Communication in Hispanic Culture When focusing in on communication within Hispanic culture, there are many things that easily go undetected. While explaining differences in communication with Hispanic families, Geri-Ann Galanti (2008) emphasizes the importance of familismo, which many people have never heard of. Familismo is the importance of immediate and extended families in all areas of life, especially communication. In the medical field, this means showing respect and including all family members in relevant conversations. One example Galanti (2008) uses is the gesture of a health care worker introducing herself to not only the prominent family member, but also the extended family members and children that are also present. This not only increased the level of comfort and trust between the health care worker and the family, but also opened up opportunities for further communication. Communication in the hospital is one of the most important steps, it is vital to be aware of the family and the extra effort that may be required in order to help everyone feel respected.
Space in Hispanic Culture When it comes to the Hispanic culture, personal space is usually not too important. Physical touch is held with a lot of value and in turn, most people do not have a lot of personal space. Same goes with the family, it is not uncommon for a few families to live in the same house and to share the same spaces. Because of this, there is a natural sense of
At my understanding, the term Hispanic is wrongly used when referring to a race. Being Hispanic is, of course, to belong to an ethnic group, but it is much more than that. It is not about the color of your skin or your hair, but about culture, tradition, and manners. All started with the Spanish and Portuguese colonization of South and Central America. From Europe came the adventurous men, full of ambitions and courage. These attributes blended with the strength and energy of African slaves and the Native Americans, and this mixture led to the born of this new culture that we called Hispanic.
Mexican-American culture has been characterized as a family-focused, community-oriented culture. Even second and third-generation Mexican-Americans place a higher value upon their relationships with others versus personal autonomy, in contrast with the dominant values of the United States. Living in extended family situations, or being influenced by extended family is much more common in Mexican culture than in other cultures. The core values of Mexican culture are said to be "familismo, personalismo, and respeto. Familismo involves placing the family ahead of individual interests, living near extended family, making collective decisions that involve one or more members of the family, and feeling responsible for and obligated to the family...Personalismo involves the building and valuing of interpersonal relationships...Respeto refers to the high regard for family and community members, especially for authority figures and the elderly" (Neff, Brabeck, Kearney 2006).
Frequently, we do not put too much attention to our own cultural values and traditions until we are exposed to a different culture, and start comparing. In order to have a more productive and fruitful life I believe we need to become more self-aware and more sensitive to the culturally and ethnically diverse community we live in. Two cultures that have been sharing the same living space for centuries are the Hispanic and American culture. In this paper I would be analyzing each culture giving a brief background and pointing out some aspects in how they differ, like the perception of time, family, orientation, and others. American culture has a couple of aspects in which it differs from the Hispanic culture, which for the
Latino Americans are facing issues with their identity because of their ethnic and racial backgrounds due to our education institutions in America. These issues result in a separation of their American and Latino culture creating two different identities but not enough of American or Latino identity to fully feel part of either culture.
The Hispanic culture has different values, beliefs, and traditions. Family is highly value. Family is a close-knit group and the most important social group to gather in any events or special days. The Hispanic “family unit” includes not only parents and children but also grandparents and extended family. Individuals within the family have moral responsibilities to help other members of the family experiencing financial problems, unemployment, health conditions and any other life issues. They show the importance placed upon relationship within their family extending a hand in good times and bad. Respeto y dignidad (respect and dignity) are other important values of the Hispanic culture. Children’s are taught to avoid confrontations with parents and older persons, and to be obedient and respectful. The Hispanics believe that the father is head of the family and the mother is to take care of home. Naming children after grandparents and parents is fairly common. A well-known tradition is the celebration of a fifteen year old girl called Quincenera. Hispanics culture and traditions are based around celebrating and spending time with love ones.
As I begin this essay comparing two separate cultures I feel it is necessary to first describe what exactly culture is. Culture has been called "the way of life for an entire society." It includes codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, norms of behavior such as law and morality, and systems of belief.
Hispanic's face many struggles in their lives that is why the word family is so strong. The theme of family comes in when the father leaves. They had to learn how to take care of each other and help out around the house. Even though the bond between them isn't very strong, they will always have their family come first. This is shown when the father comes back and Wilfredo tries to get into Yuniors family business. Rafa becomes infuriated of the fact that Yunior was going to tell Wilfredo about their problems. "Hey, Sinbad, Wilfredo said, his head appearing in our window. What's going on? My father wrote us a letter! Rafa rapped me on the side of the head. This is a family affair, Yunior. Don't blab it all over the place."(Diaz 81) Culture identity is not known until you find a place with your family. Yunior wasn't aware of this and since his family was poor he kept on moving around going from one house to another. Yunior also didn't want to be himself; he was always following in the footsteps of Rafa. All these themes sum up the Latin Experience. If you are Hispanic most of these problems you have faced already or will face in the future.
All cultures are different and influence how we develop as adults. In my Mexican American culture many virtues of strength, courage, and hope has been passed on. Growing up in an environment where financial hardship prevailed I was still able to observe how my parents had hopeful attitudes, loved, had patience, and kindness toward others. Our strong family unity brought me comfort and confidence in knowing I had their support and guidance. The qualities my family passed on to me are hope, love, patience, kindness, respect, caring, and most significant being helpful. Culture and family engraved in my thoughts that hard work pays off and to uncover meaning in life one must persevere in education and thrive to support those struggling. Life has given me the opportunities to practice many qualities and I’ve learned they are to cherish. They have molded my character somewhat in that, as the years passed, I adapted and applied them. My intent is to keep the principles imparted to me and with a positive attitude, carry myself with might and bravery as I travel forward in life.
For the cultural immersion project, I decided to study Hispanics because they have a very rich, diverse culture, and I enjoy listening to their music. Also, I felt like this group of people deals with many stereotypes, especially with the media portraying negative images of countries like Mexico. Initially, I felt that this culture would be very bold and outgoing. I assumed that they placed a higher value on relationships and hard work rather than education. In order to observe them, I went to the Fiesta Market in Bolingbrook. First, I observed the workers. They would lift crates and boxes without any hassles. While working, they seemed to cooperate well as a team. The workers seemed to enjoy engaging in interpersonal communication as compared
| The attitudes and customs of Hispanics have a major presence on music, food, holidays, dance, and arts here in the United States. The Hispanic families in the United States are traditionally close-knit groups, and Spanish speakers are quite formal toward each other when speaking.
This is a narrative of one Mexican American woman’s experiences and her views on the importance of passing down the cultural beliefs of her ancestors. In the section of the country in which I live there is a large population within the community of Mexican American culture. Although I have frequent contact with people of Mexican American heritage either through employment or interaction out in the community, I have a limited understanding of their culture. For this reason, I chose to learn more about the population of people I have frequent contact with and as a professional work with as clients in the field of mental health counseling. The quest of finding someone knowledgeable to discuss the population, their cultural background and some of their necessities, as well as some past experiences, led me towards contacting a church. This took calling two different churches before the person at the second church informed me that I needed to speak with, Mrs. Socorro Garcia head of their Hispanic Ministries. Unfortunately, Mrs. Garcia was on vacation when I called, but I was able to speak with her over the phone the following week, setting up an interview in person at her office a couple days later. This was a relief because I was becoming concerned about locating someone for a personal interview.
In Latin American culture the most important unit of the social structure is the family. The most important unit within the family is the oldest male of the house, which generally is the father or grandfather. In Latin American culture, the degree of social stratification is very high. The social mobility is very limited due that the Latin American society is merely classis. This classis is based on race and ethnicity. Latin American might be considered as multilingual; nevertheless Spanish is predominant in most countries. Latin American language was influenced by the Spanish and Portuguese conquerors, native Indians, the African slaves, the immigrants communities of World War I and II.
There were a range of interactions observed between staff, patients and families/carers within the department as noted in appendix 2 sections 5-8. A central touch point was interactions with the department’s reception staff.
Develop an alliance by using caring gestures to the family. Asking caring, sensitive and perceptive questions convey sincere concern for the patient and will help develop trust with the family
The Mexican culture is very family centered. The extended family is just as important as the immediate family and provides stability within. The