Introduction
The Chicana/ Latino are the Americans of the Latino ancestry. The entire population includes people who draw their birth right to Cuba, Mexico and Puerto Rico, El Salvador among other Caribbean and Latin American nations. The paper below discusses the contemporary and historical experience of the Americans from the Latin origin by describing their cultural experience.
In the 2000 census, there was a designation from about seven million people as being multicultural. 48%, 2%, 42% and 17% represented Chicana/ Latino who were white, black, of other races and others belonging to two or more races respectively. According to the (Historically County Catalogue Files, 1) the population of Hispanics staying in America is 46.9 million. They involve Mexicans, central and South Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and other Chicano Latinos. Their population is the fastest growing in the U.S population. From 1990 to 2000 there growth rate is estimated to be 58% four times the American rate (Census Product Catalogue 54).
Ethnic groups were part of the Chicana and Latina culture. What necessitated the many ethnic groups was the diverse population and different ancestries. The 16th, 17th and 18th centuries saw a flow of Iberian emigrant reside to Latin America. This then had an impact in the Latin American population since the emigrants were many. Portuguese then resided to Brazil and Spaniards to the remaining region. Intermarriage between the settlers and the natives occurred resulting to the Amerindians and Europeans who today known as Mestizos. Intermarriage between African slaves in Latin America and the Amerindians who resulted to the zambos. In the 19th and 20th century there were immigrants from Asia and the Middle East to Brazil. They included Indians, Syrians, Lebanese and recently Japanese, Koreans and Chinese. This diversity of people mentioned make up a large percentage of the population of Latin America.
Their cultural music came in many varieties. It originated from the simple Northern Mexico conjunto music to the stylish Cuban Habanera. The nueva cancion movement is part of the important roles music played in Latin Americas history. The musical areas included Andrean music listened to by western south Americans, the central American music of the Belize, El Salvador and Costa Rica and the Caribbean music listened to by most French and Spanish speaking Caribbean islanders. Diversity and origin blending of the American settlers are some of the characteristics of their music. For instance the melodies and rhythms of Africans influenced the Latin Caribbean music that included meringue, salsa and bachata. Most of the works of classical composers were influenced by their homeland traditions. An example is Heitor Villa Lobos of 1887 to 1959 who was influences by the traditions of his heritage, Brazil. Today Latin pop in forms of rock is what common in Latin America ( The American Mosaic, 78)
The dancing style of the Latin Americans today evolves from the traditional dancing movements. The contemporary forms of dancing were as a result of the traditional and modern dance blending. Most Latin American dances are taught in ballroom studios. With the large population of Puerto Ricans and Cubans in the states one finds people dancing Latin styles like salsa, meringue, bachata and rumba in the streets. Current Latin American dancing is energetic involving partners or solos. Some styles involve closeness while others resemble the traditional style.
What influenced how Chicana-Latinos viewed themselves as the new Americans was the 1960’s and 70’s Chicano movement. The movement known as la Raza had groups that worked to promote the arts of the chicana-latino people. They also had many holidays which other Americans don’t celebrate like la Semana Santa which is their holy week of Easter. Lastly was the role that food played in their culture. They believed that a god meal was a mixture of herbs and food. One would get sick if they ate food with wrong temperatures. The preference of the kids was respected therefore they only ate what they wanted.
Conclusion
From the above discussion it is evidence that the origin of the Chicana/ Latino greatly influences them as Latin Americans today. This is seen from their cultural way of life, from their music, to dance, to the food they eat and the diverse ethnic groups. The large population of the Chicana/ Latino people in America is because of the interaction between the natives and the immigrants that settled in this country. Therefore it is evident to say that the heritage of Latin Americans has a great impact in the culture of Latin Americans.
Works Cited
- The American Mosaic: The Latino American Experience. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2010. Internet resource.
- Census Product Catalog. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000. Internet resource.
- Historical County Estimate Files. Ann Arbor, Mich: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor, 2011. Internet resource.
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