Hispanic American Diversity

Hispanic American Diversity

The United States is a country that has many diverse, racial and ethnic groups. We have the highest and fastest growing minority group, the Hispanics. The population of Hispanics continues to grow every year and make up the biggest part of a diverse culture United States. I believe Hispanics continue to play a major role in the United States and have a lot to offer other cultures. The support of the Hispanic population the economy and the work force. This group has always played an important part in the growth of the United States. The four groups that I will be discussing are Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cubans and then the Columbians.

The first Hispanic group I will be talking about is the Mexican American group. Many Mexicans immigrated to the U.S because they were looking for a better life for themselves and their families. When Americans were fighting overseas during World War II, many Mexicans were welcomed because of the cheap labor and great help they provided. Even today the Mexican Americans continue to play a big role in the support of working the farms which most Americans are not willing to do.

The Spanish language is a big part of the Mexican American culture and helps to unify the culture. Most of them have not given up their native language, but instead learned English as well, making them bilingual. Roman Catholics religion is a big part of the Mexican Americans culture and they have a strong religious belief. The Political views are also of great importance for most Mexican living in America. They make a strong effort to be very involved in what is being done by the American government. By becoming involved in their local and national governments, Mexican Americans are proving themselves to be a great political force to be dealt with. They have demanded attention from the politicians who now fight for the many votes of Mexican Americans. Many Mexican Americans are making an effort in the political force to help make a better future for Mexican Americans, which in turn benefits the economy (Schaefer 2006).

The next set of Hispanic cultures I will be discussing is the Puerto Ricans. The Act of 1917 "which was called the Jones Act" made Puerto Ricans living on the island of Puerto Rico and the mainland American citizens. They are a Spanish speaking group that maintains a very close relationship with their ethnicity. Puerto Ricans consider themselves to be Americans, but they are very proud of where they come from and their culture. They are very nice people and always make you feel like you are part of the family. Most Puerto Ricans usually like to greet you with a hug and kiss on the cheeks (Schaefer, 2006). Family life is very important to the Puerto Rican society as well as other Hispanic groups.

Puerto Ricans usually live close to family members so they can attend activities such as going to church, which is very important to the Hispanic culture. Education is also very important for Puerto Ricans. However when compared to the White American living here, they fall short only because they are a bilingual speaking group. There are several programs that encourage bilingualism to help the Hispanic community. However those programs can't keep up with the constant influxes of the Hispanic population,