Hispanic Culture

I found this really great link that helps give an insight to some of the cultural aspects of people from Hispanic origins. I was surprised to see how many countries are considered Hispanic. I had not even heard of all these countries before.

Here's a list of all the countries:
Argentina                          Nicaragua
Bolivia                              Panama
Chile                                Peru
Colombia                          Paraguay
Costa Rica                        Puerto Rico
Cuba                                El Salvador
Dominican Republic          Spain
Ecuador                           Uruguay
Guatemala                        Venezuela
Honduras                         Nicaragua
Mexico                            Panama

The article mentions that not all of these cultures are the same within the Hispanic ethnic group so we need to try and be aware of this and not make assumptions. However, there are a few of similarities. They do tend to be conservative and follow traditions.

Family
Family or "familia" is also a very important aspect. This includes not only the immediate family but the extended as well. There is a lot of focus on everyone helping out the "family unit".

Religion
Religion is also a huge influence of Hispanic culture. "More than 90% of the Spanish-speaking world is Roman Catholic."

Gender Roles
 In most Hispanic families the father is the head of the household. He is responsible for supporting and protecting his family. The mother is the caretaker. She is to put her children and elder's care above her needs. This is the traditional family structure.

Marriage
The main reason for marriage is also to start a family.When they get married they tend to follow the traditional family roles but when making decision they will keep talking until the decision is made.

For more information, visit this article:
Understanding Hispanic Culture

Chicken Mole!

Today I learned how to make chicken mole! My step-dad is half Mexican and half Filipino. His name is Mariano Tedana but his nickname is "Chico". His mother taught his brother how to make this recipe and then this recipe was passed down to my mom. She decided to teach me how to make it so we could make it for him on his birthday. This recipe makes a lot of food so it lasts a while. It can be cut down to make smaller portions but the reason for the large portions is so it would feed a lot of people and last a while. You start off by boiling chicken for a long time. After you boil the chicken you peel the meat off the bones and use part of the chicken broth to create the gravy. This is eaten with tortillas and is delicious! I never knew how chicken broth was made so I found it really interesting. I only wish I copied down the recipe so I can share it with you! Maybe this is something I can edit in on a later date.

On a side note, his birthday landed on the Chinese new year and it happened to be the year of the dragon as well which is the year he was born in. We bought decorations in red which is supposed to be a symbol of good luck and threw a surprise party for him! We also gave him lucky money so he would have a great year. Traditionally you would clean prior to the new years day and not clean for the next few day for fear of "sweeping away your luck".

Chinese New Year

Focus: Hispanic Cultural Background

I have decided to focus my research on people of a Hispanic background. Since Texas is on the border with Mexico, we have a lot of immigrants from Mexico which means we will have a lot of students with that background. According to population trends for Fort Worth, over one third of the population was Hispanic in 2010 and we expect this to increase over time. That is why is viable that I learn about this ethnic group. They will be a large portion of the students I will be teaching in the future.

For more information about Fort Worth's population please visit Part 1: Focusing on the Future.