They are also very superstitious and this dates back to much of their African descent. Another group of Hispanics in the United States is the Cuban Americans. Cubans born in America tend to speak English and very little Spanish. Spanglish is also common with the younger generations. Cuban American woman have more authority than the families in Cuba because they contribute to household income and the independence of the family. Most claim to be Roman Catholic but some are Protestant. They are also having an increasing number of them turn to Jehovahs Witnesses, Pentecostals, and Seventh Day Adventists because of the growth of these churches in their communities. Many of Cuban Americans hold jobs in technical, sales, and administrative support occupations because they are more financially stable than other Hispanics in the United States. They have higher education and are known as successful migrants that build profitable industries. They are good at using their connections and making sure that they cater to them, which leads to industries that are more profitable. They are political conservatives that usually vote Republican. They like to use their right to vote and almost all are registered and do so. Their political activists have been successful by even having Cuban Americans elected in Congress and showing dominance in Miamis political scene. They interact socially with the White Americans while the African Americans feel as if they do not get along with each economic security. The last group of Hispanics that we will discuss is the Brazilian Americans. The majority of them speak English but not very well. They seem to stay close to their homeland ties and hold on to their cultures. Their native language is Portuguese. They are very family oriented and extended family is always very important to them. In the largely populated Brazilian American communities, most families live close to one another. They travel to their homeland a lot to keep close to the ones that have not immigrated to the United States. Social status is very important to them and they look up and respect the higher statuses. Most are Roman Catholic but about 10% are Protestant. Some even practice Spiritism. In many of the communities that have large populations of Brazilian Americans they offer Catholic services in Portuguese or have translators there to help. Studies have shown that many are illegal immigrants so they mostly hold jobs in restaurants and childcare for private households. Many that are legal immigrants usually work in service, technical, sales, and administrative support occupations. Brazilian Americans are not active in voting and most of them are involved in the Brazilian politics even while they are Americans. Therefore, even though all of these groups are usually characterized as part of the Hispanic group as a whole, they are very different. Although they have been influenced by the Spanish they also have been influenced by other cultures as well. They tend to take some of each culture and create a new one, which creates a very diverse mixture.