Hispanic Americans have played an integral role in the formation and history of America. Ellen Ochoa (Astronaut), Cesar Chavez (Co-founder of United Farm Workers), Sammy Sosa (Baseball Player), and Severo Ochoa (Nobel Prize in Medicine) are just a few of the many that have contributed. In this paper I will discuss the linguistic, political, social, economic, religious, and familial conventions and/or statuses of four Hispanic groups living in the United States. These four groups are Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, and Columbian Americans.
Mexican Americans
The majority of Mexican Americans speak Spanish as their first language. Schaefer (2006) stated, “As of 2002, about 23 percent of Mexican Americans are English dominant, 26 percent are bilingual, and 51 percent are Spanish dominant” (p. 241). A distinction needs to be made between Mexican Americans and Mexican Immigrants. A Mexican American is someone that is either born in America or is legally an American citizen. A Mexican Immigrant is one that is a native of Mexico and has not yet achieved their citizenship as an American. The Mexican Americans come from all over Mexico resulting in a wide variety of linguistic varieties amongst them. Mexico’s language is derived from Spanish but varies from different regions in Mexico. The Mexican American population is very much into the political civil rights in America. They are active in many civil rights movements, from workers rights to voting rights. The social status of the Mexican Americans is poor due to the majority not having an education. Because of the poor education, economically the Mexican Americans are behind White Americans. A writer for the Public Policy Institute of California writes “Substantial education and wage deficits persist between people of Mexican descent and other Americans. Third generation Mexican Americans in California average a year and a half less schooling and about 25 percent lower wages than...