Jonathan Arenas: Why Hispanic Americans Are Changing American Culture

mission of CHCI is to develop the next generation of Latino leaders. How can leadership be developed within the Latino community? What current Latino leaders are making a difference in your state or community?

Latinos rather than Hispanic-Americans will be used in this entry since the former term is considered as more inclusive. Latinos refer to people living in the United States, who originally were from Spanish- and Portuguese speaking countries in Latin America as well as Spain and Portugal. The term Hispanics refers to people from Spanish speaking countries, which would encompass Latin America (except for Brazil where Portuguese is the predominant language) and Spain. “Hispanic” is a term used in the United States, which originated in 1980 with the U.S. Census Bureau. This term is not used in Latin America and Spain.

The American Dream for everyone alike is to prosper and succeed in a land that individuals are determined to call their own. Almost every immigrant that has entered the United States has done so in hopes of finding a better life for themselves and for their families. For most Hispanic-Americans, the goal was the same. Hispanic-Americans come from a variety of different Spanish-speaking countries. Just as the wave of immigrants from Europe came to the United States of America in the late 1800's and early 1900's, Hispanics came from places like Mexico, South and Central America, and the Caribbean Islands. Although everyone came with the same goal in mind, to make sure their families would have a better life in a new environment, each subgroup within the Hispanic community faced different circumstances once they arrived in the United States and have different definitions of what it feels like to be an American.

The Latino community is ironic at Viana’s college because it was unforgiving if you do not make your Latindad known. For example Viana stated, “Knowing how hard it could sometimes be to accept the group and have the group accept you in return” (Garrod, 2012, p. 113). Rather than being a group to bond with each other and embrace their ethnicity, the group gossips or rejects members. This fact about the group was surprising to me. I am in a club known as National students speech hearing language association (NSSHLA), where everyone in the group is close with each other. Each member tries the help each other especially when we all take the same course, we help each other with homework. I visualized that all groups/clubs members for any organization

America is a giant melting pot of races that brings a mixture of traditions and cultures. History informs us that societies are the result of collective contributions from the various social and ethnic groups (Times – News, 2008). The United States contains the most diverse combination of cultures in the Americas, due to the contributions made by all the native and foreign cultures embraced within this nation (Times – News, 2008). Hispanic roots composed of influence by settlers from Spain to Mexico and/or Latin America brought in to the United States by immigrants. Hispanics were present in this land before the birth of the United States (Times – News, 2008). The legacy of Spanish-speaking peoples has been uninterrupted throughout American

This week lecture topic was about Latino culture. The lecture was interesting, it pointed out that Hispanic and Latino make up approximately 16% of the U.S population and also that, A third of the population is under the age of 15. Something that had me thinking was the Hispanic Latino Culture article, it stated that, Hispanics in the United States includes any person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. Few days ago, I came across a clip-on YouTube that talked about how the census for the year 2020 will now offer Hispanic as an option for the race category. For myself, this was a great video that made me realize how some of their peers, or even themselves, don’t

The Latino culture takes a more monistic approach to the mind-body problem. This may affect the ways in which depression is experienced and expressed. For example, studies have found that Latinos are more likely to express psychological distress in somatic terms such as lack of energy, sleep disturbances, and body aches (Martinez Tyson, Castaneda, Porter, Quiroz, & Carrion, 2011). Additionally, studies find that Latinos are more likely to take a holistic approach to healing as evidenced by the principle of “mente sana en cuerpo sano y alma sana’ (healthy mind in healthy body and healthy soul) which communicates the strong connection between mind, body, and soul (Comas-Diaz, 2006). This suggests that a purely physical approach to therapy may not be well-received by the Latino client, and is supported by studies showing Latino patients feel apprehensive towards being treated with anti-depressants even when they have positive attitudes towards receiving treatment for depression (Cabassa, Lester, & Zayas, 2007). Understanding the client’s perception of the self is important in diagnosing and treating depression. Therefore, an effective therapist must be able to understand and incorporate the client’s worldview throughout the therapeutic process.

Culture is very important in a person's life, and even if you think that you are not that involved in your culture you are most likely wrong. The reason being that if you are Mexican, Hmong, Indian, African American, or even White, you may come home to a meal and, that meal may represent your culture. It may be tacos, rice, curry, ribs, corn, or who knows you might even come home to a cup of coffee from Star Bucks. My point is, You may not think that you are contributing to your culture, and that is okay but in a way you are contributing to your culture in many ways. Do you think that if no one thought that they contributed to their culture, that their culture would be different in a way?

I am apart of the Hispanic culture. In our family we were raised with numerous parts of this culture. We were raised with this culture because my mothers side of the family is Hispanic. There are many parts of a culture that can define you. Family, traditions, food, music, etc., can show who you and your family are culturally.

Hispanic cultures and population has experienced an immense growth in the past decade in the United States of America. In 2010 it is estimated that Hispanics cover 16 % of the population in The United States of America. A significant majority of Hispanics origin is in Mexico and the few Spanish speaking countries in the Caribbean. American culture is based from people who came from the European countries like Italy and the Great Britain. Cultural diversity is very important for every ethnic group as it shapes the culture of that particular group and therefore, certain cultures cannot realize their own values and beliefs until it has been exposed to another one.

To some people the word Latino can be very confusing, in the sense that there are many definitions of what is a “true” Latino and what certain groups consider themselves. Latinos come in all different shades, and might not even speak the same dialect of Spanish. Whether it be Latinos originating from Cuba, Honduras, Dominican Republic or Brazil, one thing we can argue is considering or associating yourself with being black or with your Afro roots is something that is not taken well in the Hispanic/Latino community. There is always a negative connotation about embracing your black roots or acknowledging the fact that majority of Hispanic/Latinos come from some sort of black/afro descent. This is especially seen in older generations and even within the generation now. Many people will argue that they are either mixed with European and Taino and completely forget about the other major component in their history.

Second, lifestyle between Latinos and American are different from each other because of physical condition, behavior, and marital status.

While America’s tongue speaks mostly English, the Spanish language can be found immensely spread across forty-five million people. In the American Southwest, while Hispanics may speak English, they maintain their tradition, their Raza, every day. Often times, this tradition is seen as a mixture of the two different languages better known as Spanglish. There is a large population of Chicanos and Mexicans in America, and it is important that they know and keep the customs and culture of their people. You can’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been. Hispanic Culture has had a major impact on America over each generation.

Hays and Erford state that “undocumented U.S. Latino/as are most likely to be shut from economic, educational and physical wellness, and that is not mentioning the stigma that comes being termed illegal; creating a stress from fear of deportation”(323). Being Mexican is hard all together. There are constant battles and discriminatory acts from individuals who feel superior to the Latino community. The racist remarks and common stereotypes make Latinos look superfluous within the American culture. As of now, Alejandro states that he has not been discriminated to his persona. On the other hand, he has seen discrimination to individuals of the same race. His personal oppression comes from his legal status. It is common for individuals of

United States is an example of the diversity cultures, but the majority is the Hispanic culture. The Hispanic culture has been growing up so fast in this country that currently White Americans does not want them here anymore. Most of White Americans has been debatable about the theme of Hispanics because the fact that they do not speak English, get more jobs than the white people does, taking money that they should not, and think that the Hispanics are bad persons because they could be drug dealers.