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Latin american culture
Latin american culture
Latin american culture
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In Latin America some of their traditions and customs are crucial to being a latin american. These traditions are all about the special moments of a person’s life, like birthdays, coming-of-age’s and death. For example, in the hispanic culture, they celebrate the Quinceanera, which is the Latina coming-of-age celebration when a girl turns fifteen years old. Almost like a sweet 16 but LAtina style. Then for birthdays the Latin Americans use the famous Pinata, a decorated container filled with candy and toys. Which is suspended in the air, to be broken by blindfolded children with sticks. Even Jupiter Jones once said, “In the South American storytelling tradition it is said that humans are possessed of a hearing that goes beyond the ordinary.
The Quinceañera is a celebration in Latin America that is very comparable to our Sweet 16 celebration, also know as the fiesta de quince años. The origination of the word comes from the feminine term of fifteen-year-old in Spanish. The overall celebration marks the transition from childhood to becoming a young woman. In earlier times this celebration was meant to be a teaching point for young women to learn how to cook, weave, and the art of becoming a mother. Depending on the family specifically, some can carry a religious tone, and some can be more traditional and casual.
The Latinos make up close to 16 percent of the total American population, thus becoming the 2nd largest ethnic community. Just like many other migrant populations, the Latinos seek to keep in touch with their Hispanic traditions and cultures. As Alvarez puts it, children born in the US are thus taught certain cultural events and values so as to maintain their lineage. The most common one as discussed by Alvarez in her book is the quinceañera. This refers to a girl’s celebration as she reaches fifteen. This day of celebration is supposed to mark a girl’s transition from being a child to an adult woman. Among other traditional symbols, these parties are huge and include choreographed dances and ball gowns.
Envision stepping into the room, seeing your guess smile and talk quietly, the atmosphere of the room glowing, and feeling the warmth grow inside your chest as you know you planned a successful Quinceanera. The day a girl of the hispanic culture turns 15, is the day her fantasies come to life; and she becomes a women. Quinceaneras carry lots of quarks, small details, and ideas; but with these simple steps it can be perfected.
Ever since I was young I wanted to have a Quinceanera. I always wanted to wear a long and fluffy dress and a shiny crown on my head. I always saw many girls on t.v or family members have their own Quinceanera, so I decided that I wanted to have mine as well. Quinceanera are family traditions, in Mexico it’s when a young girl is about to become fifteen years old they have a Quinceanera, which represents that you are turning into a young woman.
Easter is as big of a celebration as Christmas is. Easter in the US, is celebrated by going to church for Holy Thursday and Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and also on Easter Sunday. We recognize what happened each day leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion and when he had risen from the dead. Non-religious people in the US only do Easter egg hunts and hunt for candy from the Easter bunny. This is a very common activity practiced on Easter Sunday by most families in America. Just like Christmas, Hispanic cultures really only focus on the real purpose of Holy Week and Easter. Hispanics celebrate Easter by dressing up as creatures and people from brotherhoods, and roam the streets celebrating and devoting their love towards Christ. They also celebrate by burning Judas dolls in the streets, these are made out of straw. Hispanics also go to Church to celebrate these days and to recognize them. Hispanics and the US both celebrate Easter in their own and unique
of the native tongue is lost , certain holidays may not be celebrated the same , and American born generations feel that they might have lost their identity , making it hard to fit in either cultures . Was is significant about this book is the fact it’s like telling a story to someone about something that happened when they were kid . Anyone can relate because we all have stories from when we were kids . Alvarez presents this method of writing by making it so that it doesn’t feel like it’s a story about Latin Americans , when
...ood that is served has many sides and is commonly brought out to the guest as they are watching the dance. The dessert is the most important part of dinner, because it is the birthday cake. The cake is the centerpiece of the party, and is decorated accordingly to the designs in the room. A quinceañera cake can be similar to a bridal cake in size and elegance. It is generally stacked and topped with gorgeous icing to attract attention. Loud music is played throughout the night for dancing and having a great time, celebrating a young Mexican girls fifteenth birthday.
...parts of the celebration, October 31st, November 1st, and finally November 2nd. On October 31st, it is seen that the kid’s souls return. November 1st is considered the adult’s day of returning, and November 2nd is when all souls have returned from the dead and there is a big celebration. People of Mexico celebrate by making many baked goods and cooking meals, making objects such as masks and decorating papers and toy coffins to prepare for the return of the souls.
Some people believe that the piñata’s origin is not Spanish, it is Chinese. For the Chinese, it was decorated with real symbols and the colors that were used for the piñata were mainly used to bring good weather for the next season. During that time, the contents of the piñata were not toys and candy, but instead five different seeds. It is now known to have a meaning for Christian’s during the celebration of Lent in Spain. The piñata can be easily made with using only few materials such as cardboard tubes from pap...
As a traditional, collectivistic cultural group, the Latino population is believed to adhere deeply to the value of familismo. (Arditti, 2006; Calzada, 2014). Familism is an emphasis on the importance of the family unit over values of autonomy and individualism”. (Santistaben, 2012). Family is considered to be the top priority in the Latino culture. Comparatively, at times, this isn’t true of our busy, work devoted western culture. In western culture we think of our family in a nuclear sense made up of a: mom, dad, and siblings. Conversely, Hispanic culture focuses on the whole extended family including aunts, uncles, grandparent, and cousins. Their culture believes having close connections with the entire extended family benefits the development of their children. The entire family helps the child by giving them differing levels of social and emotional support. (American Home Resolutions,
Latin American society places a great deal of importance on the family as a support network; it is not uncommon for several generations to reside in the same house. This emphasis is called familismo, and the mother in the family is usually the most important figure. She “is seen as the primary nurturer and caregiver in the family…[and] plays a critical role in preservation of the family as a unit, as well as in...
Clutter, Ann W., and Ruben D. Nieto. "Understanding the Hispanic Culture." Osu.edu. Ohio State University. Web. 20 Nov. 2011. .
The customs they learned as kids have been passed on to me. We were always having barbeques in the backyard, Christmas parties, Easter egg hunting, having pan de los muertos on the Day of the Death, and celebrating Mexico’s Independence. Even though we celebrate Mexican holidays we would also celebrate American Holidays like 4th of July, Halloween, and Thanksgiving. Having to celebrate both cultures holidays was a pleasure, because it would give us time to see our family more. Also, we would be able to celebrate some holidays twice like mother's day because in Mexico it was always on the tenth of May and in America it was another
Another way the diverse Latin American culture has influenced many individuals, including myself, is with their ...
Coming of age ceremonies were already practiced in ancient times. Believing in the South American myths, the indigenous tribes of the Mexican, including amongst others the Incas and Mayas, hold special introduction ceremonies to prepare their youngest members for their roles as adults. The girls got to know qualities like cooking, which educated them for their role as a future mother and housewife. After this preparation, the girls were celebrated for completing their childhood, and then presented as an adult member of society. This is the oldest rite of passage ceremony known about and similar to Quinceañeras today. Later, when the Spaniards invaded Mexico in the 16th century, they adopted this kind of passage celebration to their culture