The Latinos are sometimes called the Hispanic community. As a global cultural melting pot, the United States is composed of sub-cultures line that of the Latinos, Asian, Irish, African Americans and may more. So the census on American cultural included the significant influences that these cultural groups have had on the US cultural values. The Latinos have evolved for the last 20 years to become the second largest population in the US. Indeed, the US Census projects that this population is roughly 15% of the US population (Suárez-Orozco & Páez, 2009). This means that 45 million of an emerging culture (Latino culture) has had immense influence on the evolution. However, the Latinos have not been awarded credit for their heritage and family traditions.
The Latinos amount to 14% of the US population; they are the newest and fasted growing minority group of the country’s population. As of today, the US holds an estimated 43% of Latinos. The census projects that by 2050, 25% of the US population will be Latinos (Suárez-Orozco & Páez, 2009). Latino is used to describe a group with a shared cultural heritage and a shared language but does not imply race or a shared ancestry. This means that the Latinos reflect heterogeneous combination of African, European and Native American ancestries. Hence, they are identified as any race or combined race, as indicated by the 2000 American census. This census reveals that race is often a fixed attribute of a person, associated with his genetic composition while ethnicity is all about the shared language, religion, history, culture and genetic history.
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The Latino people had long mixed racial classifications and identities. The origin of these people in the US is marked by the integration of European colonizers, Africans, and native indigenous communities brought to the US as slaves (Bergad & Klein, 2010). Consequently, the Latino community entails individuals who look, Black, White, and many mixtures. Moreover, following the 20th century Americanization, the Latinos who appeared European joined the White race as those with visible Black or African origin joined the Black race. The remaining were categorized as Native Americans. For five decades, the census has promoted this perception by informing that Latinos are grouped as Black, White or other because they are not an autonomous race.
Most Africans in Mexico lived in Texas and Mexico before slavery drastically relegated them to a position where they were denied the rights and privileges of the white Europeans. Via various categorical approaches, both illegal and legal, African Mexicans were systematically disenfranchised of their liberties and properties, thus turning into landless laborers for white businessmen and land owners. The level of absorption and subordination grew progressively over time and became worse as the African-Mexican population increased. By the close of 19th century, these people had been transformed both economically and socially into subordinate stratum objects to massive exclusions and discrimination (Bergad & Klein, 2010). The level to which they had been transmuted rendered this population a “ notoriously indolent and unprogressive in all matters of education and culture” doing dirty jobs fit only for “the lowest grade of unassimilable native-born races” though their “usefulness is, however, much impaired by [their] lack of ambition and [their] proneness to the constant use of intoxicating liquor ” (Suárez-Orozco & Páez, 2009).
In today’s Mexican community, color is a taboo topic. However, the elites are mostly light skinned or White. Colorism is evident, meaning darker versus lighter. The bulk of white Mexicans refused to be identified as White because the term “white” means gringo. They prefer to identify as Mexican. However, some identify as White or more commonly as Frenchman or Spaniard. Often, those who identify as both Latino and Black are seen as outsiders in these communities. Ideally, many Latinos in their absorption to white American culture, believe that being Black means a dangerous or incapacitated person. Moreover, African Mexicans today deny their black heritage. The average Mexican is at least 4% Black, and they are equally distributed throughout the land. (Bergad, & Klein, 2010). For instance, in Argentina, the Mexican myth is simple; the Blacks vanished into thin air. Mexicans are easily upset by anyone suggesting the obvious, that the Blacks were bred into the Mexican genetic pool, thus vanished.
Religion is of key significance among Hispanic/Latino people. The colonial experience produced a different culture that strongly believes in the Catholic faith. The Spanish carried Catholicism to the US. In fact, Spanish missionaries were active in South West America as early as 1540. This means that the Latino comprise at least 40% of the Catholic population. Statistics from the Gallup Report prove the belief that Latinos predominantly follow the Catholic faith (Bergad, & Klein, 2010).
For Latinos, both Spanish and English are important languages. They believe that they must learn English to succeed in the US. Following immigration, a good percentage of Latinos can speak English better thus, English has become the dominant language in this community. As such, English is dramatically making ground among Latinos and has become dominant than Spanish in the emerging generations. Across a range of beliefs and attitudes, it is obvious that language is the leading forces behind the process of Latino assimilation in the US.
As the Latinos grew and migrated, they carried a collectivism culture that has served to enrich the individualism of the US. To them, non-verbal communication is extremely important. When speaking, Latinos tend to touch a person. In fact, they like to stand closer to an individual when talking. References (Bergad, & Klein, 2010). However, they think that long-term eye contact is a sign of disrespect. This culture values the non-verbal communication procedure. Despite being significant to the heritage, it is also important to the development of interpersonal relations. The norms and values of Latinos including their work ethics have demonstrated to improve the American experience thus made the US a better place to live. The family is the backbone of this community. The Latino community is a perfect illustration exemplifying the highest degree of family cohesiveness. For example, the Latino family members tend to be close as a family unit. In the traditional Latino family, the mother is expected to maintain the household. The senior family members are responsible for ensuring the Spanish language tradition among the young has continuity. Similarly, the father is the unopposed head of the household. The elderly insist that younger family members must show respect, good manners and understand the value of honor.
References
Bergad, L. W., & Klein, H. S. (2010). Hispanics In The United States: A Demographic, Social, and Economic History, 1980-2005. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Suárez-Orozco, M. M., & Páez, M. (2009). Latinos: Remaking America . Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press.
