Hispanic Diversity

Hispanic American Diversity

Chris Watkins

AXIA College

ETH/125 Cultural Diversity

Daniel Henke

2-25-07

The United States is a nation of immigrants; the various cultures that now call America home have each brought their unique strengths and perspectives with them. This paper considers four groups of Hispanics living in the U.S.: Mexican-Americans, Cuban-Americans, Puerto Ricans and Latinos and aspects of each culture.

Mexican-Americans make up approximately 64% of the Hispanic population in the United States; they are concentrated mostly in the Southwest, though there are sizeable populations in Chicago, Florida and North Carolina (Mexican American, 2006). Because of the proximity of several population centers to Mexico, Mexican Americans have been able to maintain "the Spanish language to a degree not possible for other immigrant groups" (Mexican American, 2006).

Politically, this group tends to stay away from the polls, but when the do vote, they tend to vote for Democrats. "In the 2004 presidential election, in the western states, exit polls showed that "Latinos" (nearly all Mexican Americans) comprised 13% of all voters. They split 39% for Bush and 58% for Kerry"; in California the split was "32% for Bush and 63% for Kerry"Ð'--a landslide for the Democrat. Even in Texas Kerry won this group, though only by 2% of the vote (Mexican American, 2006). While they vote Democratic, they tend to be "conservative on social issues, such as abortion and homosexuality, and show strong loyalties to the traditional version of the Roman Catholic Church" though there are a growing number of non-Catholics in the population (Mexican American, 2006).

The family unit "is the single most important social unit in the life of Hispanics. Family responsibilities come before all other responsibilities Ð'... The father is the leader of the family, and the mother runs the household, shops, and prepares the food" (Warrix). While this is slowly changing, Mexican American households still tend to be male-dominated (Warrix).

Economically, in those areas where there is a significant Mexican American presence, they "almost exclusively occupy most blue-collar occupations, such as restaurant workers, janitors, truck drivers, gardeners, construction laborers, material moving workers, and other manual labor (Mexican American, 2006). In many places, "blue-collar workers are often assumed to be Mexican Americans" whether they are or not; this has led to tension between Mexican Americans and other ethnic groups (Mexican American, 2006). It also means that in general, this group has a lower standard of living than Anglos.

Cuban-Americans by and large have settled in Florida, Miami in particular, and assimilated into mainstream American culture (Cuban American, 2006). The island's heritage is a mix of Spanish and African; the language is Spanish, but once Cubans emigrate, they learn English.

This group is very different from the others, because they are in a sense exiles from their home, having fled from Castro and his communist government. Thus, they are wary of anyone who tries to seek rapprochement with Cuba and tend to prefer hard-liners; they generally tend to vote Republican, the only Hispanic group that does (Cuban American, 2006). In addition, they have experienced significant economic success that has given them a degree of political "clout" the other groups lack (Oliver). They generally enjoy higher economic status than the other Hispanic groups.

They are predominantly Catholic, though there are other denominations gaining strength, particularly in the immigrants in America (Cuban American, 2006). Like the others, family ties are extremely important, particularly as they often stretch back to those left behind in Cuba.

Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States, meaning that Puerto Ricans are statutory U.S. citizens by birth and can travel easily from Puerto Rico to the U.S. and back (Puerto Rican, 2006). The official languages of the island are Spanish and English; Spanish is the primary language of government; English is taught as a second language (Puerto Rican, 2006).

Puerto Rican immigrants tend to settle in the East, particularly New York City where "there was an already an already established Hispanic community with Spanish language newspapers, television, clubs, foods, etcetera" (Puerto Rican, 2006). Economically, the Puerto Rican society is vibrant despite being very poor: the neighborhood known as Spanish Harlem is especially lively: "They may have been poverty stricken, but most were far from depressed. People would listen to salsa music and cook typical Puerto Rican foods Ð'... Old men played dominoes in front of Puerto Rican bars. Families sat on stoops and talked and laughed" (Puerto Rican, 2006).

As in the other Hispanic groups, there is a strong commitment to family, and few tend to live alone; 44% of Puerto Rican households consist of four or more members (Santiago-Rivera, 2003). However, the "divorced and separated percentages are higher among Puerto Ricans (15%) than non-Latino Whites (11%) and all other Latino groups Ð'... The higher divorce and separation percentages also are associated with a higher percentage of Puerto Rican women heading a household with no spouses present Ð'... in comparison to all other Latino groups" (Santiago-Rivera, 2003).

Puerto Ricans are "85% Catholic" although "there is a strong Protestant community. These are mainly Pentecostal or Seventh Day Adventist" (Puerto Rican, 2006). There is also a great deal of interest in the "mix between spiritualism and Catholicism" (Puerto Rican, 2006).

One issue has dominated Puerto Rican politics for the last 50 years: the status of the island with regard to the United States (Puerto Rico, 2006). "A Commonwealth associated to the US since 1952, Puerto Rico today is torn by profound ideological rifts, as represented by its political parties, which stand for the current