Ethics 125 - Hispanic American Diversity

Hispanic American Diversity

Stephanie Woods

Ethics 125

June 5, 2011

Nicholas Miller

Hispanic American Diversity

I have chosen Cuban Americans, El Salvadorians, as well as, Mexican Americans, and Puerto Ricans. We will identify the linguistic, political, social, economic, religious, and familial conventions or statuses of these four Hispanic groups living in the United States. Each of these groups have a rich cultural identity, but are all placed in the same category on the basis of their language. The language of these groups is made up of a mix of their national language Spanish and English. These groups have several things in common, but the one thing more than any other is that they have come in search of the "American Dream".

Cuban Americans have done better for themselves here in the United States than the rest of these other groups. The group enjoys greater security than other Hispanic groups. The average median of Cuban American families is $26,770.00. This is just $2700.00 less than the average American family, but $6700.00 less than other Hispanic Americans. Cuban Americans are also highly educated with 83% graduating high school and 17% of the population graduating college. Of the 840,000 Cuban Americans 63 percent of the majority settled in Florida. Dade County, houses the majority of Cuban Americans in the area where Miami is located. The other 23% of Cuban Americans are living in New York, California, and New Jersey. Many Cuban Americans were relocated through the Cuban Refugee Program, however, many have returned to the Miami area. There is not an option for Cuban Americans returning back to Cuba due to political issues. There are many prominent political groups dedicated to ridding Cuba of Castro and setting up a non-socialist government. However, recent surveys show that the majority would not return to Cuba. Most Cuban Americans have assimilated well into the United States. More likely due to their size they have a significant political influence, they successfully defeated President Clinton from appointing an undersecretary of Latin American affairs whom it opposed. Cuban Americans living in the United States are different from those living in Cuba. In Cuba they follow patriarchy with strong control of their children's lives, and the woman stays in the home and has less authority. Cuban Americans in the United States give their children more freedom and the woman works and contributes to the household, therefore, she has greater authority in the home. The majority of Cuban Americans are Roman Catholics a few have no religious preference, follow some sort of Protestantism, or practice Santeria which is similar to "voodoo" or "black magic" it has been the source of the greatest publicity in recent years. The practice of Santeria involves healing rituals, spiritual healing, and animal sacrifices. The local Miami passed a law against animal sacrifice, but the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the law as unconstitutional.

El Salvadorians came to the U.S. however they could get here, to escape El Salvador's civil war. "Between 1979 and 1992, Salvadoran guerrillas waged a civil war against the government, fueled in part by the same inequities that motivated Aquino and Martí. The nation's army fought back with U.S. money, weapons, and training from American military advisors. An estimated 75,000 people died during the conflict, most of them civilians killed by the army or by clandestine death squads linked to the government" (Elston Carr, "Pico-Union: 'Trial' Dramatizes Salvadoran Abuses," Los Angeles Times, March 21, 1993). The guerrilla war and the "dirty war" that accompanied it were a national catastrophe. But in 1992, after more than a dozen years of fighting, the army signed a peace accord with the guerrillas' Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN). Peace has returned to El Salvador, which is now governed by a reasonably democratic constitution. However, the ones that reached the United States came here illegally because they left quietly, and quickly, leaving without property or no U.S. connections the refugees could seldom obtain U.S. visas. They crossed borders illegally first into Mexico and then into the U.S. they came any way they could by trekking through the dessert, swimming or rowing the Rio Grande, huddled in secret spaces in cars or trucks, or crawled through sewer tunnels to get to the United States. Many sought aid from professional smugglers known as "coyotes" and where robbed and held into slavery until they could buy their freedom back. Refugees came here to try to obtain political asylum, but few were granted. They remained here in the United States as a secret population, sticking close to their culture and language. Wherever a few popped up it became a magnet for family and friends of other refugees. When they were caught they faced deportation from INS, this outraged American activist. They started a loose network to aid refugees clearly operating against federal law. They took refugees into their homes, and used churches basements as housing which later became known as "the sanctuary movement." The U.S. granted about 1/3of the green card status and they can apply for citizenship after five years, another 1/3 had some sort of temporary relief status, and the last third are still here illegally. "Salvadoran Americans form an insular community--with their own social clubs, doctors, even banks--and often have little contact with outsiders. They maintain a tight network, living almost exclusively with other people from their home country, or even their hometown" (Pamela Constable, "We Will Stay Together," Washington Post Magazine, October 30, 1994; Doreen Cavaja,"Making Ends Meet in a Nether World," New York Times, December 13, 1994). Many older immigrants have spent more than ten years in the United States without learning any English. Because of their initial determination to return to El Salvador, many immigrants to America at first resisted learning English. However, bilingual education programs, particularly in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., have been extremely helpful to Salvadoran children (Pamela Constable, "Bilingual Plan Draws Bitter Words in D.C., Washington Post, October 26, 1994). The El Salvadorians place a high value on education as a way to advance in the world. However, until 1994 the ones that were here illegally could not attend school. A law passed in 1994 allowed all children to enroll in school no matter if they were here legally