Cultural Introduction Blog: Hispanic-Americans

An Introduction to the Hispanic Culture and My Future Explorations

Marcela Lopez: a twenty-one year old Hispanic American attending UNL. She is beautiful, fashionable, and probably the best dancer I know, and she is extremely proud of her heritage and culture.

Intrigued by her culture, I am in pursuit to gain a greater Intercultural Communication in Contexts, “Culture has been defined in many ways—from a pattern of perceptions that influence communication to a site of contestation and conflict,” (Martin & Nakayma, 2013, p. 88). From an interpretive perspective on defining culture, culture is learned and shared, involves contextual, symbolic meanings, and involves emotion. Culture influences communication, while communication reinforces culture (Martin & Nakayma, 2013). We can see this perspective of Hispanic-American culture in many ways.

understanding of the Hispanic-American culture, specifically Hispanic American females. According to Martin and Nakayma in

Hispanic-Americans are a people of storytelling, passing their culture down from generation to generation, learning and sharing with one another what it means to be a Hispanic-American. Families play an important role in a Hispanic-American’s life, in that they learn their culture through them. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, and sisters all have an impact by sharing traditional food recipes, passing down classic Hispanic folklore from home-countries, teaching them of traditional dance and celebrations, as well as modern twists on such events, as well as impacting how they practice their religion (Rivera & Rogers, 1997).

But what truly IS a “Hispanic-American?” We know that they are similar to many other cultural groups in that they value religion, family, and tradition; however, let’s take a closer look at their history and the specifics on such cultural characteristics. A “Hispanic-American” usually refers to one who originates from a Spanish-speaking, Latin American country such as Mexico, some Caribbean countries, as well as Central and South America (“Explore Hispanic culture,” 2012). Hispanics or Latinos all have a bond that resulted from the colonization by Spain of these several countries and they continued to be defined by government (Martin & Nakayma, 2013). In fact, the term “Hispanic-American” was created by the U.S. government in 1970 to identify people in a census of Latin-American descent (“Explore Hispanic culture,” 2012).

When reading an article created on a Hispanic Culture blog, many described their culture as revolving around food, family, music, language, and religion, and I can definitely relate in that sense in that I identify my culture with such items; however, the Hispanic culture is extremely unique. They not only value tangible items in their culture, but they value the symbolic meaning within their everyday lives. While they value the tangible elements of food (beans, rice, corn, plantains, etc.), they also value specific intangible colors one wears or has within the home as each color represents a different emotion. For example,

Hispanics use black for funerals (as do many other cultures) and carry "luto," which is a time when we dress in black after the person we love dies (“What Is Hispanic,” 2013). The Hispanic culture also adores music and dancing, and many, like my dear friend Marcela, could probably teach anyone a thing or do about the bachata, merengue, and salsa dance.

Regarding their emotions and social behavior, I read also from this blog that Hispanics highly value life, pets, religion and how it influences life, family values, and overall emotion. In the Hispanic culture, it is considered to be a common trait for everyone to be sensitive, including the men, which is different than the U.S. While studying this culture, I may also notice other social behaviors such as lack of risk-taking. This is a possible dominant trait due to how much the Hispanic community values family and views child-rearing as their top priority (“What is Hispanic,” 2013).

I am excited to pursue my in depth search into what it truly means to be a Hispanic American. I want to learn everything about their values and beliefs, what they love to eat, etc. In every research piece I found, it is said that the culture is unique to everyone who belongs to it. Each member of the culture has his or her own set of beliefs and own unique background: to each their own. I am excited to delve into discrimination Hispanic-Americans have and are continuing to deal with due to cultural differences, regarding recent and on-going immigration issues, as well as other racism. I hope to break the barrier walls of my own personal communication by understanding their hardships, as well as their accomplishments as a culture. I plan to observe and interview many Hispanic-Americans within the course of this project through the interpretive communication approach.

By understanding and describing the human behavior of the Hispanic-American cultural group, I will be able to enhance my own capabilities to engage in effective interpersonal communication with a culture different from my own. I intend to first contact those who I know of the culture, including Marcela and a group of her friends. I will attend cultural events with them such as going to Mexican dance clubs, listening to their music, and simply talking to them about their culture and what it does or does not mean to be a Hispanic-American. By conducting interviews and observing this group of friends in various settings, I will gain a solid foundation for my research. However, I also intend to move beyond just Marcela and her group and delve into the minds of other Hispanic-Americans here on campus. I plan to spend some time in the Jackie Gaughn Multicultural Center here at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and meet with some member of OASIS who are Hispanic-Americans, as well as attend their events, and hopefully gain an accurate history and background of not only those I meet with, but also those who they know and love (parents, grandparents, etc.) I want to know stories, I want to see them engage with what they are passionate, and I want to know what is different and similar to my own culture.

Though I hope this study to break stereotypes in my own mind by describing and understanding this group, ethical implications may include the very opposite: stereotypes may be reinforced. Also, a limitation to this method of research is that I am truly an outsider to this community; therefore, I may not be able to represent the cultural group as accurately as one who is a part of the community. To ensure that my study is ethical, I will follow the following guidelines as listed in our text: “have a respect for people; present myself face-to-face; look, listen, and then speak; share and host people, be generous; do not flaunt any knowledge” (Martin & Nakayma, 2013, p. 67).

I hope to begin this journey very soon by meeting Marcela and her many friends, and I hope to contribute to the advancement of intercultural communication.

References

(2013). What is Hispanic culture? What is means to you being Hispanic. Hispanic Culture, Retrieved September 26, 2013, from http://www.hispanic-culture-online.com/what-is-hispanic.html.

Explore Hispanic culture. (2012). Retrieved September 21, 2013, from http://www.explore-hispanic-culture.com/hispanic-culture.html.

Martin, J.N., & Nakayama, T.K. (2013). Intercultural Communication in Contexts (6th ed.) New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

Rivera, B. D., & Rogers-Adkinson. D. (1997) Culturally sensitive interventions: Social skills training with children and parents from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Intervention in School and Clinic. 33(2), 75-80.