Key Elements Learned About the Hispanic/Latinos Culture

Cultural Immersion Project
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Cultural Immersion Project
Research Portion
Key Elements Learned About the Hispanic/Latinos Culture
Spirituality and/or religion as appropriate to the cultural groups
Studies suggest that a significant percentage of Hispanics/Latinos are religious and embrace Christianity. According to Sciupac (2020), Hispanics/Latinos were likely to attend worship services frequently and indicated that religion was pivotal in their lives when compared with other Americans. Most women consider religion and spirituality influential in their spiritual, mental, and physical health (Kent et al., 2020). They are prone to seeking help from a deity, God. Faith in God and prayer are integral in their daily functioning, signaling consideration of religion as a protective factor (Caplan, 2019). Apart from health, religion is adopted to act as a moral compass, offering guidance on various areas of interest, including politics. Sciupac (2020) and Schmidt (2019) add that approximately 55% of US Hispanic adults were Catholics, while Protestants were about 22%. Only 3% of the population identified as atheists, which signals that most Hispanics are religious and believe in God. The cultural group is collectivist, which implies that religion is popular among families and the local communities around them. Most believers do not champion church attendance even though they respect the priests and church leadership; instead, an integral part of their faith entails practicing religion in the neighborhood and their homes.
Common attitudes, beliefs, and values relative to the cultural group
Hispanics/Latinos are considered a collectivist group. This implies that family or group orientation informs their lives, and people are more likely to embrace opinion-seeking behaviors rather than a more individualistic life (Sawicki & Chapa, 2018; Krys et al., 2022). Sawicki and Chapa (2018) further allude that collectivist tendencies have two dimensions, including vertical and horizontal. Hispanics match the horizontal collectivism dimension, which includes disregard for social hierarchy, in favor of an in-group perception. This includes filial piety, familism, and communalism (Jason et al., 2018). In other words, the group adopts an allocentric rather than egocentric attitude. Importantly, the culture is constantly exposed to migration and acculturation that threatens their reliance on collective tendencies and increases the prevalence of mainstream culture. They were more likely to embrace less independent behavior among family members (Krys et al., 2022). The author adds that Latinos can be ranked low on relational mobility because they champion fixed relationships, interdependence, stable and long-lasting interactions, and relationships and rarely leave their old friends and family behind. Apart from the above, one cannot disregard the prevalence of divine intervention (Caplan, 2019). This is a widely embraced Latino belief because the group champions religion, primarily Christianity, and its teachings.
History/Patterns of immigration of this cultural group to the US
The US faced a surge of immigrants from Mexico because of its strong economy that implied the migration would facilitate escape from violence and poverty. According to Gonzalez-Barrera (2021), Mexican immigrants, for example, have championed mass migrations into the US as early as 1965 until recently, following the immigration laws adopted by Trump's regime. It is important to note that the 1965 migration was a surge, which implies that migration to the US existed before, just not on the same level. The first instance of Latino immigration can be linked to the 1846 US-Mexican War, resulting in Mexico ceding territories in regions such as California (Guitierrez, 2020). This resulted in Mexican's recognition as US citizens. Drastic immigration laws targeting Asian countries implied that US firms turned to Mexico for cheap labor, which father fueled immigration in the late 19th and early 20th century. Another historical event that increased migration was the Mexican Revolution, and the number has kept rising since then.
Key historical events and figures impacting the cultural and societal perceptions of this group.
One of the historical figures among Latinos is Caesar Chavez, who is recognized for his activist role in the civil rights era. His foundation credits him for involvement in social change, including overcoming societal oppression that Latinos/Hispanics faced in the US (Cesar Chavez Foundation, 2022). His contributions included fighting for the rights of agricultural workers, which entailed activism and the creation of the farm workers association, thus granting them better working conditions. The historical event applicable in this case would be the Supreme Court ruling involving Hernandez v. State of Texas (Library of Congress, n.d.). The court indicated ruled that Mexican-Americans the law guaranteed equal protection to Mexican-Americans as it did to the whites and other races or ethnic groups in the US. This was in line with the 14th Amendment, which implied that everyone was granted citizenship through birth or naturalization. These events granted equal rights to Hispanics/Latinos who migrated to the US and those who previously worked in white's agricultural fields. In other words, it was an achievement towards eradicating discrimination that primarily targeted people of color, such as Hispanics/Latinos. Apart from the above, one cannot disregard the Chicano movement, which primarily entailed Mexican American civil rights movement between the 1960s and 70s (Bermudez, 2022). In this case, the focus was primarily on addressing a wide range of issues, including racial discrimination and structural inequalities that championed infringement of Latinos' political, voting, education, and worker's rights (Munoz Jr., 2018; Library of Congress, n.d.). The movement championed Hispanic/Latino empowerment, ultimately challenging widespread racial discrimination. It achieved notable reforms in favor of the Latinos, including bicultural programs, better migrant working conditions and employment opportunities, and their ability to hold office as elected leaders.
Historical and Current Oppression
Hispanics' oppression assumes economic, social, physical, and political contexts. Importantly, the Chicano movement discussed above is an example of the prevalent oppression that Hispanics/Latinos faced in the past (the 1960s-1970s). The US primarily championed white dominance over people of color, resulting in structural inequalities and racial discrimination. In fact, before the movement, Mexican-Americans, for example, were barely granted equal employment, education, voting, and political rights. The workers in the farms were also subjected to unfavorable working conditions, which invited the civil rights movement primarily to fight for equality and overcome racial discrimination. Based on Bermudez's (2022) analysis, the oppression manifested in the form of a lack of opportunities, increased poverty, and racial segregation and discrimination. Activists such as Caesar Chavez gained popularity because they championed civil rights, including improving consumer and Mexican migrant workers' rights. Additionally, attacks and mass deportation, among other injustices, targeted Hispanics/Latinos (Torres et al., 2022). This includes the 1920-30 forced deportation and mob lynching between 1848-1928.
Multiple decades later, the cultural group still faces oppression in the form of police racial and criminal profiling. A recent NBC News Article revealed that speaking Spanish in public, for example, would earn Latinos unfair or unwarranted border patrol scrutiny (Acavedo, 2021). In fact, Hispanic men were increasingly exposed to police search and force. The discrimination and disregard for due process primarily target migrants of color, including Hispanics. Civil rights violations are still a major concern among Mexicans in the US (FitzGerald et al., 2019). In fact, recent regimes such as Trump's have openly adopted harsh anti-immigration laws and deportations that target Hispanics of Mexican descent. Even though the Immigration and Nationality Act presents procedures for deportations, Hispanics/Latinos are primarily targeted and unlawfully arrested.
Events Portion
Description of Events Attended
Church Service
I recently attended a Hispanic church service. Recommended by a Latino friend, I thought the priest would embrace Spanish because the believers were primarily of Hispanic background, and Spanish is their native language. However, the church service was conducted in English, which arguably signaled acculturation towards the mainstream culture and language. Another notable observation was that the congregation was not offered multiethnic worship, which included a translation to accommodate both Spanish and English languages. Notably, a majority of the church attendees that Sunday were women. There was a 'decoration' around the pulpit, which arguably depicted the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe/Virgin Mary. As the priest walked towards the altar, everyone stood up while singing. The first words by the priests included "in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit," which were repeated by the congregation while making a cross sign around the forehead, chest, and shoulders. At some point, the priest sprinkled water on the congregation, who repeated the cross sign.
Festival Latino
The same fri...