The Importance Of Latino Culture

It has always been important to me to learn more about my culture. As a Latina American I take so much pride in my roots. I decided to read Latino Americans: the 500 year that shaped the Nation by Ray Suarez because I wanted to learn more about my culture and educate myself with our history. As a Puerto Rican/ Cuban young girl growing up in the South Bronx I learned that Latino’s value family and traditions. Growing up I identified more with my Puerto Rican culture. Despite the similarities between the two cultures there are many attributes that make them distinct. For instance, the importance of learning the Spanish dialect was a value for my Puerto Rican side of the family as opposed to the Cuban side. As a child/ teen I didn’t understand why my mother who is a Nuyorican cared more about me learning Spanish than my father who is Cuban and

As a student I always had teachers and classmates mispronounce my name. I would get things like CAR-E-DAD or CARI-DAD as opposed to the correct way CA-RI-DA and I would never understand why people just couldn’t get it right. I would find myself upset and bothered and wanted to change my name to a more Americanized name. However, as I grew older I learned that my name was my identity and I no longer wanted to change it. I now want to embrace my name and all of the pronunciations that come with it. However, often times I use my nick name to make it easier for people to say. I was named after a Cuban Patroness Saint (Virgin de la Caridad Del Cobre) because my mother prayed to her so that I can be a healthy child. This is where religion played a role in my upbringing. In the Latino culture religion is highly valued. My parents identified as Roman Catholics. Growing up I went to Catholic school from grades K- 12. My parents wanted me to value the religion and continue the tradition of attending church, learning the bible, and practice the seven