Category: Hispanic

The largest minority in the United States are Hispanics. They have many traditions within their culture. There is a predisposition to paternalism within this culture as well as an imbalance in health professional relationships. Due to their underdeveloped economics, they have a high rate of infectious diseases as well as chronic diseases (Valdez-Martínez et al., 2008).

With the leading cause of death in this population being cancer and cardiovascular disease, the Affordable Care Act has helped them to gain access to healthcare services to treat or help prevent these diseases. There are still a few limitations that cause a challenge, these are due to health literacy, cultural sensitivity, and lack of Hispanic providers. Hispanics do not routinely have health screenings or follow up with their doctors, causing more healthcare barriers (J. Ahnquist et al., 2016).

Hispanic Ancestry

When it comes to Hispanic families, they are close to each other and more than willing to help when help is needed. Sometimes there are a few generations that all live in the same house to help care for one another. The husband is the one who goes to work to earn money while the mother stays at home being a ‘housewife’ caring for the kids and taking care of the house. The male is the authoritative one in the family; therefore, the wife and children are both submissive. If the wife were to have a job, they still must implement their household duties. While this is how it used to be, nowadays it is common for the male and female to share equal power within the relationship (Clark, 2019).

Health Concerns for Hispanics

Per the national vital statistic statement, for the Hispanic population, cancer is the dominant cause of death with cardiovascular disease ranking as the second prevailing disease to cause death. Cardiovascular risk factors including obesity, hypertension, tobacco use, dyslipidemia, and diabetes, in no specific order. Most trials that are completed have non-Hispanic whites as their population of subjects, therefore they do not fully represent this population related to medical problems. In addition to the above-stated health concerns, they also have a higher rate of obesity as well as diabetes (Avilés-Santa et al., 2017).

As a result of Hispanic mothers having a low income, the choices of food these mothers provide for their children usually are low in nutrition and are calorie-dense choices leading to childhood obesity as well as type 2 diabetes. When it comes to Hispanics who have lower-income, “They have family and social responsibilities that supersede their health, and historically speaking, they’re usually being diagnosed in an emergency care situation, so prevention is not on their radar” (Bauer et al., 2017). With the chances of them not being able to afford health insurance to treat these diagnoses, they must learn how to take control of eating fewer foods that are full of oils and high carbs. If children are brought up eating unhealthy foods, they are more likely to continue this eating habit in their later years increasing the chances of acquiring both illnesses.

When it comes to healthcare, Hispanics use the holistic healing system known as ‘Curanderismo’. With the help of curanderos (male) or curanderas (female), herbal remedies are used to help fight off diseases that are caused by either a hex, curse or mal de ojo (the evil eye). There are three different specialties within this healing system. There is the ‘yerbero’ who uses herbal remedies to heal, the ‘partera’, known as a midwife who helps women who are trying to or trying not to get pregnant, and then the ‘sobradores’ who specialize in massage therapy to help with healing. No matter the specialization, most curanderas strive to diagnose illnesses on the spiritual, physical, and emotional levels (Wigington, 2020).

Impact on Nursing

With some Hispanics having a low income, they might be leery to come in to see health care providers due to the cost of paying out of pocket and not having medical insurance. With all the resources that are out there, we can refer them to outside sources to help if they are not able to afford something the doctor may have ordered. By being fair no matter the situation, this will help them to feel comfortable and want to learn how they can better themselves or care for their illness.

Culturally Competent Care

Being aware of how the patient communicates is the first element to figure out. If they know English, but it is limited, it is best to obtain a professional translator (not a family member) to help translate the medical issues they have come in for. By using a translator, and not a family member, they will be sure that nothing gets misconstrued, and they understand it exactly as it will be happening.

By speaking with the patient, understanding their views on culture and religious practices, this will help to gain a good rapport with the patient because they will know that you care about their views. Their culture may include giving someone or multiple people in their family an update on them if they are not there with them at that current time. With their culture being family-oriented, this is something you should ask to make them feel at ease. They also use herbal remedies, so making sure to explain to them the use of some medications and herbs can contraindicate each other or cause adverse side effects.

With cardiovascular disease being prominent in the Hispanic culture, being sure to inform them of a healthy diet of eating fewer carbs and oils can help to inhibit this or prevent it from getting worse. With this disease, obesity, as well as diabetes, are a side factor that can come in to play. So being sure to educate them on signs and symptoms of diabetes or doing an HGA1C as a check-up to see how their glucose level is to diagnose or help treat can be a big help for their health.

Promoting whole health wellness for preventing Nutrition-related illnesses and diseases among Hispanic residents of Silver Spring in Montgomery County MD

Background

Montgomery County is located adjacent to the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., and includes 497 square miles of land area. It is Maryland’s most populous jurisdiction and its most affluent. cities in this county are: Aspen Hill, Glenmont, Wheaton, Layhill, Olney, Leisure World, Silver Spring, and Cloverly.

As of July 1st, 2018, the U.S Census Bureau estimated the population base to be 71, 452. “The median age is 34.3, median household income is 72,887, the poverty rate is 11.7%, and the number of people employed is 44,796. Of this total population, 76.3% are citizens. The racial groups in Silver Spring are 26,997 Whites which is 34.9% of the total population, 22,318 are Hispanics which is 28.8%, 19,491 are blacks which is 25.1%, 6,160 Asian that is 7.95%, and 2,140 are two or more races that is 2.76%.”1 The most common foreign languages spoken in Silver Spring are Spanish which is spoken by 17,803 residents, African languages spoken by 5,335 residents, and French spoken by 2,475 residents.

“30.2% of the population in Silver Spring are native-born and 38.3% are foreign-born. The birthplace for the foreign-born residents in Silver Spring are El Salvador, followed by Ethiopians, and then Guatemala. 11.7% of the population in Silver Spring live below the poverty line which is a number lower than the national average of 14.7%. The highest demographic of people living in poverty are females aged 25-34 followed by males 18-24, and then females 18-24.”1

The individuals from this populace are faced with chief socio-economic challenges; and, many are challenged with life-changing health disparities. Research indicated that many of these individuals are of Hispanic/Latino ethnicity. In Montgomery County, the largest race or ethnicity living in poverty is Hispanic or Latino, followed by unknown races, and then whites. Between “2014 and 2015, the employment in Silver Spring grew from 44,139 to 44,795 which is at a rate of 1.49%.”1

The focus group for this project is located at Sargent Shriver Elementary School in Silver Spring, Montgomery County Maryland. “There are 755 students currently enrolled in a diversified culture consisting of Whites, Hispanics, Blacks, American Indians, Pacific Islanders, and two or more races.”3 Of this total number of students, 563 or 74.6% are Hispanics with the largest segment of enrolled students. This school has a drastically diversified ethnic distribution. There are 49% males and 51% females enrolled in this school.

The majority of students at this school receive free lunches, as 81.6% of students participate in the National School Lunch Program. In order to qualify for lunch, a student’s family income needs to be below $15,171; which, is below the poverty line. 64.5% of students at this school receive free lunch indicating the parent’s low-income levels.

Within this focus group, Diabetes and Heart Disease are the two main illnesses affecting these Hispanic residents of Silver Spring MD. They are also affected by: Obesity, Malnutrition, High blood pressure, Asthma, flu, and Depression. This population is not privy to immediate medical attention due to a lack of insurance and low income. To suffice, they use customs, that they believe will help cure their illnesses and or diseases. They use alternative therapies and their beliefs in traditional folk cures. Many Latinos are accustomed to self-treating because most pharmaceutical products are available without prescription in their home countries.

Patients may seek out the care of brujos or brujas (wizards or witches) for the treatment of some diseases or conditions. Other healing specialties include gerberas (herbalists), hueseros (bone setters), parteras (midwives), and sobadores (similar to physical therapists). Various symptoms are often interpreted differently based on cultural presuppositions. For example, abdominal pain may be attributed to empacho, or food stuck in the intestine. A child’s failure to thrive may be attributed to mal de ojo (“evil eye”) or, a hex that is conveyed by an envious glance. Therapies for these conditions are usually odd but most are harmless.

Herbal therapies play a major role in Latino folk medicine; as such, knowing the Hispanic/Latino names of common herbs can be helpful. It is often possible to safely accommodate conventional and alternative treatments if potential conflicts or interactions are identified in advance. Physicians and health professionals may use web-based resources as well as patient interviews to assist them in understanding Hispanic/Latino health beliefs; in order to promote whole health wellness and encourage a life free from nutrition-related illnesses and diseases.

Healthy People 2020 seeks to have a society in which all people live long, healthy lives. “The overarching goals of Healthy People 2020 are to: attain high-quality, longer lives free of preventable disease, disability, injury, and premature death; achieve health equity, eliminate disparities, and improve the health of all groups; create social and physical environments that promote good health for all; and promote quality of life, healthy development, and healthy behaviors across all life stages.”2

The Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) Report of 2016, identified 63 strategies to address the existing Healthy Montgomery priority issues of obesity, behavioral health, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancers, and maternal and infant health. These strategies are derived from the key findings of the qualitative data, quantitative data, community resources, and evidence-based strategies. In addition, “the strategies were considered within the framework of Healthy Montgomery’s goals of achieving health equity for all residents; improving access to health and social services; and enhancing the physical and social environment to support optimal health and well-being and reduce unhealthful behaviors.”2 When paired with proper education, nutrition programs can help citizens in under-resourced areas make better choices about the food they eat, helping to contribute to a healthier lifestyle and an enhanced quality of life. Hence, the main intended purposes of my internship.

During my internship, I intend to identify and evaluate the social, cultural/religious, and environmental inhibitors that contribute to nutrition-related illnesses and diseases among Hispanic residents of Silver Spring in Montgomery County Maryland. I intend to create a curriculum for preventing nutrition-related diseases/illnesses and promote whole health wellness within this populace.

Objectives

1. By March 2019, conduct a community-based assessment via archival data and personal surveys on the main contributing factors of nutrition-related illnesses and diseases among Hispanic residents of Montgomery County.
2. By the end of April 2019, identify and compile resource packets for low-income, unemployed and under-insured residents to promote nutritional whole health wellness and decrease nutrition-related illnesses and diseases among Hispanic residents of Montgomery County, as measured by a PowerPoint Presentation.
3. By the end of the practicum, develop and deliver instruction via a health fair with International HELP, develop cultural and religious sensitive learning material (pamphlet) for promoting nutritional whole health wellness among Hispanic residents of Montgomery County.

Within this setting, the support and guidance for the framework of this study will aid in molding and developing my skill as a Public Health Professional. This is based on the core foundational competencies for Public Health. The Public Health Foundation identifies the competencies as “The set of skills used in the broad practice of public health by healthcare professionals that were developed by the Council of Linkages.”4 They are categorized into three tiers and eight domains. The competencies that will be utilized in supporting the approach taken by this study are from the first domain – The Analytical/Assessment Skills and the Cultural Competency Skills that focus on understanding and responding to diverse needs, assessing organizational cultural diversity and competence, assessing effects of policies and programs on different populations, and taking action to support a diverse public health workforce.

The underlying approach for this project is therefore meant to skillfully analyze and assess the nutritional inhibitors of the focus group and provide culturally sensitive and relevant healthful information for promoting and possibly achieving optimal health.

Methods

Objective 1: Community-Based Assessment.

Hispanics are the second largest minority group in Maryland, accounting for 9.5% of the state’s population. Approximately 35% of the state’s Latino population resides in Montgomery County, significantly exceeding all other jurisdictions. This population is also largely affected by Nutrition- related illnesses and diseases because of the social, environmental, psychological, and economic implications surrounding where they reside. Objective one aims to use archival data and personal surveys to identify the main contributing factors of nutrition-related illnesses and diseases among Hispanic residents of Montgomery County. As such, members of the research team of International HELP entered into a partnership with the Sergeant Shriver Elementary school based on the fact that data suggested that “The leading causes of death in the County were cancer (24%), heart disease (22%), cerebrovascular disease (5%), accidents (4%), and chronic lower respiratory disease (3%).”4

A focus group was chosen as a representation of Montgomery County’s population, to conduct the research and to respond to questionnaires based on their health practices. Consequently, it was determined that the research would focus on: Diabetes, Hypertension (High Blood Pressure), Childhood Nutrition (Obesity), Maternal Health, Mental Health, Accessing Community Resources (such as Medicaid and health/dental care); as well as, the implications surrounding having little or no health literacy skills.

To gain an understanding of the statistical background of the county and its residents, relevant archival studies were identified. Guided by the framework, literature on comprehensive Hispanic health review were searched, and documents in electronic databases, government websites and agencies, and civil society organizations addressing Hispanic health were also searched. Information considered to be of significance was chosen and used for the purposes of this research.

“For this research, a design based on complementary assistance of research methods was used. Complementary assistance uses mixed methods to integrate the strengths of each, as one method can enhance the other and allows for greater creativity and adaptability in studies in real-world conditions.”5, 6 According to Morgan, “Complementarity is a likely strategy for health researchers because the strengths of different methods help address the complexity of health research topics which often have dual goals—pure research as well as applications for practitioners.”4

Qualitative data gathered from the exploratory focus group and individual interviews were used to determine and explain the factors that influence food-related choices, behaviors, inaccessibility to resources, lack of access to community resources as well as limited nutrition education for the residents of Montgomery County MD. This information was supplemented and expanded with data from personal surveys. This provided the opportunity for gathering data on the frequency of these factors in a more representative cross-section of the focus group/ target population. These results guided the design and development of the intervention materials; which, were then confirmed with additional qualitative research.

Objective 2: Compiling Resource Packets.

The information researched and compiled from archival data as well as interviews and contributing surveys; were used to assemble the resource packets as per objective 2. The focus of objective 2 was to: identify and compile resource packets for low-income, unemployed, and under-insured residents to promote nutritional whole health wellness; and, decrease nutrition-related illnesses and diseases among Hispanic residents of Montgomery County, as measured by a PowerPoint Presentation.

The first step for creating the lessons, handouts, and PowerPoint presentations integrated one of the chief foundational competencies of public health. This included the assessment of the social, cultural/religious, and environmental inhibitors that contribute to nutrition-related illnesses and diseases among residents of Montgomery County. It was imperative in order to ensure the content was relevant to the needs and setting of the community.

The second step included having a discussion with the practicum preceptor to determine what specific educational information was required in the lessons, handouts, and PowerPoint presentations. It was determined that 5 lessons were to be created. Each was to focus on a different topic as they pertained to Diabetes, Hypertension, Maternal Health, Mental health, and Childhood Nutrition. The lesson plans were to be concise with bulleted points since participants in the impending heath fair were not as proficient in English Language and were of limited educational backgrounds. See figure 2.

Figure 2.

The handouts that were to be made were to be of similar nature in terms of quality and quantity; but, with a little more added to the content. They were to be visually appealing and easy for participants to comprehend. See figure 2.2.

Figure 2.2

Information about Nutrition-related illnesses and diseases among Hispanic residents of Silver Spring in Montgomery County MD was researched using peer-reviewed sources from government databases and via other archival mediums. The research included information pertaining to Diabetes, Hypertension (High Blood Pressure), Childhood Nutrition, Maternal Health, Mental Health, Accessing Community Resources (such as Medicaid and health/dental care); and, having little or no health literacy skills as per the focus group and the populace at hand. Additionally, PowerPoints were to be created on each topic and presented at the upcoming health fair.

Each set of learning material was created and presented for evaluation to be done by the preceptor and program coordinating team members. The materials were both created and delivered online for efficiency, to save time, and monetary resources. Hence, all involved benefited from this public health practice.

Objective 3: Health Fair

Objective 3 constitutes developing and delivering instruction via a health fair with International HELP and developing cultural and religious sensitive learning material (pamphlet) for promoting nutritional whole health wellness among Hispanic residents of Montgomery County. This impending health fair is slated for Saturday, May 18 at 11: 00 am. It will be held at the Sergeant Shriver Elementary School.

At the health fair, attending residents will have access to the resource packet that was created. One of the focal goals for the resource packet was to use best practices in public health in making it cost-effective, and easy to make and distribute. The resource packet includes information on 24-hour emergency and hotline numbers, clinics for uninsured and underinsured residents, dental clinics, financial resources, maternal health services, mental health services, school-based services, and shelter services. Each set of information for the packet was created and sent in via Google drive to the preceptor and corresponding personnel. It was reviewed, needed clarifications made, and given final approval for compiling.

Additionally, residents and attendees will be privy to the lessons that were created that will be presented by residents who were trained on basic medical terms and literacy. Residents/attendees will receive the handouts that were created, have access to booths with health care professionals such as nutritionists and dietitians to clarify and answer questions they may have. They will have the opportunity to see medical doctors who will be able to check vital signs such as their blood pressure on site; as well as to have dentists and or dental hygienists perform basic oral cleanings free of charge. Since one of the areas of focus included the literacy skill levels of the target population, the materials and messages therein were carefully selected and used to reflect the age, social and cultural diversity, language, and literacy skills of the intended users. This way, individuals will always have access to the literature resources given and can use them for future referrals as needed.

Results

Of the ethnic minorities in the United States, Hispanics are the largest of group at 16.7%. This group of minorities have been disproportionately affected by the social determinants of health for example cultural values, income, occupation, health services, and education. These inherently affect individuals’ stress levels, physical activity behaviors, and dietary factors. Health inequalities particular to Hispanics are also related to their socioeconomic status, cultural background, employment, and foreign-born or undocumented statuses. “Hispanics residing in the USA are on average 15 years younger, four times more likely to not have finished high school, twice as likely to live below the poverty line, and 20 times less likely to speak proficient English than non-Hispanic Whites (NHW). Hispanic women are also a growing demographic group that endures adverse social and health conditions and lack of access to health care.”8 Figure 1. Hispanic Health in the United States. The figure below further displays the social determinants faced by Hispanics and the diseases and nutrition-related illnesses they faced.

Figure 1.

Just as is evident across the United States with the nutrition-related illnesses and diseases faced by Hispanics, such is the same in Montgomery County Maryland. According to a health assessment of Montgomery County Maryland, it was found that within this diverse population of residents, Hispanics constitute a large percentage. In fact, in “2015, Montgomery County’s overall population surpassed one million (1,040,116).”9

Figure 2.

Hispanics migrate to Montgomery County from many regions and countries around the world. The majority (54.5%) migrate from Central America, many of whom are fleeing violence in their home countries (Figure 1). The additional two countries of origin for Hispanics who have made their home in Montgomery County are from South America (22.6%) and Mexico (8.3%).10

With diversity and migration, being at the forefront of their immediate surrounding, Hispanics are faced with challenges that have to do with adapting to their new place of residence. This is in addition to barriers they had prior to migrate. According to research, Hispanics in Montgomery County face language barriers, access to healthy foods, safe neighborhoods and places for physical activity, affordable housing, problems with mobility/transportation; and, quality education. All these are factors that affect and influence the whole health and wellness of these residents.

Within the homes of Hispanic residents, it was found that “86 .1% of Hispanics/Latinos in Montgomery County spoke a language other than English at home; 85 .4% spoke Spanish, and 75% spoke another language. Approximately one-quarter (24 .3%) of the Spanish-speaking population spoke English “not well” or “not at all.”3 The remaining 75 .4%10 spoke English very well or well. This is further conveyed in the educational outcomes of residents because “in Montgomery County, approximately one-third of Hispanics 25 years and older (37 .4%) have less than a high school diploma, 23 .2% have a high school diploma or equivalent, 16 .4% have some college education or an associate’s degree, and close to one-quarter (23 .0%) have a bachelor’s degree or higher.”10 Figure 3. below highlights the graduation rates among ethnicities in Montgomery County.

• Maryland and Montgomery County Graduation Rates: % by Group
• Year Latino Black White
• MD MoCo MD MoCo MD MoCo

1. 2017 73.98 78.54 85.44 88.21 92.66 95+
2. 2016 76.55 80.37 84.06 87.69 92.41 95+
3. 2015 76.89 79.64 82.29 86.78 92.03 94.94
4. 2014 77.46 80.03 80.54 86.42 91.91 94.94

Data sources: U.S. dept. Of education and national center for education statistics

Figure 3.

Economically, Hispanic residents of Montgomery County are faced with financial hardships as 13 .1% live below the poverty level. Research also established that “The unemployment rate among Latinos in Montgomery County is 6 .4% compared with 4 .8% of the population as a whole and 3 .2% of the Caucasian/ White population in the county.”9

The evidence unequivocally suggests that the above-mentioned factors play critical roles in the lives of Hispanic residents’ health and wellness. These are then perceived and translated in the types of nutritional illnesses and diseases that affect these individuals; as well as, the percentages of those that are morbidly affected. According to the Health and Data Resources for Hispanics in Maryland, the leading causes of death among Hispanics are cancer, diabetes, heart diseases, accidents, and hypertension. Lack of health insurance continues to present a major barrier to accessing health care by Hispanics. “In Montgomery County, 21 .7% of Hispanics are uninsured. Educational challenges, poverty, inadequate transportation, the lack of health insurance, and other social determinants affect the ability of Hispanics in Montgomery County to access safe, quality, culturally competent and linguistically appropriate, timely, and affordable health care.”12 The Maryland Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (2014) reports that:

• Hispanics who could not afford to see a doctor in the previous year were at 22.4%.
• Hispanics who had a routine check-up in the past year were at 64.3%.
• Hispanics who had never had a routine check-up were at 9.5%, compared with 0.1% of Caucasians/Whites.
• Hispanics who did not have a personal doctor or health care provider were at 47.1%.
• Hispanic women who received late or no prenatal care were at 11.5% compared with 9.2% of all women and 5.8% of Caucasian/White women. 10, 12 See figure 4. below.

Figure 4

• Social and economic factors also contributed to higher illness and disease prevalence in the Hispanic population:
• Hispanics are often more likely than their non-Hispanic Caucasian/White counterparts to suffer from, and die from, chronic and infectious diseases.
• In Maryland, Hispanics are 41% more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic Caucasians/Whites.

More than half of the Hispanic population in Montgomery County is overweight (55.4%) and 21.2% are obese.10, 12 This means that they are at higher risk for stroke, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other serious health conditions and diseases.

Data strongly suggests that Hispanics are particularly vulnerable to depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, arising from family separation, social isolation, moving to a new country, and ramifications of war in countries of origin. According to a report prepared for the Latino Health Steering Committee by one of its members: The lack of a comprehensive culturally and linguistically competent community, work, and school-based action plan aimed at promoting positive mental health and preventing problems or conditions that could require intensive and more expensive interventions poses a serious risk to Hispanic behavioral health outcomes. It was found that Hispanics are particularly vulnerable as a result of the lack of:

• Culturally and linguistically competent mental health resources, services, and residential treatment facilities
• Health Insurance
• Knowledge of Available Resources
• Sensitivity around mental health issues by emergency department personnel
• Services to treat the chronically mentally ill.13

In conjunction with the aforementioned information and statistics, the interviews conducted with the participants of the focus group, highly suggest and determine that the same factors from the archival data research and results, also affected and influenced the well-being and whole health wellness of said participants. Each participant identified the fact that their food choices for meals are based on what they are able to afford, based on what they “believe they know” about those particular food items; and, their ability to readily access the food items. Most participants identified the fact that fast foods are more accessible and affordable, they also pointed out the fact that transportation was an inhibitor for accessing fresh foods and affordability. Many were unaware of where to locate the nearest farmer’s market and the fact that they would be eligible for SNAP/EBT because of their immigration status. It was also revealed in the surveys and interviews that all of the participants did not know how or where to access information on community resources; and, with limited language skills, and the inability to properly understand medical terms and interpret medical conditions, many felt intimidated to ask questions in reference to said topics.

In preparation for the health fair, all materials were created, evaluated, printed, and compiled for distribution to attendees. Booths were set up, and health care professionals, practitioners, and personnel were contacted to confirm their presence and contribution to the residents of Montgomery County at the fair. Unfortunately, the plan for the fair did not occur as was envisioned. First of all, there attendees were low in numbers. It cannot be said with certainty as to why this occurred. Secondly, there was the need for more than one interpreter, and said resource personnel was unavailable; as such, that created a language and communication. Barrier. However, the main goal was achieved as it pertained to the resource packet being distributed to attendees. This was especially since Hispanic residents were unaware of and unable to access community resources as it pertained to health care, find educational, mental, and dental resources for preventing Nutrition-related illnesses and diseases; and, to have whole health wellness prevail.

Introduction

The Hispanic/Latino population is the largest minority group in the United States, accounting for 18.1% of the total population as of July 1, 2017 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2018). A person of Hispanic/Latino origin is described as any person originating from a Spanish or Latin American country, including Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and countries in South America or Central America. Within these countries, there are myriad of cultures, languages, and ideals that are unique to each country. The subgroup with the largest population in the United States are Mexicans, who account for more than half of the Hispanic/Latino population at 62.3% (‘Office of Minority Health, 2019). The majority of the group’s population is concentrated in the south and southwest regions of the United States, which California and Texas having the highest populations. A large part of this is due to the proximity of the south and southwest to Mexico and Central America. While a majority of these state populations are Mexican, Florida has a high concentration of Cubans because of its proximity to Cuba. Between 2011 and 2015, roughly 78% of the Cuban population lived in Florida (Batalova & Zong, 2017). When it comes to gender, the population is almost fifty-fifty; 50.5% of the population is male and 49.5% female. There is a variance in age groups, but a majority of the population are between the ages of 5 and 17 (see graph 1 below). The main religious affiliation of the Hispanic/Latino group is Catholicism, with more than half of the population, 55%, practicing the religion (‘Chapter 1: Religious Affiliation of Hispanics’, 2018).

Barriers

The number one barrier for this population is the language barrier. Less than half of Hispanic/Latinos of any race living in the US are fluent in English. Almost 75% of the population speaks a language other than English and a mere 30% speak a small amount of English, but not very well (Data Access and Dissemination Systems (DADS), 2010). With such discrepancies in the language, many people in this population group often do not seek medical treatment or seek it only when necessary. Also, with a lack of Spanish-speaking health professionals, it can be difficult to communicate with the population without the aid of interpreters. Coupled with a scarce amount of Spanish-speaking health professionals, many healthcare facilities often do not have the proper tools to promote health literacy among the population. There often aren’t any brochures or informational packets printed in Spanish, which means this group is unable to receive accurate information that they can understand. Another reason many people of this group do not seek medical treatment is because of cultural practices. Many Latinos rely on family more than a healthcare professional as their main source of obtaining medical information (Bastable, Sopczyk, Gramet, Jacobs, & Braungart, 2020, p. 375). Lack of medical insurance also plays an important role in access to health services. According to the United States Census Bureau, in 2017, Hispanics had the highest uninsured rate among all races and ethnic groups at 16.1% (Berchick, Hood, AND Barnett 2017). Without proper health insurance coverage, access to decent healthcare, or any healthcare at all, is severely limited. This group is often left to rely on public healthcare facilities such as local health departments or emergency rooms. Hispanic/Latinos also have some of the highest percentages of poverty and are two times more likely to live in poverty than other minority groups. In 2015, 21.4% of this population lived below the poverty line. These factors combined constantly put this minority group at a disadvantage. Prospects across the board are limited because of the language barrier, this lowers job prospects, which prevents access to enough income and the chance to gain private health insurance. These barriers can be difficult to overcome which leads to an overall poor lifestyle and a plethora of social and health issues.

Major Health Disparities

A few of the top health disparities of the Hispanic/Latino community are obesity, alcoholism, diabetes, hypertension, HIV/AIDS, and cancer (Bastable, Sopczyk, Gramet, Jacobs, & Braungart, 2020, p. 373). A disproportionate amount of this population suffers from one or more of these chronic diseases. Women are more likely to suffer from obesity and hypertension than men, with 48.4% and 25.2% of women over age 20 who have these conditions, respectively (‘FastStats – Health of Hispanic or Latino Population’, 2017). Hispanic/Latinos also have the second highest percentage of diagnosed and undiagnosed cases of diabetes. Between 2011-2014, 16.8% of this population were afflicted by diabetes. Within the Hispanic/Latino subgroups, Mexicans had the highest percentage of adults with diabetes at 18.0%, which is tied with Black/African Americans (‘FastStats – Diabetes’, 2017, p. Table 40). The leading causes of mortality are cancer, cardiovascular diseases, homicide, and accidents from unintentional injuries. The number one cause of death among males and females of this population is heart disease, with 24.2% and 21.8%, respectively (‘Deaths: Leading Causes for 2017’, p. 9, Figure 1). Cancer was the second cause of death, also affecting males and females proportionally with 21.9% and 20.7%, respectively (‘Deaths: Leading Causes for 2017’, p. 9, Figure 1). While heart disease and cancer were equal causes of mortality between both sexes, men were more likely to die by accidental, unintentional injuries than women were. Many of these health disparities are caused by socioeconomic factors, environment, and chronic stressors like poverty. As mentioned earlier, this group has some of the highest rates of poverty and uninsured people. They often live in low-class neighborhoods with no access to healthy food choices, no parks or other green spaces to play and exercise, and with no quality healthcare facilities. All these factors combined contribute to overall unhealthy individuals, which cause these chronic health disparities. Many Hispanic/Latino adults end up developing these diseases by no fault of their own. They are stuck in a cycle of unhealthy eating, not enough physical exercise, and a language barrier which can make everyday tasks difficult. They are slow to receive medical treatment if available, and by the time they do decide to seek treatment, it’s often at the very last minute and can be too little too late.

Example of Research

An interesting published study that I discovered dealt with intervention strategies to promote living a healthier lifestyle and teaching healthier lifestyle choices to overweight Hispanic women to prevent cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in this population group. The article is titled A community health worker-led lifestyle behavior intervention for Latina (Hispanic) women: Feasibility and outcomes of a randomized controlled trial (Koniak-Griffin, et al., 2015) and aims to see if behavioral interventions led by promotoras, community health workers who are specially trained to work with the Hispanic/Latino community, were successful in reducing the risks of developing heart disease in overweight, immigrant women. The target group consisted of 223 women between the ages of 35-64 with low levels of income and very low levels of education, particularly less than an eighth-grade education. The women were excluded if they had a self-reported history of stroke, type 1 diabetes, limited or impaired mobility, uncontrolled hypertension, or heart attack. The women were randomized with the use of a web-based program to either the Lifestyle Intervention group or the control group. The intervention group received group and individual teaching and training, consisting of eight weekly classes based on Your Heart, Your Life (Su Corazón, Su Vida), which is an educational program that was developed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood institute specifically for the Hispanic/Latino population. This curriculum aimed to promote healthy lifestyle behaviors, including the promotion of eating a healthy diet and engaging in physical activity. After completion of the eight weekly classes, the subjects also received eight individual teaching and education visits to reinforce what was learned in class, and to continue the promotion of healthy lifestyle changes by helping the subjects achieve personal goals and providing guidance to overcome barriers to change. The program emphasized four major goals: making healthy food choices, practicing portion control, managing emotional eating, increasing physical activity, and trying to walk 10,000 steps a day. Other topics that were emphasized were heart-healthy eating, preparing heart-healthy meals, the importance of not smoking, and education on diabetes, hypertension, and cholesterol. The control group received eight group educational classes as well, but on topics such as emergency preparedness, keeping children and the elderly safe at home, and preventing the spread of the flu. These were also followed up with the eight individual sessions that went over content learned in class in a more in-depth manner. After the group and individual sessions, the participants were offered two classes on the key information presented in Su Corazón, Su Vida. In conclusion, the study showed that through promotora-led health interventions, the lifestyle choices of overweight Latina women can be greatly improved through in-depth teaching, including learning how to prepare healthier meals and encouraging ways to promote increased physical activity. By using a community approach and culturally relevant information, the program was able to reduce the risks of these women developing cardiovascular disease and other related issues.

Programming Considerations

When developing health programs for this population, it is important to remember the cultural beliefs and practices, the specific issues that plague this population, as well as the language barrier. Culturally, this population is very family oriented, so it is important to include all present and interested family members during the teaching process. If working with a Hispanic/Latino woman, be mindful that she may not be as willing to make decisions without her husband present. This is a very male-dominated culture and they are often the final decision maker, so do not get offended or rush the process if she isn’t comfortable making decisions on the spot if she is alone. Within the Hispanic/Latino group are many subgroups, such as Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban. Although there are many similarities of all Hispanic/Latinos, there are also many minute differences between each subgroup, so before developing a blanket teaching method, make sure to identify the specific needs, language dialects, and beliefs of your targeted population to make sure they are appropriate. Identifying the specific health issues of the group is very important so that the most relevant topics are discussed so that the proper lifestyle changes can be implemented. The top health disparities of this population are cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes, so emphasizing healthy eating choices and promoting staying physically active should be a top education priority. The biggest consideration when working with this population is the language barrier. When implementing teaching strategies, it is vital to utilize use of an interpreter or translator to ensure information is being exchanged accurately. Also, keep learning materials simple; avoid using big words or too much medical terminology which can be misunderstood. An important method I learned from chapter 8 of Health professional as an educator: principles of teaching and learning 2nd edition is that nodding or agreeing from someone of this population does not always equate to an understanding. They use these nonverbal cues as a sign of showing respect, not because they agree and understand, so it is important to use the teach-back method to have the patient repeat the information in their own words so that an understanding can be made (Bastable, Sopczyk, Gramet, Jacobs, & Braungart, p. 377). Practicing these methods when educating this population will lead to a more effective approach in conveying the information and make the person feel more comfortable and willing to accept the information you are providing to them.

Comparison with another Ethnic Group

As a member of the Black/African American ethnic group, there are quite a few similarities between my ethnic group and the Hispanic/Latino group. Both groups share common health disparities, the main ones being cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes. While the Hispanic/Latino group has the highest mortality rate from cardiovascular disease and cancer, the Black/African American group has the highest mortality rate from diabetes and hypertension. All these chronic diseases have similar causes and are due to issues that stem from SES and high poverty rates, although there are important differences to remember as well. Although both groups share similar socioeconomic conditions, the health of the Hispanic/Latino community is closer to that of White Americans than of Black/African Americans, which suggests the health of the Black/African American community may be worse than the health of the Hispanic/Latino community, even with the similar health disparities. Many members of the Hispanic/Latino community often do not seek healthcare services due to lack of insurance, cultural beliefs, and the difficulty the language barrier creates, while the Black/African American population do not seek healthcare services due to mistrust stemming from years of discrimination and unethical practices, such as the Tuskegee syphilis study. Both ethnic groups rely heavily on family support and religion or spirituality, which both are contributing factors in seeking healthcare services. The health outcomes between groups seem to be slightly better for the Hispanic/Latino community than for the Black/African American community. The average life expectancy of the Hispanic/Latino community is longer than of the Black/African American community. According to the US Census Bureau, in 2015 the average life expectancy of the Black/African American community was only 76.1 years while it was 81.9 years for the Hispanic/Latino community (‘Office of Minority Health, 2015). These statistics, combined with the fact that the Hispanic/Latino group has overtaken the Black/African American group as the largest minority group, lead me to believe that the overall quality of life and access to healthcare services will become increasingly better over the years for the Hispanic/Latino group as the healthcare system will have to make adjustments to meet the specific needs of this rapidly growing population.

Summary and Conclusion

In conclusion, the Hispanic/Latino ethnic group is a large and diverse group of people consisting of many subgroups with varying language dialects and cultural practices. I chose to examine the main ethnic group instead of focusing on individual subgroups because I wanted to give a detailed overview of the most important and relevant issues and demographics of this group while highlighting the variety amongst the subgroups. This report has opened my eyes to the challenges and struggles faced by a minority group other than my own. As a future health education specialist, I will take the knowledge I’ve gained from this report to help better recognize the specific needs and challenges of this group. This information will be helpful in creating relevant programs and developing appropriate teaching methods for the promotion of healthier lifestyle choices. It has also made me more sensitive to their cultural and religious practices to avoid specific topics as to not offend them, while also making these practices make more sense to me as I have encountered them while dealing with this population at work. I look forward to working more closely with this population in my future career.

References

1. US Census Bureau. (2018, January 23). About Race. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/topics/population/race/about.html
2. (2019, August 22). Office of Minority Health. Retrieved from https://www.minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse.aspx?lvl=3&lvlid=64
3. Batalova, J., & Zong, J. (2019, May 3). Cuban Immigrants in the United States. Retrieved from https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/cuban-immigrants-united-states
4. (2018, August 6). Chapter 1: Religious Affiliation of Hispanics. Retrieved from https://www.pewforum.org/2014/05/07/chapter-1-religious-affiliation-of-hispanics/
5. [bookmark: _Hlk18849631]Bastable, S. B., Sopczyk, D., Gramet, P., Jacobs, K., & Braungart, M. M. (2020). Health professional as an educator: principles of teaching and learning (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
6. Data Access and Dissemination Systems (DADS). (2010, October 5). American FactFinder – Results. Retrieved from https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk
7. (2017, May). FastStats – Health of Hispanic or Latino Population. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/hispanic-health.htm
8. FastStats – Diabetes. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/diabetes.htm
9. Deaths: Leading Causes for 2017. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_06-508
10. Koniak-Griffin, D., Brecht, M.-L., Takayanagi, S., Villegas, J., Melendrez, M., & Balcázar, H. (2015). A community health worker-led lifestyle behavior intervention for Latina (Hispanic) women: Feasibility and outcomes of a randomized controlled trial. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 52(1), 75–87. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2014.09.005

Introduction

Nowadays, it is obvious that our country will be a nation of ‘majority-minority, mixed with different groups of whites. Blacks and Hispanics are the effects of the way we live in this new world, surrounded by other cultures and customs. We are in a process that makes it clear that old social problems still exist but with less depth. Next, different aspects related to Blacks and Hispanics are discussed.

1. Historical background and current status of Blacks and Hispanics

The historical trends about Blacks and Latinos began around 1619, when the Africans arrived at our shores with commercial ends, and as a result of transatlantic trade, and the Caribbean. Later on, these areas became part of the United States.

The greatest emigration boom was caused after the First World War, which caused more than 6 million African-Americans to leave the South of the United States, and relocate to other places, due to better economic and labor opportunities, and greater social stability. This event was known as the Great Migration. Cities such as New York, Chicago, and Detroit, increased in% of African-Americans. (Bell, 2012,2017, p. 111)

On the other hand, ‘whites’ (non-Hispanics) have occupied about 80% of the population in general of the United States. The country used to have fewer Hispanics, Asians, and country natives by the end of the 20th century. The Hispanic and Asian populations have increased drastically since the late twentieth and twenty-first century, together with the African-American population, which is growing slower, accounting for less than 10% in 1930.

Nowadays, blacks and Latinos share in the same cities, although despite being from different worlds and trajectories in the country, they have developed an endless struggle for resources in common. There are two main ways that explain the current relationship between Latinos and blacks, one is the conflict of color, and the ‘supposed advantages that this feature can bring’, which seems to exclude one from the other. An example in the history of the USA that demonstrates this, is the first impression of Latinos to the presidency of Obama, at first they rejected it, and then they idolized it. So the elections of 2008 indicated that it is time to look beyond the physical and find other ways of thinking about color.

In conclusion, we have that we Hispanics remain isolated, while segregation, makes lesser blacks. But, in spite of everything stated, Hispanics have more opportunities to live in neighborhoods of ‘whites’ than blacks; bringing as a result of a growth of the population of Hispanics, either between the fusion between Latinos and blacks, or Latinos and whites.

2. Income levels of Blacks and Hispanics

Black and Hispanics’ salaries differ, due to the issues among ethnic groups, and the different races keeping been an unresolved problem. The gap between the pay between the different races have been reduced just a little in the last decades. In 2016, blacks represent 90% of their distribution, which means that they gained 68% on par with whites in their 90%, as in 1970. While the difference in income decreased from 1970 to 2016, Hispanics stayed even further behind at all income levels; leaning to the lower end of the tables, from the point of view of education and salary. In 2015, 47% of the foreign-born Hispanics of 25 years old had not managed to graduate from high school, compared to 13% of Americans in general. And only 11% of Hispanic immigrants had a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, compared to 31% of Americans in general. The influx of lower-skilled and lower-income immigrants probably exerted pressure on the growth measured in the income of Hispanics. In general, the contrasting experiences of these situations in the country with salary inequality, as well as the continued of gaps in incomes, could reflect differences in the characteristics of workers, as is the case of educational achievement. In addition, the historical legacy and the current impact of discrimination are considered a major source of income gaps in all groups.

Based on the tables presented in our textbook (Bell, 2012,2017, pp. 121-123); we can arrive of the conclusion that the level of Income, education, and employment of Blacks, has increased in the las years. But, still remain a difference between black persons with a Bachelor’s and his payback in comparison with whites. This shows us that discrimination is a problem no resolved.

3. Relationships between Latinos and Blacks

The relationship between Latins and Blacks in general terms is considered favorable, although it is less common than Latinos (Hispanics), express that they get along well. Similarly, African-Americans express more frequently that blacks are discriminated against. This is based on the survey done by ‘Pew Research Center’. Despite being large minority groups in the US, both coincided in sentimental issues that represent both parties, although these only represent a smaller percentage. A common approach today is that both blacks and whites agree that immigrants, emphasize in Latins, reduce job offers for them. Research shows that at least 4 out of 10 Hispanics believe in the truth of this fact.

Surveys show that around the ¾ parts of blacks and Latinos maintain positive opinions among themselves. But differences always arise, such as racial discrimination, although blacks recognize that progress has been made in raising awareness in society, especially after the Obama Presidency. Although there are still limits on employment and housing. On the contrary of this, Hispanics, who think that blacks are not subject to discrimination in the areas mentioned above; is usually associated to opinions given by whites.

Another strong debate between Hispanics and blacks is illegal emigration. What is explained in that, Latinos and African-Americans say that this problem is caused due to specific situations in their countries? The opinions among the groups (Blacks, Latins) about this situation are almost the same in the states that have less Hispanic population. For other states with a large Hispanic population, there is a difference of 11% between Latinos and Blacks, which becomes a significant gap, and in these places 7 out of 10 people are Latino. (Pew Research Center Social & Demographic Trends, 2008)

4. Aspects of the growing Latino market

It is a reality that in the new United States, Latinos represent in some states most of the working class, contributing to the economy growth in different markets. Therefore, the American market has created several tools to reach the Hispanic public and therefore sell their products. The first step taken to help these new clients was to understand and support the different cultures. The creation of content or product that gives rise to an emotional connection with the origin of Latinos and Hispanics is an excellent way to get your attention and make them turn to your brand. Just as Spanish advertising attracts this type of public because Hispanics feel more loyalty to companies that develop campaigns in their language. Another aspect that is favored with the Latino market is online sales, in 2012 Hispanics contributed to the economy around $ 2.2 billion dollars for this type of sales.

On the other hand, I believe that, based on our being in a developed country, it is very important to respect basic concepts such as ‘American values’, without getting too far away from the Hispanic heritage. Also, how to differentiate Hispanics, such as people with Spanish-speaking descent, and Latinos from those who come from Latin America. Because in the last decades the second and third generation of Hispanics has grown in the Market, it has also been highlighted by immigrants with little culture or even none. Data taken from the US Census Bureau in 2016, show that Hispanics represent 17% of the population of the country, about 55 million in total. (Restrepo, 2016)

5. Organizational measures to improve experiences of Blacks and Hispanics.

Exist several recommendations for improving the work environment for Black and Hispanics. For example, open job positions that help to improve the talents and skills of the young Latinos. Good advice for the employers is to open clear routes and give precise directions for making better the opportunities of learning of the blacks and Hispanics. Employers can hold employees through the proper capacitation. In the latest search about the hire process based on race and ethnic origin, determined that these are determinant factors. Another piece of advice that organizations can take for retain Hispanics, and blacks that feel motivated and are hard workers, is become workers in places that value the perspective of Latinos and also to give to the young leadership positions always that they deserve it. In other hands, new work politics could be created with the purpose of balance between personal and labor life. Some examples of this can be, pay sick’s days, and benefits for millennial Latinos. Improve their experiences with a fair amount of employment, and salaries in base of the scholar level, High School or College students. Sometimes, community organizations and educational institutions can contribute to spreading the employer’s name between these societies (Hispanic and Black), with end of benefits the millennials transition to a better and more difficult labor market. Besides, that experience is an important indicator in the job search. The interventions, and creations of programs of internship and volunteers.

Conclusions

Although the population of the United States is changing, these are old lines of color. They are limits in which the effects of race and class combine with each other and form what social scientists call ‘cumulative disadvantage.’ Many studies have shown that several factors, such as education, employment, crime, housing, and medical care, are causally related. Setbacks in different areas act on each other in a way that accentuates negative results in general. Fixing one or two problems at the same time does not necessarily remedy the whole situation in such circumstances. For low-income blacks and Latinos, individual factors can often differ. For example, while one faces discrimination based on race, the other deals with exclusion based on immigration status. But nevertheless, they share that condition in which the whole is much worse than the sum of the parts.

References

1. Key findings on the rise in income inequality within America’s racial and ethnic groups. RAKESH KOCHHAR AND ANTHONY CILLUFFO. (JULY 12, 2018) Retrieved from: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/07/12/key-findings-on-the-rise-in-income-inequality-within-americas-racial-and-ethnic-groups/
2. Economic Policy Institute. New census data show strong 2016 earnings growth across the board, with black and Hispanic workers seeing the fastest growth for a second consecutive year. Valerie Wilson. (September 12, 2017) Retrieved from: https://www.epi.org/blog/new-census-data-show-strong-2016-earnings-growth-across-the-board-with-black-and-hispanic-workers-seeing-the-fastest-growth-for-second-consecutive-year/
3. Pew Research Center. Do Blacks and Hispanics Get Along? (JANUARY 31, 2008) Retrieved from: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-green/report-race-matters-in-ju_b_461526.html
4. 10 Best Practices for Marketing to Hispanic Consumers. October 25, 2016, by Sergio Restrepo, VP Global Digital Marketing Services, Lionbridge Retrieved from: https://content.lionbridge.com/10-best-practices-for-marketing-to-hispanic-consumers/
5. Media Post. Is The U.S. Hispanic Market A Growth Market? Jose Villa (May 25, 2017) Retrieved from: https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/301830/is-the-us-hispanic-market-a-growth-market.html

Hispanic History

In the United States, Hispanic people experience a lot of inequalities ranging from the labor market to education and health to housing. States have, for a long time, been struggling with racial prejudices, violence, and discrimination that has profoundly affected people of Mexican heritage. In these states, these struggles have never been acknowledged even when Hispanic people openly protest for the accompanying inequity. Radical and radicalized American citizens have always believed that Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries send people who are not the best (Amadeo, Par. 12). So, there has been a notion that immigrants from these countries are rapists, criminals, drug traffickers, and many other negative descriptions. Such racial undertones are so profound and overt that they are, oftentimes, utilized by politicians in soliciting for votes. In a real-life example, President Donald Trump once say immigrants from Mexico “…bring drugs. They bring crime. They are rapists” (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 14) Like his counterparts, Trump conjured up anti-immigration and anti-Hispanic sentiments which are significant to a large portion of American electorates. Unconsciously, these kinds of sentiments arise from rich and complex Hispanic people’s history on immigration and racial supremacy than people realize.

In perspective, the population of Hispanic people is the largest among minority groups in the United States, and it is the fastest growing. Trejo (p. 1235) shows that the estimated population of Hispanic people in 2012 was around 53 million, constituting 17% of the United States population. In a survey conducted by A Pew Research Poll, Hispanics, as an ethnic group, experience profound discrimination that comes second after African-Americans. Today, there are no structures of law and policy that disadvantage Hispanics, except for some cases where the action is slow and sluggish against them compared to mainstream Americans. The United States government and policymakers have come a long way to protect the interests of these people and other discriminated ethnic groups. Although this has protected Hispanics from structural discrimination, such as offering voting rights and the abolition of voter ID and many others, it has given way to subtle yet very destructive ethnic charged treatments. Often, as shown is a survey conducted by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (p. 2), discrimination is taking on racial prejudice, profiling, and bias on individual people rather than Hispanics collectively. This has a huge impact on economic growth and development among Hispanics. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (p. 12) finds that in 2011 alone, an estimated 30 percent of Hispanic students finished their high school and graduated successfully. However, as mere as 4 percent of them earned college spots.

Hispanics are intensely affected by institutional discrimination within housing markets or the workplace. Overall, this negatively affected their economic well-being and increases their susceptibility to poverty. Hispanic people are less likely to get a job when they are competing with whites. And when they get them, discriminatory practices in a work environment such as lower wages may force them into depression and stress especially when they are not able to meet family needs. Rutgers University finds that 22 percent of Hispanic workers say they experience discrimination at the work environment relative to 6 percent of whites. As a consequence, parents take less money to their homes, which makes it hard for them to cater for their children’s health, education, food, and shelter needs. This means that majority of Hispanic children are raised in poverty at any given time, which is linked to poor health, education, and development outcomes. Though poverty is quite a complex thing, it majorly arises form exploitative and discriminatory practices that Hispanic people are forced to cope up with in their everyday lives. According to Reimers (p. 570), Hispanic men in the labor market have a lower wage rate compared to their white counterparts. On average, Hispanic men earned $4.31 per hour compared to $5.97 for white non-Hispanic in 2012. This means than whites earn 18 percent more than Hispanics for the same job.

In the United States, Immigration is quite a contentious issue. Increasingly, a huge segment of American citizens holds that immigration is becoming a burden to them and the country at large. They believe that, as an influx of illegal and undocumented immigrants, issues of increased social ills such as crime ruin the values of their society. They argue that the increase in immigrants pushes the government to raise taxes in order to meet their education, health, and housing needs. They also point out that immigrants stretch health care systems because they were not factored in during resource allocation. Many are critical about the immigrant immigrants may have on their culture. Some say that immigrants are taking up jobs due to the fact that they are accept lower wages compared to citizens. Even though it has been proved that immigrants strengthen American society, some people still hold on to its drawbacks. Latin American immigrants have demonstrated that these perceived negative effects of immigration are wrong and baseless. According to Amadeo (par. 26), since 2011 alone, for instance, “immigrants have solely driven two-thirds of the United States of America’s economic growth.” Even in the early days, say the 1960s and 70s during President Lyndon Johnson’s tenure, immigrants were granted visas if they had the needed skills or were expected to join families in the United States of America. Then, they were shopkeepers, stonemasons, and tailors –skills that were highly sought after by the American economy. So, there is no reason as to the way these people should be unfairly treated because of their ethnicity. They have helped the economy grow and improve the quality of life of Americans, who are themselves blindly meeting injustices on them.

These discriminations have always existed even before the United States of America came to be. Struggles among Hispanic people to overcome racially charged notions has pervaded through centuries while some changes have been realized. In the State of Texas, for example, Hispanic people were subjected to catastrophic massacres and mob violence conducted by Texas Rangers. Mexican people were loaded to trucks and deported to deserts for fighting for their rights. In the 1930s, during the great depression, Mexican immigrants were extremely affected by food shortages and job crises. And because Hispanic people are generally seen as second-class citizens, they were faced with an extra threat of deportation. As the United States was hard hit by unemployment, hostilities toward immigrants sky-rocketed, and programs aimed at repatriating Hispanic people were developed. Essentially, this repatriation was affected by racial undertones that some United States of America citizens were repatriated on suspicion that they were of Hispanic heritage. Free train program effected so as to offer Mexica immigrants rides to their country. Although repatriation was voluntary, many immigrants and Mexican Americans were coerced or tricked into repatriation. Sometimes migration raids were used where Hispanic communities were the ultimate victims. More than 500,000 immigrants and Mexican American citizens were repatriated against their will. As a consequence, it is very common for discussions regarding the repatriation of Hispanic people to surface during the economic downturn.

Hispanic people who evaded repatriation were forced into camps created by U.S Farm Security Administration, FSA. These camps offered food, housing, and medicine to vulnerable migrant families of workers. They also protected them from criminals who capitalized on their vulnerability as immigrants. When the great recession ended, businesses, farms, and organizations recovered offering jobs to millions of jobless Americans. As such, Hispanic people were re-accommodated again. However, as Hispanic people moved into society, they were faced with unfair policies that excluded them in homeowners, organizations, and business associations. Several laws and policies annihilated them from the mainstream white population. Hispanic people were not allowed to move into white residential areas. Generally, they lived in deplorable states devoid of basic amenities such as piped water, health facilities, schools, and many more. To protect this kind of arrangement, states created and entrenched real estate policies and segregation laws that prohibit Mexican American citizens from interacting with whites. The results ranged from housing to school segregation, employment to voting discrimination, social injustices to lack of security, and many more. Courts were constituted by all-white jurors who made judgments based on racial prejudices and biases rather than the truth. Many Hispanic people’s rights were largely curtailed, as some were framed and ultimately incarcerated for no apparent wrongdoing.

Most of all, anti-Hispanic sentiments arise from territorial disputes between Mexico and the United States. In independence wars, America was pitied against Mexico over the contentious Southwestern territories. Mexico believed that these territories, including Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico belonged to them and thus formed one of the most significant parts of their nationalism (Flipper & Parrado, 667). These territories were considered to belong to Spain, as they had invested in the region by establishing catholic missions and plantations. When these nations gained their independence, each one wanted to take over these territories. However, the territories were predominantly occupied by people of Mexican heritage. As such, it was expected that these territories would automatically be partitioned as part of Mexico. The United States did not wish to give up these territories either and therefore entered into war with Mexico. The war ended with the defeat of Mexico resulting in the great loss of these territories to the United States (James, par. 7). Mexicans who lived in these territories during the time of ceding were allowed to stay. However, they would be treated as second class because their defeat meant that they were instinctively a “property” of the United States. The defeat and ultimate loss of these territories is still a thorny issue as it was then.

The effects of the annexation wars resulted in the perception of Hispanics and other Native Americans, as innately dangerous, savage, hostile, and profoundly violent. These racial undertones are very overt in the United States (Trejo, 1236). In schools, for example, abusive mascots are used during sports. Hispanic people and other native groups have always fought for the abolition of these mascots. And each time they do so, schools argue that they are celebrating the heritage of the native people. However, according to James (par. 12), this is not true for many cases. In Amherst College, for example, students were forced to action for the continued use of Lord Jeff Mascot. Lord Jeff Amherst was a British Army office in the 19th century who was vocal in support of the mass killing of Native Americans. It would take a contentious voting process for the mascot to be abolished (James, par. 12). Another mascot that highlights cultural stereotypes and sensitivity that Hispanic people are forced to battle with each day is the Rio Grande Valley’s Vaquero, used by the University of Texas. Vaquero is a Spanish word for “Cowboy”. Hispanic people feel the choice of the word directly targets them.

With the souring political events in Mexico in the 19th century, movement into the United States was the next big thing. Mexicans were promised better lives and economic difficulties experienced in their country. Meanwhile, the United States desperately needed workers to build Railroads and new tracks. Employers saw an opportunity in this influx, as it meant labour would be cheap and reliable. Employers entered into a period of the gold rush where employees where the new commodity. Employers could send recruiters to Mexico to solicit more people into emigrating. In the process, they flouted immigration laws and oversupply of labor to a point that workers and American citizens were becoming disadvantaged. Anti-Hispanic and anti-Latino sentiments increased as the effects of uncontrolled immigration worsened. As a result, they become victims of immigrant raids, segregation laws, barred from accessing urban areas, and many other discriminatory treatments. From then, everything from their color, and country of origin to language was increasingly becoming a pretext for discrimination.

Although the perception of the annexation war among American citizens was ambivalent, it later come to define how Hispanic people would be viewed and treated. In 1917, for example, Germany’s foreign secretary, Arthur Zimmermann, sent a telegram soliciting a German-Mexico alliance. Germany proposed an alliance against the United States as they advanced into World War I (James, Par 2). It promised Mexico the return of its southwest territories. This telegram was intercepted by British intelligence and its contents were shared to members of the public across the United States. Together with the then heightened threat from Germany, her allies, and the frightening World War I era, American citizens unfairly developed hostilities towards Hispanic people (Flipper, 21). They felt that they are traitors and deserved to be repatriated back to their countries. The perception of Hispanic people were significantly tainted. They were less likely to secure a job or attend prestigious schools, and those who were lucky to do so were subjected to discrimination or sometimes seen as less intelligent.

The tainted image resulted in the perception of immigrant Hispanics as detrimental to the economy and harmful to the safety of the American public. However, according to Suarez-Orozco & Pa´ez (P. 164), immigrants do not directly compete with native workers in the labor market as people would perceive. New immigrants tend to be channeled to different segments of the labor market, such as farming, and rarely would they compete with natives. As per findings presented by Suarez-Orozco & Pa´ez (p. 171), public opinion will always become resentful or relaxed depending on the status of the economy. When the economy contracts, public thought becomes resentful and vice versa. On the other hand Bansak, Simpson, & Madeline (p. 179), people often compare the impacts of immigration in areas that received an event of immigration shock and one that did not, so that figures indicate uninviting figures. A phenomenon that often leads to the resentful perception of immigrants’ yet they benefit the macroeconomic (Baker, & Tsuda, p. 246).

In conclusion, discrimination against Hispanics largely arises from immigration and annexation wars. Considering Mexico lost to the United States in the annexation wars, it meant that she lost her southwest territories to the latter. Citizens who remained in these territories were offered citizenship and become Mexican-Americans. Though this was fairly good, it meant that they could become foreign underclass individuals in the land of Anglo-Americans by the virtue of the war. Mass immigration as occasioned by demand for cheap labor and the unscrupulous United States employers who flouted immigration laws meant that Anglo-Americans lost their jobs. In the aftermath, anti-Hispanic resentments and stereotypes arose. Hispanic people were said to be stupid, lazy, and undeserving. This resulted in mass deportations, lynching, and segregation of schools and Hispanics to poor areas.

Works Cited

1. Amadeo, Kimberly. Immigration’s Effect on the Economy and You. thebalance.com N.P. 2019 Web. 10th Aug. 2018.
2. Baker, Brenda, & Tsuda, Takeyuki. Migration and Disruptions. University Press of Florida. 2015, pp. 245-269
3. Bansak, Cynthia, Simpson, Nicole, & Zavodny, Madeline. The Economics of Immigration. London & New York: Routledge. 2015. Pp. 175-238
4. Dizikes, Peter. Understanding anti-immigrant sentiment. News.mit.edu N.P 2010. Web. 10th Aug. 2018
5. Flippen Chenoa. Laboring Underground: The Employment Patterns of Hispanic Immigrant Men in Durham, NC. Social Problems. 2012; 59:21–42.
6. Flippen, Chenoa & Parrado, Emilio. Perceived discrimination among Latino immigrants in new destinations: The case of Durham, NC. Journal of Social Perspective. 2015 Dec; 58(4): 666–685.
7. James, Henry. Zimmermann Telegram published in United States. History.com N.P., 2018. Web. 21st April 2019.
8. M. M. Sua´rez-Orozco & M. M. Pa´ez (Eds.), Latinos: Remaking America. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.
9. Reimers, Cordelia. Labor Market Discrimination against Hispanic and Black Men. The Review of Economics and Statistics. Vol. 65, No. 4 (Nov., 1983), pp. 570-579
10. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Discrimination in America: Experiences and Views of Latinos. PDF (2017). 27p. Available at: https://www.npr.org/documents/2017/oct/discrimination-latinos-final.pdf
11. Trejo, Stephen J. 1997. Why do Mexican Americans Earn Low Wages. The Journal of Political Economy, Volume 105, Issue 6, 1235-1268.

In this vignette “Sally” in the novel The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros illustrates the role of women in a Hispanic culture and many difficulties they’re facing just because they’re “women on the mango street”. This passage is significant as it highlights the difficulties of being a women in the Hispanic culture.

As the passage begins, Cisneros jumps directly into Sally’s physical appearance as her beautiness will lead her to many troubles. Sally is a popular girl among the boys at her school her “eyes like Egypt and nylons the color of smoke” and her hair is like “raven feathers”. Through the use of simile comparing Sally to a beautiful figure every girls on Mango street wants to be like, readers can definitely see how physical appearances play a huge role in the Hispanic culture as it foreshadows the consequences of being “pretty”. Furthermore, Cisnero chooses to highlight the strictness in the Hispanic culture, as being “beautiful is trouble” and girls aren’t “supposed to dance”. Men and women do live in a separate world in the Hispanic society, thus reader sees the female’s role in the society as they are powerless, and most females are trapped in their homes by abusive parents.

Esperanza is growing up in a male-dominated society, not mature enough to realize the world in front of her. Esperanza keeps admiring Sally’s beautiness as well as her shoes “ just like yours, like your black ones made out of suede, just like those.” .Cisneros utilizes symbolism to convey the idea of sexuality in the Hispanic culture. Womens are only seen as a social object that men who has more social power over them can play around with, thus readers can see how Esperanza is blinded from being desirable, not knowing the danger around the society she’s living in. Esperanza isn’t mature enough to go out in a world surrounded by oppressive men, as she has faced a terrible experience of getting assaulted and raped later on in the text.

Towards the end of this vignette, Cisneros further highlights the idea of cultural identity, as every women on the Mango street are trapped and will never escape from the reality. The use of rhetorical question to convey both girl’s imagination to escape from the Hispanic society, “Do you wish your feet would one day keep walking and take you far away from Mango Street, far away and maybe your feet would stop in front of a house, a nice one with flowers and big windows and steps for you to climb up two by two upstairs to where a room is waiting for you”. This run on sentence helps illustrate how women on the Mango street are struggling in the sense of shame living in the barrio, furthermore these Latinos are only seen as an underclass foreign where they’ve been mistreated just because they’re different.

In the end, the vignette highlights many difficulties Esperanza and Sally are facing, living on the Mango Street. The struggle against many prejudices that stops women on the Mango street from being who they are and lastly their desire to have freedoms. There are many individuals in the world who are stucking in poverty and can’t find their ways out of that situation. Thus, it is essential to note that we’re all humans, with two feets and two arms, we should accept the diversities in our world and compromise in order to live a happy life.

Nowadays, the United States has grown rapidly throughout the years; however, one of the growths that have been shown is the one in Texas. The issue that now is showing is the fear that Hispanics would become the highest number of people populated in Texas. Whatsoever, this essay is going to talk about how the growth of Hispanics has impact Texas or how it will affect in the future. An analysis shows that the growth in Hispanics will impact Texas, the challenge would be that this will outnumber whites creating a controversy.

Many of the issues that Texas is facing with Hispanics coming to the United States is that it has become popular for immigrants entering illegally. The problem with this is that Americans think that this could put in danger the state since there could be encounter with, “poverty, non-assimilation, drugs, crime, and exploitation”. But Americans have seen that throughout the years the number of Hispanics has increased rapidly creating assumptions that in some years Hispanics will outnumber whites. The outnumber of Hispanics will also affect the government since this will lead to a Democratic electoral majority in Texas.

Although, the number of Hispanics has increased, also there has been new cultures encountered by the people that have developed throughout the years. The cause of these new beliefs to developed have been these immigrants that have taught their beliefs and learnings to their family and close ones in order to spread their culture. It is shown that Hispanics have influence Texas in a big number; mostly in the South part of Texas, where Hispanics try to cross the border and stay to make a new life there with new opportunities. “Government officials worry that their state was being transformed into a part-Mexican society that would prove unmanageable and ungovernable”.

By 2020, Hispanics are considered to surpass whites; however, there is a pie chart that shows the probability stated from 30 years of difference, for example, in 1980 shows that whites were in the percentage of 66%and Hispanics at 12%. Is predicted that in 2040, the percentage of whites it might be lower than the Hispanics, showing the percentage of 32% and for Hispanics a percentage of 53%. There has also been debates that favors and do not favors Hispanics, for example, a state representative has proposed a provisional to allow immigrants to get their driver’s permit with the conditions of having a job and do not have a criminal record. However, immigrants have generated a big deal of revenue through sales and income taxes that has cost the counties and local governments growth in services.

Finally, there is a big impact of growth in the number of Hispanics, but this have led to growth in the country not only in numbers, including socially and economically. Even though, there is many that disagree with the illegal entrance of immigrants, Americans do not see how this have also created benefits for the country by the growth in economy and a good outcome. However, this is an issue that is and, in the future, will also be confronted by the government.

The 2020 Democratic presidential candidate faces many challenges in garnering voter support across the country once they are picked as the nominee. The current viable candidates must look ahead, towards the future, in securing valuable blocs of voter support in order to defeat Trump. One of the most important and relatively overlooked electorates in America is the Latino bloc of voters, which has become the minority ethnic group with the largest population in the U.S. Garnering support and rallying Latino voters would be extremely beneficial for the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, as Latinos make up a significant population in many potential 2020 swing states. Mobilizing Latino voters has historically been difficult, as Latino voters encompass many different ethnic groups and have different voting interests. In Ricardo Ramirez’s book ‘Mobilizing Opportunities: The Evolving Latino Electorate and the Future of American Politics’, Ramirez attempts to outline the stimuli and patterns that bring Latinos to the polls. Specifically, Ramirez points out that Latinos are usually more involved and mobilized when certain political events cause them to react with high turnout against a harmful policy. Additionally, Latinos’ voting behavior varies highly on which state they reside in; a candidate’s ability to politically mobilize Latinos depends on the cultural and political structures in a given state. In important swing states and trending purple states like Florida, Nevada, and Arizona, different mobilization strategies must be employed to secure Latino votes based on historical and political factors.

Before focusing on different types of mobilization that can be employed, Ramirez emphasizes the essential role of the Spanish language media in mobilizing Latinos to organize; the Democratic presidential candidate should support the Spanish language media as it acts as a catalyst for Latino political support. Spanish TV and, more importantly, Spanish radio have been extremely important to the mobilization of Latino groups. Ramirez attributes the power and accessibility of Spanish radio to the fact that many Latino immigrants who work in the service sector can listen to the radio while they work and effectively ‘stay connected’ throughout the day. Historically, Spanish radio mobilized the movement against California anti-immigrant legislation HR 4437 in 2005, and radio DJs have played an influential role in providing information about protests. Considering the power and reach that these Spanish radio stations have across Latino states, Democrats should focus on appealing to these stations for support. Outreach on these radio stations will be extremely useful for GOTV strategies and for rallying Latinos around the candidate’s political issues. The Democratic candidate appealing to potential Latino voters over Spanish-language radio activates the common ethnic identity of the community, which makes this method of outreach more wide-reaching compared to other forms. Spanish-language radio is an extremely important tool to use to initiate mobilization amongst Latinos and would be extremely beneficial for the Democratic candidate running in the 2020 general election to employ.

Historically, Latinos have mobilized and gone to the polls at higher rates when faced with a significant threat to the community; in 2020, the issue most prominently affecting Latinos regardless of ethnic background is the current U.S. immigration policy. Under the Trump administration, the increased militarization of the border, as well as his anti-immigrant rhetoric, has instilled fear into Latinos. Efforts to enforce anti-immigrant policies in California in the past resulted in Latinos protesting and voting against these policies and politicians in higher numbers. The perception of a threat in the community and responding to that threat is what Ramirez defines as ‘reactive mobilization’, and this form of political participation has been employed with great but short-lived effects on Latino voting. Reactive mobilization can lead to increased rates of naturalization, greater political interest, and increased mobilization, however, this must be supplemented by Latino organizations to keep this fervor. While Ramirez emphasizes the heterogeneity of Latinos regarding the feasibility of reactive mobilization, current immigration policy has categorized Latinos as one unified group that Trump has targeted as an enemy. Unintentionally, Trump’s current anti-immigrant stance makes the probability of reactive mobilization more likely and strong as Latinos are being politically attacked as an entire group. The best way for the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate to approach immigration reform as a threat is to look through it on a state-by-state basis. In Florida, the influx of non-Cubans to the state has made reactive mobilization to the threat of harsh immigration laws possible, as Cubans no longer make up the majority of the Latino population in the state. Historically, Latino movements against voter ID laws have been effective in the state; Democrats should focus on emphasizing the threat of anti-immigrant legislation under the Trump administration to motivate Latinos to get out and vote. In Arizona, reactive mobilization has led to a united Latino front, and despite the smaller population of Latinos in the state, their proximity to the border and status as a red state gives Latinos the agency to participate as they are more directly affected. Democrats should support Latino organizations in the state that are focused on capitalizing on these movements. Finally, in Nevada, the lack of political organizations to grab hold of previous protests has made it difficult to mobilize Latinos in the state. Despite this, Democrats in Nevada should approach this issue by supporting greater naturalization for Latinos in the state, which would bring new voters into the electorate.

Democratic ‘Get Out the Vote’ campaigns seeking to motivate Latino voters in 2020 should focus on proactive strategies in swing and trending purple states, however, these strategies differ between states based on historical and cultural makeup. Proactive mobilization is used to break down barriers in Latino voting, like voter ID laws and registering Latinos to vote. These obstacles are more significant for Latinos because a large number might not speak fluent English, and as a result, organizations have been created to address these inequalities in the voting booth. As Democrats look towards swing states for potential new voters, they must anticipate the variation in the mobilization efforts based on historical and cultural factors, including the presence of Latino organizations and Spanish-language media available. GOTV campaigns need to focus on areas with an already strong presence of Latino organizations committed to increasing political mobilization. In associating with these groups, Democrats could reach more voters that would normally not go to the polls. In Florida, GOTV campaigns for the Democratic candidate would likely be very useful for gaining votes in the state because many non-Cuban Latinos have moved into Florida and they maintain a more liberal ideology. Due to Florida’s history of catering mostly to Cuban Latinos, the new influx of non-Cubans means that the possibility for dynamic mobilization is present as these new potential voters move in. A strategy in Florida would be to align with key civic organizations, with caution about potentially losing Cuban voters by moving too left. In Arizona, proactive mobilization has only recently left Latino civic groups in place, which means that there is a large untapped potential to appeal to new Latino voters. However, the lack of influence from Spanish-language radio, as well as the large amount of underage or first-time eligible Latinos in the state, means that the 2020 election may be the first time that many of these potential voters can move the state bluer. Ramirez also makes the distinction that while at the moment Arizona does not seem to be a potential sight for Latino mobilization, it will become one as Latinos turn 18 and civic infrastructure becomes more solid. Finally, in Nevada, focusing on GOTV efforts would require a lot of effort, for a potentially low return, as much of Nevada needs more support in registering eligible voters as well as promoting naturalization. As a result, GOTV efforts in Nevada would require mobilization from Latino organizations as well as labor unions to register a large number of eligible voters.

The Latino electorate is a highly complex and powerful force in the United States that has mobilized in the past for issues they perceived as a threat. Looking ahead to the 2020 election, garnering Latino support will require a combination of outreach, as well as collaborating with Latino organizations to register and motivate more voters. The use of Spanish-language radio would be extremely useful in appealing to a large group of potential voters. Highlighting a potential threat to the Latino community in Trump’s anti-immigrant policy would also create temporary support for the 2020 Democrat. Additionally, establishing connections in states with large Latino populations to build rapport for GOTV campaigns will pay off as more voters register and become informed about politics. In Florida, Arizona, and Nevada, the strategies that can be employed to activate mobilization amongst Latinos could lead to a blue trend and potentially even a decisive victory in these states.

Work Cited

1. Ramirez, Ricardo. 2013. Mobilizing Opportunities: The Evolving Latino Electorate and the Future of American Politics. Charlottesville, VA: The University of Virginia Press.

I am a member of subculture. Subculture is a “part of your life from birth to death such as religion, race/ethnicity, or the elite upper class”. I became a member on April 23rd of the year 1999. I was my parents first child. My grandparents second grandchild. This is where my journey into the Hispanic culture began.

Two material examples for Hispanic families such as mine would be the vapor rub and pinatas. Vapor rub, also known as ‘Vicks’, even though it may seem ridiculous it is a staple in Hispanic culture for at home remedies. Even though Vicks does have medicinal properties we use it as ‘it can fix anything’. Oh, have a cough? Rub some Vicks on your neck. Oh, can’t breathe? Dab some Vicks on the rims of your nose. Anytime I had a cold my grandma would rub Vicks on me, or when I was congested, she would put Vicks on my nose. To this day I still use Vicks for my husband and children. Pinatas were a big thing at parties when I was growing up. The traditional shape of a pinata is the seven pointed one. The seven points are designed to represent the seven sins. Known as greed, gluttony, sloth, pride, wrath envy, and lust. Even to this day they’re a big hit. You can find them in almost every child’s birthday party. You can fill them up with candy, toys or both. My family would get a candy pinata and a ball pinata; the ball pinatas are my favorite. When you would break the pinata the balls would fall and all you would see is kids diving towards the middle to reach them before they bounced off everywhere.

The fact that women ‘need’ to wait on there husband hand and foot, is my first example of a belief in Hispanic culture. Hispanic women tend to baby their spouse, in many ways such as picking up their plate after they finish eating and serving their food, they way they like it because it is expected of us to do so. Traditionally Hispanic women and men are taught since their childhood that men ‘run’ the house. Meaning the men are supposed to be the dominant force while the women are expected to resemble femininity and succumb to the male. For example, mothers and mothers in law will always ask if you take care of your husband the ‘right’ way. They say we are supposed to wash their clothes and fold them the way they like it, cook the meals they want even though we don’t like them we should still make it and eat together because it is what he wants. Since he is the man of the house, we should treat him like a king that he is.

A significant majority of Hispanics believe that God is present in the universe. They respect divinity. A large portion of the Hispanic culture value religion, church. More than 50% of Spanish speaking people are Catholic. Their main element is the catholic religion the service that the pastor gives, gives us a special meaning to our culture. It has the capacity to have an effect of life, family and community affairs that develop a spiritual meaning to be Hispanic/Latino culture.

Grandparents have a huge impact on their grandchildren’s life’s. We value our grandparents. My grandpa and grandma mean the world to my siblings and I. they are the rock of our family. They hold the foundation of our family like glue. They show us so much love that it just could not compare. We are very close and connected with our grandparents, we appreciate them, the time we spend with them. We are very family oriented when it comes to them. It gives us a feeling of love and support. Our ties are very strong. We also value our culture. We want to keep it alive. It is the foundation of our family’s teachings. We were taught many things by our parents; our grandparent’s and they were also taught by their parents and so on. Our goal is to keep our culture alive and to be able to tell our kids, grandkids about it. To be able to teach them what was taught to us. Teaching them how to love our culture and that is it okay to be different.

Most people celebrate Christmas on Christmas day. We celebrate it on Christmas Eve. Since I can remember we have always celebrated it like that. On December 24th we wake up, start preparing the food for our dinner which would be around 4pm. We eat dinner and then wait till the night to open our presents. My grandparents would tell us stories about when they were little, they would do the same thing with their families. My friends of different culture would always question why we did that. I never understood why because to me it is a normal thing to do. Dinning together is a well-known norm for Hispanics. We must eat together as a family. If we disobey that norm it would be considered as being disrespectful, not having table manners. I grew up eating together as a family. It was something I appreciated and didn’t mind doing because it was the time where our family would really listen to one another with no distractions.

Spanish and gestures are two languages used in Hispanic culture. Being Hispanic you were raised hearing your parents and family members accentuate the essential need of being able to communicate in Spanish. It is very important for us to know Spanish and keep it going with our children, it is very helpful being bilingual but to be bilingual you must keep the Spanish going as well. That is why Hispanic parents stress that we must know Spanish. Lastly would be gestures. When greeting a family member or a newcomer we greet with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Those are common greetings for us. We feel more comfortable when being greeted like we were taught to, the person you greeted feels welcomed. It also speaks on our manners.

Ethnography tells about culture and the members that comprise this culture. A definition in the scientific description of the customs and individual people of a culture. The progress of doing this assignment allowed me to explore another aspect of a culture group different from my own. For this assignment, I chose to interview my mother in laws friend named Rosio. I was aware of her Hispanic culture when I first met her just based on her first name and the fact that her main language was Spanish. I’ve always wanted to know more about a different culture that is way different than my own so I thought there would be no better person.

Before conducting an ethnography interview I made sure that I had asked Rosio first and made sure she agreed to do so. I then explained to her that it is important to be able to recognize and respect other cultures different from your own, and not believe one’s own culture is more valuable or superior to the rest. Sometimes issues can prevail when people are unable to connect culturally with others. Being tolerant and understanding what other cultures value is key to successful acceptance of one another. And you want to be sure you can complete all of these things before interviewing another indivisible with a different culture from your own.

Culture is a way of life for people, and it helps construct the foundation for people’s values, beliefs, and choices made in life. Cultures are what makes societies unique, making them an essential element in influencing our everyday lives. And as it carries from generation to generation, people will adapt to new technology and changes, but the principles remain the same. Rosio stated to me “ that she has no doubt that her culture has influenced her in almost every decision she has made so far in her life, underlying what she has been taught and the values she was raised with”. Rosio was born in California, but her parents and the generation before them were all born in Mexico, which makes her Hispanic. When asked Rosio what her culture believes in she knew right away. Without hesitation, she answered these principles, and knowledge was passed down to me at a very young age. We are firm believers in family and manner, which is pretty universal with all Hispanic families. For example, we were taught to have phenomenal table manners in our homes, grandparents, and friends, and in public, they all apply the same. Which consists of knowing when and how to greet people, being polite, and such. In our culture, we believe in this and follow it so much because the whole family becomes judged by how just one member behaves. Having good etiquette, especially with people outside your family is very important to our culture. We believe in being respectful of one’s surroundings and of what is not yours is part of showing others that you’re a respectful individual, and also part of being liked as an individual by others. My grandparents taught my parents this and passed it down to me and my siblings and that is: the general idea is to give out respect in order to receive respect back from others. Or in other words, treat others how you want to be treated. I have applied this concept to every event in my life.

Because human beings display a variety of cultural attitudes about controlling external forces, our attitudes about time, destiny and fate can be dramatically different. As I asked Rosio what attitudes influence her culture. She sat there for a second and said this kind of a hard question to answer. Her response explained that here in the US with American culture, struggle with accepting things the way they are and have the need to constantly try to change them. They feel they need to have control of life’s uncertainty. But as Hispanics, we live our lives that each day is taken as it comes. We live with attitudes such as having a positive mindset, and that things are the way they are and there is no changing it. She added I would like to say that we have an attitude that tomorrow isn’t always guaranteed but today is so make the best of it. As a culture tolerant of uncertainty it tends that have a relaxed attitude. Having us being more laid back influences my culture to enjoy every moment we have on earth.

Cultural traditions help us connect with our people; country, community, family, and friends. It’s what keeps you together as a culture. This leads to my next question for Rosio what are some of your cultural traditions? She reveals that there are so many Hispanic traditions-too many to list. But the ones in her family who participates will give you a taste of a few of the most popular customs that are practiced in Hispanic culture. The main cultural tradition her family does is a Quince Anos celebration. She explains this to be a very popular tradition that makes the right of passage from girlhood to young womanhood. It is based on a huge party with the Quinceanera the woman who is turning fifteen years old. The girl will wear a very huge and pretty dress, usually a pastel color. She adds that at this dance the girl will dance with her father, older brothers, or any other male relatives. Another cultural tradition is Hispanic Christmas. Like many other cultures, Christmas is the most popular tradition. Hispanics have many customs when it comes to Christmas. Some are that as children you will write letters to baby Jesus instead of Santa Claus. We will have midnight mass we do this right as it strikes midnight and it commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ. While growing up our culture made the understanding that Christmas is about Jesus, not all the presents. And my favorite Christmas tradition is Christmas Eve dinner. We plan all year for this and make it a very special night celebrated with family and closest friends. And we all bring a dish since food plays an important role during this celebration. My family has been doing these traditions for too many years to count and will continue to do so through generations.

Family is a combination of functional love, although the function or purpose of a family might be similar, family structure differs all over the world. Each member of the family role has a certain play. Through these next few questions that I ask Rosio, you will learn the gender roles in the Hispanic culture. The first question I asked her what is a man’s role. She answered in the Hispanic family the fathers occupy a position of authority and respect and takes most of the decisions for his family. They should also be the providers for their families, meaning providing them with a roof over their heads, clothes on their backs, shoes on their feet, and food on the table. That leads me to my next question for Rosio what is the woman’s role? Rosio explains to me that in the Hispanic culture women are the natural caregivers and play the role of housewives. They are responsible for taking care of their children, as well as doing the housework and preparing meals for their families. Then I asked her what is the children’s role. Rosio acclaims that from young age Hispanic families raise their children to be responsible and cooperative. The sons are helped responsible to provide for their families as well so typically start working at a young age. While the daughters look up to their grandmothers, mother, and aunts to be able to cook and do household chores. And the last question I asked her in relation to the family structure was how is the family viewed within your culture? Rosio confesses that family in Hispanic cultures is very close, they have family gatherings very frequently, and it’s all part of having the opportunity to see extended family such as our tios(uncles), tias(aunts), or cousins that we do not see every day. The need of our family is more important than the concerns of the individual’s needs. So in other words, she affirms that family is viewed as their greatest treasure.

When we talk about spirituality we are talking about the concept that has helped us cope. It’s what helps us get through the rough times in our life that we encounter. We use our spirituality and religious coping to help maintain our health and longevity, in well- belling during a chronic and terminal illness, through trauma, and stress. Through my interview with Rosio, I learned a lot about her own spiritual beliefs and the strengths they give her. I had first asked her would you mind sharing any spiritual beliefs that bring her strength. She asserted that throughout her life she has learned to be patient. It has made me good at hanging on over the long haul. I have learned to be thoughtful and patient with myself, with others, and with where God is going to lead me. Another spiritual belief I have endured that brings me strength is faithfulness. Being faithful to myself, and God. Knowing he is in total control of my life and knows what is best for me. I just have learned to sit back and be patient and faithful in his steering and know my time will come when he wants it to. I learned what Rosio values about her faith/religion is that she is united with God. She had faith that God is real and that he is with her always. And that he is in control of healing and her life. She claimed that if my family gets sick we will not go to the doctor because we believe in gods total healing and his words in the Bible. From her answers, I can convey Rosio has faith and trust in God and has faith his words are true. Yet, uses her spiritual beliefs to keep her strong through all the rough times we endure throughout our lifetime.

From this interview, I have learned so many new things. And that being able to understand other cultures like the Hispanics begins with knowing the traditions, faith, and experiences of these cultural groups. Knowing the things we like and do not like, what we believe in and how we act will always be affected by our culture. Yet even though we may have to live somewhere else away from our culture our food, customs, ideas, mentality, and judgment is all underlined by our cultures and live within us forever. And above all, being able to embrace and accept the beliefs, norms, and values of other cultures is crucial for cultural diversity to exist in any place, in this world.