Hispanic Culture Polito/Bruewer

“Hispanic” Basics:   Term “Hispanic” was created by the U.S. government to bring together a large and varied population.   The word “Hispanic” is actually a cultural or ethnic term. There is no single Hispanic nationality. Hispanics come from many races and origins. Hispanic classification draws from over 20 nations.

“Hispanic” Basics:   U.S. Census Bureau classifies Hispanics as Americans who trace their ancestry to: Mexico, Puetro Rico, Cuba, Spain, Dominican Republic, Spanish-speaking countries in Central America.   Excludes people from countries where Spanish is not the primary language spoken—such as Brazil and Portugal.   Puerto Ricans: they are a part of a U.S. territory and having various rights compared to other Hispanics who live in the U.S.

What’s Important? Three Important Parts of Hispanic Culture: Family Religion Music/Dance   All three above are very important to the Hispanic people.   The most important of all three, however, is family (la familia).

The Four Main Groups: Hispanic: used by Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and other Caribbean people who consider their heritage linked to Spain Latino: used by descendants of Latin America (Mexico, Central America, South America) Chicano: used by the people of Mexican ancestry wishing to distinguish their heritage from those of other Latin American countries. The term Mexican-American is becoming a popular replacement Hispaño: used by the direct descendants of Spanish conquistadors and other Spanish settlers of the U.S. southwest (who did not immigrate from Latin America)

Mexican Culture Polito/Bruewer

Mexican Family Values   The family is at the center of the social structure   Extended family is as important as the nuclear family since it provides a sense of stability   Mexicans consider it their duty and responsibility to help family members.   Most Mexican families are extremely traditional, with the father as the head, the authority figure, and the decision maker.   Mothers are greatly revered, but their role may be seen as secondary to that of their husband.

Hierarchical Society:   Mexicans emphasize hierarchical relationships   People respect authority and look to those above them for guidance and decision- making   Rank is important, and those above you in rank must always be treated with respect.   It would be disrespectful to break the chain of hierarchy

“Machismo”   Literally means “masculinity”   Mexican males generally believe that nothing must be allowed to tarnish their image as a man.   Many believe it causes forms of sexism within the Mexican culture.

Mexican Religion   Traditional Mexican religions were polytheist, meaning they worshipped many deities/gods.   When the Spaniards arrived in Mexico, however, they brought priests who converted the Mexicans to Catholicism. Mexicans, from then on, were monotheistic (believed in One God)   Other deities were not forgotten; the deities blended into Catholicism.   Many practices and rituals exist today that worship the deities from Mexico’s past.

Important Terms in Culture and Literature Polito/Bruewer

1. Assimilation   To give up one’s own ethnic ways to blend into the mainstream culture … either by choice or by force.

2. Magic Realism (Realismo Mágico)   Literary technique that weaves myth- like occurrences with the everyday realism and life (very popular in Hispanic literature)   A realistic event, image, story, etc., but something about it seems to be different, weird, fantastical, or odd.   Blurs the lines between reality and fantasy.

Magic Realism Example #1

Magic Realism Example #2

Magic Realism Example #3

Magic Realism Example #4

Magic Realism Example #5