The culture that i chose to research is Hispanic-Americans. Hispanic-Americans are the fastest growing population in the United States and has accounted for more than half of the nations growth in the last decade. The word "Hispanic" used to indicate a relationship to ancient Hispania, but in today's modern society it refers to the people and cultures of Spanish speaking, Latin American Countries. Hispanics have strong ties to family, friends, and the community. They value their culture and family traditions that have been passed down through generations. Hispanics tend to be very open and welcome visitors into their homes with open arms. Martin and Nakayama define culture as "learned patterns of behavior and attitudes shared by a group of people" (Martin & Nakayama:88, 2013). Hispanic's fit into this definition by having a set of beliefs and values that are specific to their nation, and more specifically to their cultural group.These beliefs and values can come from the history of their culture, but can also be learned. There are many aspects that make up Hispanic-American culture.
One of the main reasons Hispanics migrated to the United States was economic development. In the late 1800's the US started looking to Mexico to fill a drastically rising demand in the labor force in basic industries including agriculture, mining, construction, and transportation. Then in 1910 there was another surge of migration from Mexico to the United States when the Mexican Revolution broke out. Many Hispanics were fleeing the country to avoid persecution. Throughout history Hispanics have migrated both voluntary and involuntary. The voluntary migrants came to the US to find economic prosperity, while the involuntary migrants became short-term or long-term refugees fleeing their country during the revolution. I used the Transitional Model of cultural adaptation to explain the process these migrants went through to feel comfortable in their new environment. All transition experiences involve change, including some loss and some gain, for individuals (Martin & Nakayama 2013). The transitional model will show me the influence that Hispanic culture has on American and vise versa. I will also be able to learn about their transition into the US. Anyone entering a new country is going to experience culture shock, which is a relatively short-term feeling of disorientation and of discomfort due to the unfamiliarity of the surroundings and the lack of familiar cues in the environment (Martin & Nakayama 2013). I want to know how they overcame this emotional stress and how they learned to communicate across cultures. To answer these questions I conducted an interview and attended an event created around Hispanic heritage.
I interviewed a friend and fellow co-worker, named Osmin "Oz" Hernandez. Both of his parents were born in El Salvador, but involuntary migrated to America in the 1980's to seek refuge from the civil war going on in their country. They both had family in California so they migrated there, which is also where they met. Since they both had family who had lived in America long term, they were able to obtain permanent residency in America. Oz was born in California and lived there until he was a teenager, then his family moved to Nebraska.The U-curve theory is a series of 3 predictable phases that occur when migrating to another culture. The phases include: Excitement/anticipation, shock/disorientation, and adjustment (Martin & Nakayama 2013). I asked him to explain the U-curve theory he experienced after the move: " It was hard for me at first as a teenager, but I slowly began to appreciate the culture of Nebraska. I began to become involved within the community that I was living in, through volunteering and working. It was really different for me, a huge culture shock, but I ended up loving the place." He described Lincoln as a small, but diverse community. He also stated that people in Lincoln are much nicer than they were in California.
Here is his response to how he adjusted to the new culture: "One way I adjusted to the new culture was picking up on the accent. I slowly began to lose my Californian accent and adapt and adjust to the local sayings and such. I also picked up on the Nebraskan football culture, which I ended up loving and became a huge fan of Husker football."
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| Participating in the Husker football way of life |
The second part of my research was observation. To do this i attended the Day of the Dead Celebration at the Sheldon Art Museum on City Campus. Day of the Dead or "Cinco de Mayo" is one of the largest celebrated holidays in the Hispanic culture. This holiday commemorates the Mexican Army's victory over France at the battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War. This holiday has also become widely celebrated in the United States, especially in the areas with the largest Hispanic-American populations. It's celebrated with parades, music performances, and street festivals. The celebration at Sheldon included face painting, traditional food, and a mariachi band. They also had a decorative memorial set up to honor people who have passed. The theme from our text that I observed during this event was cultural integration. Integration occurs when migrants have an interest both in maintaining their original culture and language and in having daily interactions with other groups (Martin & Nakayama 2013). This celebration brought together Hispanic-Americans and the host culture,Caucasian Americans, showing the integration of the different cultures. I also made the observation that most of the Hispanic-Americans at the event were with their families, which shows the importance of family during the traditional celebration.
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| Mariachi Band at Sheldon Art Museum |
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| Decorative Memorial at Shelton Art Museum |
References:
Martin, J.N.& Nakayama, T.K. (2013). Intercultural Communication in Contexts.(6th ed). New York, NY: McGraw Hill
David Gutierrez, Ph.D. American Latino Theme Study: The making of America. Retrieved From:
A & E Television Networks. (1996). Cinco de Mayo. Retrieved from:
(2011) Hispanic Culture. Retrieved From:
(2003). Mexican Revolution. Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved From:
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