History and Culture of Hispanic Americans - Case Study Example

? Running head: Hispanic American paper Outline Introduction The Hispanic Ancestry The Relationship of Interviewees within the "Distributive System" in the United States Discrimination and Stereotypes and how they impact upon their Social Interaction My Experience in Relating to Members of the Hispanic Americans Introduction Hispanic Americans are either inhabitants of one of the Spanish America countries or citizens or residents in the United States from a Hispanic ancestry. The federal government coined the term in the 1970’s to refer to the persons referred to above. Hispanics constitutes people from many countries and ethnic groups such as Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban. They therefore represent different experiences in terms of social, political and emotional aspects. Further, even though they are generally referred to as Hispanic or Latino, they perceive themselves as members of their individual ethnic identity. (Bonilla-Silva, 2009) The Hispanic Ancestry The history of the Hispanics in the U.S. can be traced to colonialism by Spain of what is now the American Southwest from the 16th century onward. Therefore, before there was New England, there was New Spain. Further, Southwest, from Texas westward to California, was a Spanish-speaking territory with its own distinctive heritage, culture, and customs for many decades. This was as a result of the Mexican War leading to the Spanish-speaking citizens incorporated into the United States, who to be called Mexican Americans. Ever since, their numbers have increased due to immigration. Other Spanish-speaking citizens of the U.S. came from Cuba and Puerto Rico but there are also smaller numbers of immigrants from Central and South America and from the Dominican Republic. (Bonilla-Silva, 2009) The Hispanics or Latinos now form the fastest-growing and the second largest ethnic minority in the United States taking after the African Americans. Majority of the Hispanics trace their origin to Mexico thus constituting about 60% of their population. Majority of the Mexican Americans make their homes in five Southwestern states namely Texas, California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado. Texas and California account for more than half of the total Hispanic population in the United States. Most Puerto Ricans residing in the United States are in the New York City and New Jersey while most Cuban Hispanics reside in Florida, Miami and Chicago. Puerto Ricans are citizens of the United States by birth, whether they were born in their homeland or in the United States. This is by virtue of the Spanish-American War of 1917 whereby Puerto Rico became a possession of the United States. Therefore, Puerto Ricans go back and forth between the island and the mainland without visas or passports unlike the rest of the Hispanics who must enter the country as immigrants with alien status and thereafter must apply for citizenship just like other immigrants. The Hispanics, especially the Mexicans and Puerto Ricans immigrated to the U.S. to escape poverty and to have a better life due to available economic opportunities in the country. Others immigrated due to political reasons especially after Fidel Castro became the president of Cuba. (Bonilla-Silva, 2009) Mexican Americans They trace their origin to more than four centuries ago when Spain conquered Mexico which was initially inhabited exclusively by Indians and made it a colony. They are the second oldest component of American society. Their history can be divided into five distinct periods. During the first era, from 1520 until 1809, there was the Spanish conquest culminating into synthesis of Spanish and Indian cultures and the Southwest of the present-day United States was added to Mexico. During the second era, from 1810 until 1848, the Southwest was part of an independent Mexico but was captured back by the US during the Mexican War of 1846-1848. Consequently, they entered into the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, in which the United States promised to protect the rights of Mexican Americans in the newly won territories. The Mexican Americans were however economically exploited and their land was taken between 1849 until 1910 when the third era began. It was marked by massive legal and illegal emigration from Mexico which has continued to date. Majority however returned to Mexico during the Great Depression of the 1930s. During the fourth era, from 1910 until 1939, they remained largely unassimilated, rural, poor, and Spanish speaking because they were forgotten due to the depression and World War II. The fifth era is the current period which began about 1940 and in the 1960s they became vocal in civil rights movements and they adopted mostly urban way of life. In the 1990s they ventured into the political and economic realms of life. They became migrant laborers in Texas and California by the end of World War I. In 1942, US and Mexico entered into an agreement called the Mexican Farm Labor Supply (bracero) Program which means "day laborer." It lasted till 1964 thus bringing in more immigrants but illegal immigrants kept coming in. Puerto Ricans They have lived in the mainland United States since at least the 1830s when there was trade between the island and New York City leading to some immigration. The Spanish-American War made the island a US possession and the Jones Act, 1917 conferred citizenship on all Puerto Ricans. Consequently, several thousand residents moved to the mainland. They migrated for economic reasons after World War II which was also facilitated by affordable flight expenses. They migrated to and from the island depending on the economic conditions of the mainland and island. Majority immigrated to the mainland in the 1980s due to poor economic conditions in the island. Cubans After Fidel Castro overthrew the Cuban dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista in January 1959, its relations with the US deteriorated and Castro confiscated property belonging to American companies and established close ties with the Soviet Union. In 1961 the President John F. Kennedy's administration, invaded the southwestern coast of Cuba at a place called the Bay of Pigs in a flawed attempt to overthrow Castro. This led to immigration from Cuba by those who thought his regime to be short term. Further, Cuba had enjoyed worldwide market for its cigars but it was later flawed with strikes and the Great depression thus resulting to workers immigrating to the US. Majority of the immigrants are the poor and at first they had to escape, then later some were allowed to leave by the Cuban government. However the numbers were reduced by the Refugee Act of 1980. The Relationship of Interviewees within the "Distributive System" in the United States Majority of the Hispanics form part of the electorate as they are entitled to vote for those who are legal immigrants. They form part of the working class as they are employed in the lower ranks of employment and are accorded below average salaries and wages. They work in industries based on their physical labor with an hourly wage. Those born in the US earn more and fall under the middle and upper-class segments more than most recently arriving immigrants as they are from lower classes thus they get employed in lower skilled jobs. Those who are professionals make the transition through re-training and re-adjusting to conform to US laws. They take up low-paying jobs which Americans are not interested in thus increasing the profit margins of their employers. Among Hispanics, Puerto Ricans have been less successful economically than Mexicans or Cubans due to lower levels of education and a lack of proficiency in the English language. Hispanics are however active in the fields of entertainment, sports, politics, science, business and education. Their food, dances and music are appreciated and accepted by the general public. They are still under-represented in American political institutions despite shaping even presidential elections since together they comprise over half of the electoral vote majority needed for election to the presidency. They cannot vote as one bloc as the youth of the population but the Cubans have overcome this thus they are more active in politics than the rest. Further, majority are not yet US citizens, are poor thus have poor levels of education and they have diversity amongst themselves based on regional, socioeconomic, cultural, religious, and racial differences. Discrimination and Stereotypes and how they impact upon their Social Interaction Hispanics have experienced some form of discrimination especially outside Texas and New Mexico. They face discrimination based on their ethnicity, race, culture, poverty, and the use of the Spanish language. For instance, the US- Mexican border which is the largest in the world separates abject poverty from affluence thus denying the Mexicans a chance to the coveted good life. They are the subject of widespread immigration raids and are victims of crimes motivated by a bias toward the victims’ ethnicity or national origin due to anti-illegal immigration concerns. (Bonilla-Silva, 2009) The US claims to be diverse but does not share the culture of the Hispanics and instead they still remain segregated in particular cities away from people of other ethnic background. They form a significant portion of the US labor force but they still face high levels of discrimination than other minorities. They are the worst hit as the economy worsens and job losses mount. This affects their job performance due to lack of motivation and feeling hopeless and it also increases turnover, and undermines economic growth. Stereotypes about the Hispanics are often manifested in the US mass media, literature, theater and other creative expressions, which is replicated in daily interactions and in current events. Typical stereotypes alluded to the Hispanics include: the Greaser, the Lazy Mexican, the Latin Lover, the Mamacita, maids, slum dwellers, drug addicts, gang bangers, feisty Latinas, the Mexican Spitfire, and the Exotica. Hispanic Americans are considered to prefer welfare to employment, and to be lazy, violence-prone, greasy, taco. Cactus, poor, sombrero, mules, lots of children, chicken farmers, tequila, migrant workers, illegal aliens, chips-n-dip, pollution, ponchos, limited variety of food, markets gangs, cameros, shiftless, lawless, immoral, field workers, unintelligent and unpatriotic. Their contributions culturally, economically, and historically have never been properly documented or appreciated. (Bonilla-Silva, 2009) This has led to their exploitation since time immemorial as they are considered cheap and expendable labor. Their land was once taken from them and they were thought of as lesser humans. Violence has always been propagated against them including lynching when they were successful in mining business in California. There have been laws targeting them such as the anti-vagrancy statute of 1855 commonly known as The Greaser Act. My Experience in Relating to Members of the Hispanic Americans I interviewed three persons each from the Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban dissent. The Hispanics of the working class were at first intimidated by my interaction with them but later they became comfortable around me after forming a rapport with them. However, those who belong to the middle class, upper- middle class, professionals, managers, entrepreneurs, skilled workers and technicians were freer to share the information they possessed with a lot of ease. All in all, it was a successful exercise as I managed to get the relevant information without much ado. Cited Work Eduardo Bonilla-Silva. (2009). Racism without racists: Color-blind racism and the persistence of racially inequality in the United States. 3rd ed. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Read More