The Hispanic ethnicity has come a long way of inter-racial marriages. To trace its roots to mother Spain can be hard to directly pinpoint especially during this modern times where immigration laws have influenced the result of U.S Census Bureau for Hispanics living in the North and South America alone.
In the global context, the Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries are home to people scattered all across the world sharing the same culture, heritage and language but uniquely different due to changes.
5 Hispanic Cultural Diversities
- Child birth
Women give birth in the presence of other women, like her mother and a midwife during the delivery of the baby. Husbands are not allowed to see his wife and the newly born until they are cleaned and clothed. While other cultures expect and requires the husband during child birth.
- Polycronism
In a social setting this can be exemplified by a two-person conversation, and a third party joining the conversation out of now where without asking permission to proceed. In the Hispanic way, this is not considered offensive but is a common practice. They do not find the third person intruding or interrupting at all. Other cultures find it otherwise, and wait for their turn to speak. Polycronism could also denote multi-tasking. Like an information desk attendant catering to 3 or more people at the same time. Standing in line waiting for their turn is not their thing.
- Child Rearing
Children are expected to care for their parents in their senior years. Unlike other cultures, interdependence is an important value in the Hispanic circle. Family is a close knitted relation and affiliation and not a just a provider for nurturing and educating a child while still a minor, instead familial support extends all throughout adult life. Grandparents’ roles in child rearing are important and close at hand. Grandparents are the pillar of the family, where advises are sought by the younger parents.
- Language
Spanish ranks second in the world in terms of the quantity of its users as a first language at 329 million native speakers. Spanish has spread all over the world and there are countless Spanish-based creoles. Spanish words have been adopted and borrowed by different languages and dialects creating an evolution of this language in different regions. The importance of Spanish nowadays is equated to the population using it. Business entities should learn how to speak it in order to reach the majority of both the Hispanic consumers and business institutions.
- Food
Christopher Columbus discovered cocoa. This discovery initiated new culinary elements including pepper, paprika, tomato among others. It is not hard to identify a Spanish cuisine. When you hear the word paella, chorizo, tortilla, empanada they could only mean Spanish food. Spanish cooking was infused into many cultures still present nowadays passed on by mamitas to their hijas.
Cultural differences are present everywhere we go. It is important that we respect and accept each other’s individual differences. No matter what ethnicity, colour, customs and practices and ideologies we embrace, it is better to explore and celebrate our difference rather than judge what is different to yours. If we are all the same, imagine how boring could that world be.