Hispanic Groups in the United States
There are many Hispanic groups that live in the United States. I will be talking about Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, and Latin Americans. Many of these groups have settled in America to live with their families.
The 1990 U.S. Census Bureau report reported that approximately 12 million people of Mexican ancestry lived in the United States. Over 66% of people with Mexican ancestry were born in the United States (Englekirk, 2008). Most immigrant groups in America have tried to maintain their cultural ways but with each generation their uses of these cultural practices seem to diminish. Most Mexican Americans speak Spanish and English because of living in the United States, especially the children that are born in the U.S. While attending school the children were discouraged or prohibited to speak Spanish in or out of the classroom until the mid-century. High immigration levels did not allow for Spanish to be taken away from this culture. In the 1980’s there were still over 100 Spanish-language newspapers in circulation in the U.S., 500 radio stations, and 130 television channels that are Spanish (Englekirk, 2008).
Approximately 75% of Mexican Americans are of the Catholic faith. The first Mexican American bishop was not ordained until 1970. Only 19 out of 360 bishops in the country were of Hispanic origin in 1992. There have been attempts to create a stronger bond in the U.S. between the Catholic Church and Mexican Americans (Englekirk, 2008). Mexican Americans have religious festivals and rituals. The most symbolic celebration is called the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which is celebrated on December 12th. It commemorates the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to a converted Christian Indian, Juan Diego, in Mexico. Some Mexican Americans will wake up early and go to the top of a hill and sing a traditional song called, “Las Mananitas.” Most of the Mexican American families will take...