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Hispanic American Diversity

Dominican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Mexican Americans are all very different than each other. But, they all have some similarities also. There is one really big mistake that a person can make in regards to these Hispanic groups. Just because all of these Hispanic groups speak Spanish, it does not mean they all are either Mexican or Spanish. All of these ethnic groups have cultural differences and similarities between them. Because Hispanic groups have both similarities and differences, it is important to differentiate between the groups.

“In the 2000 U.S. census 21.5 million people identified themselves as Mexican Americans” (Encarta, 2008). Mexican Americans constitute the largest group of Hispanic Americans that are in the United States. Many Mexican Americans do not totally give up on their native language. Almost 70 percent of the households in the group of Mexican Americans speak both Spanish and English. When people from this ethnic group are at work, home, school or anywhere else public they will tend to use English. They will use Spanish when talking at home or during religious events (Encarta, 2008). Mexican Americans are very important to politicians because of their sheer numbers. Many Mexican Americans have organized different public demonstrations in direct opposition to the drive to restrict and update the United States immigration policy. They also have worked to pass a law in Mexico that allows them to establish citizenship in both Mexico and the United States (Encarta, 2008). The economic standing of Mexican Americans are better than many people realize. Mexican Americans are constantly improving their economic standing and the stereotypes of them are just plain outdated (The University of Arizona Tucson Press, 2005). The Roman Catholic Church is central to the Mexican American community. This type of Mexican Catholicism places an influence in their educational, political and basic family views of the average Mexican American....