Mexican Americans are Americans who are Mexican by blood. Mexican Americans comprise the largest Hispanic race in the United States. Mexican Americans are categorized into major by their roots, biracials include the Mestizos; a crossbreed of European and Amerindian, Mullatos are a mixture of black and white skin pigments and Zambos, a biproduct of African and Amerindian reproduction. Mexican Americans also root from full bloods such as caucasians which have pigmentations on the skin. Amerindians.
or native Americans as well as are resemblances to Asians and Africans (Menchaca, 2002, p. 20). Mexican Americans, in the course of history always considered Americans or Amerindians, particularly in the social aspect. They have similar rights that Americans have such as voting and holding public office, they also have the right to have matrimonial bonds with non-hispanic whites. Language has no restrictions nor barriers for Mexican Americans as they both speak their primary language of Spanish and English.
All Mexicans in the United States are regarded as white due to a previous treaty with the Spaniards regarding citizenship and social status around the time when skin tone was still a factor of becoming an American Citizen (Lopez, 1996). However, Mexican americans in some states such as california still suufer from racial discrimination due to their ethnicity. It is evident in the fact that most of them are employed in blue collar jobs. Religious beliefs of Mexican Americans on the other hand are not a matter of question since most of them are Christians and unlikely to practice occult rituals.
Puerto Rican American In the United States and Puerto Rico, Puerti Rican Americans are adressed as Stateside Puerto Ricans. These are the citizens born from the U. S dependent Puerto Rico or a descendant of the aforementioned nation. The Puerto Rican communities in the United States have solid contact with their fellowmen from their native country. A noteable trademark of a Puerto Rican American is the fluency in speaking both Spanish and English.
They are mostly known for their Unity in pleading their political and social advocacies as well as the preservation of their cultural background and are in the political battlefield for almost a century (Cortes, 1980). Poverty has always been an aquaintance of stateside Puerto Ricans, it is mirrored by fifty years of reports regarding the socio-economic status of the ethnic group. However, the turn of the millenium gave the Puerto Rican Americans a big break as socio-economic progress dug the stateside Puerto Ricans out of the poverty pit.
Stateside Puerto Ricans’ migration to and from the United States in a regular manner strengthens the population’s identity. Statistical data indicate positive reflection svia social practices and the establishment of various institutions (Cortes, 1980). Roman Catholicism is dominant among Puerto Ricans both stateside and native since their Spanish colonizers incorporated Christianity in the occupation of the territory, as is every other country. The emergence of numerous religious sects are only brought about by Puerto Rican’s indirect exposure to American Culture (Burnett & Marshall, 2001).
Cuban American. Cuban Americans are people who hail from the Cuban republic and migrated to the United States. Conversely, an American citizen with Cuban ancestry is also considered a Cuban American. The major ancestral roots of Cuban Americans are Spanish, otherwise, they are of French, Portuguese, Russian and Italian descent. A number of Cuban Americans osmosed themselves into the American popular culture. But in the state of florida, particularly in Miami and its the surrounding cities, the Cuban American community is exceptionally sculpted.
Cuban Americans moved out of the Little Havana and into the city of Hialeah and ,Kendall, Coral Gables and Miami Lakes since the 80s. The once boring city of Miami which was only deemed as a retirement beach is now a modern city with an island feel in gratitude to the Cuban Americans’ business establishment and integration into the political bandwagon. In addition, the middle class income of Cuban American Households is 36,671 U. S dollars, a figure close to the non-Hispanic Americans.
Giving credit to their Spanish heritage, the majority of Cuban Americans’ religious practices are grounded from the Roman Catholic faith. Though there are other practices such as Protestantism, Spiritualism, Agnosticism and Judaism. Despite the historical account that Cuban American settelements date back to 1565 when St. Agustine, Florida was discovered and the Cuban American efforts to rejuvinate the city of Miami. Cuban Americans, like other races are still on the receiving end of racial discriminations across the United States.
Dominican American American immigrants and their descendants from the Dominican Republic are refered to as Dominican Yorks or Dominican Americans (Rodriguez, 2000). Their migration to the United States is historically dated in the late 19th century. Since 1930, New York city was the home for Dominican Communities, The economic instability and the decline of then Dominican Tyrant Rafael Trujillo in the 1960s saw a massive migration of dominicans to the United States (Rodriguez, 2000).
Numerous Dominican Yorks are comprised of first generation youth with little academic acheivement. A number of Dominicans also hail from the rural ares of the country, thus, language constraints are among their areas for improvement. The subsequent generation proved to be highly educated as their higher incomes and professional employment reflected and the percentage of college degrees among Dominican Americans are recorded to be 21%, a rate close to that of the national average of 24% (Castro, 2004).
The Dominican Americans’ culture takes pride in music as its core, musical styles such as merengue and bachata which takes its roots rom bolero are popular among the Dominican York youth. The urban sounds of Hip-hop and Reggaeton are popular as well (Castro, 2002). Dominican American religion is no different from its Spanish roots. Roman Catholics comprise 90% of dominicans who believe in saints, virgins and apparitions. The virgins Altagracia and Mercedes are highly influential to Dominicans serve as symbols for Dominican identity and is manifested in the flag (Castro, 2002).
References
Burnett, C. & Marshall, B. (2001). Foreign in a Domestic Sense. North Carolina: Duke UP. Castro, M. J. (2002). The Dominican Diaspora Revisited, Dominicans and Dominican -Americans in a New Century. Florida: Miami UP. Cortes, Carlos (ed. )(1980). Regional Perspectives on the Puerto Rican Experience New York: Arno Press. Lopez, I. (1996). White by Law: The Legal Construction of Race. New York: New York UP. Menchaca, M. (2002). Recovering History, Constructing Race: The Indian, Black, and White Roots of Mexican Americans. Austin: University of Texas Press
Paez, M & Dr. Torres, L. Latinos: Remaking America, David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies. Los Angeles: California UP. Rodriguez, C. (2000). Changing Race: Latinos, the Census, and the History of Ethnicity in the United States. New York: New York UP. PBS. (2004, October, 26). Dominican Republic: Dual Citizens. Retrieved January 7, 2008, from http://www. pbs. org/frontlineworld/elections/dominicanrepublic/ Census Bureau (2001). The Hispanic Population Census 2000 Brief. Retrieved January 7, 2008 from the U. S. Bureau of the Census.