Hispanic Groups Living in the US - Essay Example

? Today, the Hispanics have become the fastest growing ethnic community in the United s (U.S). They are the second largest minority numbering, only next to the African Americans. The term Hispanic is not an ethnic description; instead it refers to native language and to cultural background. Within the group called Hispanics are peoples of diverse ethnic origins. They do share a common language heritage but have major differences otherwise. In this paper, we shall discuss the linguistic, political, social, economic, religious, and familial statuses of four Hispanic groups living in the U.S – Mexican Americans, Puerto Rican Americans, Cuban Americans, and the Dominican Americans. Mexican Americans The Mexican Americans comprise 64% of the Hispanic population and 14.5% of the total population in the United States. They live majorly in California, Texas, Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico (Smith, 2010). Their main language is Spanish although its use depends upon their area of origin, the length of time spent in U.S, and whether or not they were born here. However, the use of Spanish language has been constantly devalued and discouraged in U.S, especially in education centers. However, recently U.S gave recognition to Bilinguism, a system in which two or more languages could be used in the education centers and the schools. This system allows students to take instructions in English as well as their native language (Schaefer 2006, 234). However, educational discrepancy has made this community the most disadvantaged group in the U.S with an average household income that is more than 40% below the comparable average for the Non-Hispanic white (“Public Policy Institute of California,” 2002). Though, Mexicans traditionally held their families superior to any other relation in the society, their old view of gender differentiation and male dominance has been changing rapidly due to increasing assimilation in the American society and the gradual acceptance of the Anglo culture. However, the revival of the cultural roots of Mexicans was encouraged by the Chicano civil rights movement and various “Escualitas” (little schools); community cultural centers, artists and dance and theatre groups were started with the aim to preserve Spanish language, to study Mexican history and to present Mexican and Mexican American cultural traditions. Although, the majority of Mexicans are Roman Catholic, the Protestant Evangelical Christian movement is entering the Latino population at a fast rate. The church is a part and parcel of everyday life of the Mexican families, especially during the time of illness (Smith, 2010). On the business front, the Mexican Americans has proved their strength by establishing numerous taquerias (fast food eateries), restaurants, bakeries and tortillerias, and tienditas (small grocery stores that stock Mexican and other Latino ethnic foods) across the mainland. In addition, the propagation of various Spanish-language newspapers, radio stations, and television programs that are oriented towards Spanish-speaking audiences throughout the region is a strong indicator of their social and economic impact in the U.S (Compean, n.d). Puerto Ricans The status of the Puerto Ricans is unique from other Hispanics as they have been granted U.S citizenship in 1917 when Spanish ceded Puerto Rico to the U.S. They form the second largest national origin group constituting of 9.1% of all the Hispanics in U.S and slightly less than 1% of the total population. They have mostly settled down in New York, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. The Puerto Ricans predominantly use Castilian Spanish language although the younger generation is acquainted with English because of their long association with the U.S (“Pew Hispanic Centre” 2009, 1). According to a research in 2002, 39% of Puerto Ricans are English dominant, 40% are bilingual and 21% of them dominantly speak English (as cited in Schaefer 2006, 241). However, the pattern of migration and return migration has led to severe consequences – family breakups leading to rapid increase in the number of female headed households, high school dropouts resulting in low level of education, and high rates of dependency due to increase in marginalization of workers. In 2002, the average annual income of this community was $48687, with only 2% contributing to income with $ 100,000 or more. The high rates of school dropouts and difficulty in English speaking have become huge barriers in their economic progress (“National Puerto Ricans Coalition”, n.d). Moreover, the influence of America’s social organization has majorly devalued the extended family system of this community and accorded greater freedom to women and children (Green, n.d). The American culture also had a tremendous impact on the religious beliefs of the Puerto Ricans. The rate of Puerto Ricans identifying themselves as Catholics had reduced from 80% to 70% by mid 1990’s; the rest identify themselves as Protestants of different denominations. The people who practice Catholicism observe traditional church liturgy, rituals, and traditions including the belief in the Creed of the Apostles and adherence to the doctrine of papal infallibility. The grant of American citizenship has put the Puerto Ricans in great political advantage. Their role in politics has been rapidly increasing with three Puerto Ricans holding congress membership currently, hundreds of them holding positions in municipal and state legislations, local school boards and as mayors of cities and towns across the nation (Green, n.d). Cuban Americans The Cubans are the oldest, have higher level of education, higher average household income, high rate of home ownership in comparison to all the Hispanics in U.S. The first reason behind Cubans’ migration has been political – opposition to the Castro regime; second being economic deprivation. According to a survey in 2004, there are approximately 1.5 million Cubans in the U.S which makes 4% of the total Hispanic population across the nation (as cited in “Pew Hispanic centre” 2006, 2). Florida is home to two thirds of the Cubans, with 55% residing in Miami, Florida and 15% in the rest of Florida. The rest reside mainly in New Jersey, New York, California and Texas. The early immigrants of Cubans have achieved greater economic success since they are well educated and had professional or managerial background; the latter immigrants couldn’t being poor and less educated. However, most of the Cubans are well employed with 18% working as professionals or managers and more than one third working in technical, sales or administrative support positions. Some of them have even built profitable industries for example, in 1984 Cuban Americans headed a third of the Miami area private companies that returned sales of at least $12.5 million (Schaefer 2006, 247-248). The median household income for the Cubans’ is $38,000 higher than the other Hispanics ($36,000) and poverty rates lower than others although more than 33% still earn less than $20,000 per year. The Cubans have gradually accepted the Anglo culture leaving behind their earlier concept of extended families and god parents. 78% of the households account for nuclear families with 3.18 median average for the number of children (“Pew Hispanic Centre” 2006, 4). Women who never stepped out of the house now exert more authority over the house as they have started contributing to the household income and overall security and independence of the family. However, the Cubans are concerned about their children’s education and nearly 83% of them have received high education or any other form of education. Spanish is the main language spoken by the Cubans, although the Cuban Americans tend to be more of English speakers because of lack of Spanish speaking facility. Some of the Cuban Americans, nearly two fifths identify themselves as Roman Catholics although almost half of them don’t associate themselves with any religious affiliation. There are many powerful political organizations like the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) which aims to shape U.S policy towards Cuba and to oust Castro from Cuba. According to a survey in 1988, most Cuban Americans registered to vote and voted. They tend to have a positive attitude towards the federal government and have a willingness to advance their political views (as cited in Buffins, n.d). Dominican Americans The Dominicans have gradually begun to carve a separate identity as a community with a distinct culture but it has not been without many struggles. According to 2004 U.S census, there are 1,051,032 Dominicans out of the total of 35,305,818 Hispanics in United States. Dominicans are culturally attached to their roots and their main aim is to earn money in U.S and return to their native land. They refer themselves as Dominicans rather than Dominicans Americans, unlike other Hispanics. However, the Americans associate this community with poverty, crime, violence, drugs and lawlessness (as cited in Dr1.com, n.d). In the U.S, 22.7% of Dominicans hold white collar jobs, 18% lower blue collar jobs and 22.1% of foreign born Dominicans live in poverty. Most of the Dominicans reside in New York and New Jersey, and the rest mostly in Florida and Massachusetts. Spanish is their first language although increasing numbers also speak English to become competent for the U.S economy. The Dominicans used to give great importance to kin relationships but in U.S they have tended to become smaller and more nuclear. Almost half of the households were found to be headed by females (50%) and nearly the same number in poverty (45.7%) according to a survey done in 1999. Women have greater authority in families due to their contribution to the household income. The Dominicans have predominantly been Roman Catholics although there are notable and historic Protestants, Jewish and Afro-Christian religious communities as well. The U.S Dominican community has undertaken several vital political issues both in the U.S as well as in Dominican Republic. Education, the status of undocumented migrants in U.S, Citizenship status, and police violence are the main areas they have been continuously fighting for (Buffington, n.d). Conclusion After discussing the four groups of Hispanics it can be concluded that all the Hispanics have different thoughts and cultures along with some similarities. Though Spanish is the main language of all Hispanics, distinct phrases, pronunciations, vernacular speech are apparent in the dialect of different Hispanic groups. Though, family used to hold supreme importance for all the Latinos, the scenario has been constantly changing due to the influence of the Anglo culture and women exerting more authority on the family replacing male dominance. However, they have different political views for example, the Cubans align themselves with the Republican Party but the rest of the Hispanics, Mexican, Puerto Ricans and the Dominicans support the Democratic Party. Amongst these four groups of Hispanics, Puerto Ricans have the lowest level of income while Cubans have the highest. Moreover, the Puerto Ricans have been less successful economically compared to others and have the largest number of their people living below poverty. However, the Puerto Ricans have one advantage over the others – since they have been granted American citizenship since 1917, they don’t require visas to go back and forth between the U.S and their native land. As far religion is concerned almost all the Hispanics are Roman Catholics although the Cubans are not very religious like the other groups. Though all the Hispanic groups have some major difference, they have not been fully able to realize their dream of American security and prosperity due to difficultly in English speaking as well as racial discrimination. References Buffington, S.T. (n.d). Dominican Americans. In Countries and their Cultures. Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Bu-Dr/Dominican-Americans.html Buffins, S. (n.d). Cuban Americans. In Countries and their Cultures. Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Bu-Dr/Cuban-Americans.html Compean, M. (n.d). Cultural and Community Formation. In Mexican Americans in the Columbia Basin: Historical Overview. Retrieved from http://archive.vancouver.wsu.edu/crbeha/ma/ma.htm Dr1.com (n.d). Dominicans in America. Retrieved from http://dr1.com/articles/dominicans_1.shtml Green, D. (n.d). Puerto Rican Americans. In Countries and their Cultures. Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Pa-Sp/Puerto-Rican-Americans.html National Puerto Ricans Coalition, Inc. (n.d). The Puerto Rican Community: From Neighbors to Citizens. Retrieved from http://www.bateylink.org/community Pew Hispanic Centre (2006, August 25). Cubans in the United States. In Pewhispanic.org (p. 1- 2). Retrieved from http://pewhispanic.org/files/factsheets/23.pdf Pew Hispanic centre (2009, July 13). Hispanic’s of Puerto Rican Origin in the United States, 2007. In Pewhispanic.org (p. 1-2). Retrieved from http://pewhispanic.org/files/factsheets/48.pdf Public Policy Issue of California (2002, May). The Economic Progress of Mexican Americans. In Research Brief, (59). Retrieved from http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/rb/RB_502JGRB.pdf Schaefer, R.T. (2006). Hispanic Americans. In (10th ed.) Racial and Ethnic Groups (p. 234- 248). U.S, Prentice-Hall: Pearson Education, Inc. Smith, K.L. (2010). Cultural Diversity: Eating in America, Mexican American. In The Ohio State University Extension: Factsheet family and consumer sciences (p. 1-3). Retrieved from http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/pdf/5255.pdf Read More