My Hispanic Heritage

As a Latina from a Mexican family I struggle to find a middle ground between pride and confidence. The Hispanic culture stresses not to forget your roots and be proud of who you are so I was raised that way, my parents and grandparents really valued our culture’s beliefs we may live in the US now but I should still be proud to call myself Mexican. Both my parents taught me to be confident of who I am and not let myself be affected by the strange world around me, to have a sense of pride in my originality and be proud of the gifts I was given by God. Religion is imperative to the Mexican culture, if you are Mexican then it is essential to be a Guadalupano, a person who is devoted to the Virgin de Guadalupe (Virgin Mary) you must take your religion

Hispanic heritage is an important concept that surrounds my entire life. I have lived in Puerto Rico during my whole childhood. This culture has been important in my life because it helps define who I am and how I view the world. Both of my biological parents are Dominican, but I lived with my mother and step-dad in Puerto Rico. It was not until I moved to the United States that I began to become more aware of different ethnic groups. The United States has been called the “melting pot” society. Newcomers to this country were expected to adapt their “old world” values and culture to fit the values and lifestyles of the “new world” (An Overview of Diversity Awareness, n.d.).

All cultures are different and influence how we develop as adults. In my Mexican American culture many virtues of strength, courage, and hope has been passed on. Growing up in an environment where financial hardship prevailed I was still able to observe how my parents had hopeful attitudes, loved, had patience, and kindness toward others. Our strong family unity brought me comfort and confidence in knowing I had their support and guidance. The qualities my family passed on to me are hope, love, patience, kindness, respect, caring, and most significant being helpful. Culture and family engraved in my thoughts that hard work pays off and to uncover meaning in life one must persevere in education and thrive to support those struggling. Life has given me the opportunities to practice many qualities and I’ve learned they are to cherish. They have molded my character somewhat in that, as the years passed, I adapted and applied them. My intent is to keep the principles imparted to me and with a positive attitude, carry myself with might and bravery as I travel forward in life.

The National Park Service and National Historic Landmark programs have listened to the call to action and in the last 10-years have focused efforts on highlighting the contributions of Latino Americans. In May 2011, the National Park Service launched the American Latino Heritage Initiative. Its goal was to develop and implement, and advance the representation with in the National Historic Landmarks Program. In the program’s first year, 2011-2012, 20% of new National Historic Landmarks were associated with Latino-American heritage (Progress Report 1). Another way that Latino-American heritage was included at National Historic Site, Landmarks, and National parks was to interpret sites including people and events associated with the heritage

Hispanic students who were brought at an early age through immigrant parents wanting to provide a better, safer environment for their kid may usually end up stuck and excluded. There are programs like Hispanic Unity that help their Hispanic community by providing a place for daycare, volunteer programs to teach kids, teenager and adults about important subjects necessary to succeed in the U.S. The classes range from studying for the citizenship test, or learning English, to filing taxes. They also provide help for family in need of clothes, shelter, food, materials. I would like to similarity build a team that sets a goal to inform and support their fellow community members. Our cause would be to provide the basic necessities to student with

This project was very interesting, and what I noticed, there is people from the same ethnicity who have different opinions about what an American is. When I was interviewed my coworker who is a Mexican American (person 2), a friend who is a Mexican American as well was there hearing the interview. I asked her what is her ethnicity and if she consider herself an American. She told me that she is a Mexican American because she was born here and her parents are from Mexico. Same thing with her ex-husband. However, she does not consider her son a Mexican American because both of his parents are born here. My coworker asked her, “Why did you say that if he is your parents’ grandson? He has Mexican blood”. And she said, “Because I am the first generation

Ethnic groups are made up people who share a unique social and cultural background. Society has put in our minds that we need ethnic identifications to feel part of a certain group of people. These feelings of belonging or attachment to a certain group of people is a normal thing for us humans but, why can't we be more than one? Many people shame on you for identifying yourself with one certain culture when you come from a mixed background. There are millions of people that live here in the US but are of Mexican descent. Being a Mexican American can be difficult because of all the stereotypes and discrimination, but also carries a sense of pride.

Mireya is an eight year old girl who was born in Michoacán Mexico, where she recently lived with her parents and siblings Mario (10 years old) and Lorena (12 years old). Michoacán, formally established as, Michoacán de Ocampos, is the sixteenth largest municipality or state located in the western region of Mexico. In addition to México, Michoacán borders five other municipalities, Colima, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Queretaro, and Guerrero and the Pacific Ocean. Michoacán is acknowledged for being the birthplace of Mexico’s drug war that was created by La Familia Michoacán, a Mexican drug cartel in the 1980’s. In accordance with, “Official data reported by the National Institute of Statistics and

I also started becoming more cognizant of both the obvious and hidden privileges race afforded me but not offered my family, observing various people in our community make discreet assumptions regarding our family based solely on our Hispanic surname. Hyde emphasizes, “The point is to understand that how you move through life does not necessarily correspond with how others see that journey. What you think might be central to your identity may not even register with someone else. Conversely, what you minimize (such as racial privilege) may be of central importance to others” (2012, p. 433). As my children step into adulthood, I have watched them develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of their Hispanic heritage, their cultural identity

I actually tend to question others about their ethicity if it is not cleary shown espeically for my friends who all have brown skin with the exception of one of my friends who has white skin, everyone questions about her parents even though they come from Mexico. In a way I do get angry when someone just randomly thinks I am of Mexican decent, which isn't true since my father is actually Salvordian however my mother is Mexican. The majoirty of individuals don't feel the need to question back the questioners since they believe it is rude to do so. For me I learned that I am sort of special in this community in San Fernando, with most families having both parents from the same country. Therefore I simply just see the questioners as hopeful indiuals who gather the knowledge that want to recieve but at the same time they lack the education of knowing different

Nature is a place where animals coexist using their natural extinct to survive. People are not as common to use nature like animals anymore. In nature there is a food chain that helps the life cycle flow. For humans there exist boundaries, but the boundaries or social class can be changed with income. I am a Latino student that is statistically in a group that is said to have a low parentage in graduating college. Studying in an institution that is predominantly white has a big toll over students who are of a different ethnic identity in seeing where they stand. By nature, Latinos or those who have a Mexican heritage in their bloodline, are described by hard working individuals. However, the type of hard working individuals we are complemented

From what I understand my father’s side is a mix of Native American and African American. His mother is from Isle de Jean Charles in Terrebonne Parrish, Louisiana. She is related to the Houma Indians that took residents on the isle. If my mother and I have done the genealogy right down the line on of our ancestors is Jean Lafitte the pirate. My paternal grandfather is of African-American decent. From what we understand he worked on a plantation in his younger years and when he got older worked as a trawler in Dulac, Louisiana because of the seafood industry. My mother told me at her father’s ancestry could be traced back to Spain. From Spain his family made stops in Cuba and the Dominican Republic before settling in Louisiana. My maternal

Diversity is a very significant part of my life, so to hear that Wellesley celebrates women of all different cultural backgrounds is one the biggest attractions that Wellesley has to offer for me. As a woman who comes from a family that consists two different languages and multiple minority races, it is often hard for me to feel represented and included, let alone celebrated. For many people, when they hear the word “diversity” they envision only a group of minorities. For myself, diversity is not just about including those with brown skin, it is about the exchange of all cultures and ideas. From political views, to language, to food, to pop culture, the exchange of these ideas makes for a diverse community and it is clear to me that Wellesley represents this idea of sharing experiences. I much as I love when I see faces that look like mine, I am equally thrilled when I encounter an opportunity to learn about someone else’s

Instead of feeling ashamed of my background, I now take pride in the beauty and uniqueness of my people. My parents have always reminded me of the uniqueness of my name which ironically suits me perfectly. There truly is a time for everything, even coming to terms with my own identity. The journey I have gone through to be where I am now has developed me into a stronger person. No longer do I allow negativism and insecurities about my heritage to weigh me down. I have emerged into the true meaning of my name and will continue to thrive from my heritage.

My cultural heritage is very complex, on my mother’s side we recently found out that we have aboriginal status in the form of Metis. As this heritage was not known until recently, I was never exposed to the cultural, language or religious aspects of the Metis. For the sake of this report I will be using my father’s heritage background which is Ukrainian. I have been raised with a certain amount of Ukrainian culture thanks to my Grandmother (Baba Ukrainian for grandmother) a first generation Canadian. She was from a small Ukrainian, village in the South of Ukraine. Ukraine, Europe's second largest country during the twentieth century, occupies 232,200 square kilometers. http://www.everyculture.com/To-Z/Ukraine.html#ixzz4urHC1U1e, The country of Ukraine is in the Europe continent and the latitude and longitude for the country are 51°36'N and 00°05'W.