The Mantos/Cespedes family consist of 25-year-old Ariana, 25-year-old Ramon, and the couple’s 3-year-old son Elias. The couple has been together for almost six years and has lived together for the last five. They both work outside the home and in addition to this Ramon attends night classes at one of the local colleges. Ariana’s job requires her to put in more than forty hours a week and has the ability to keep her away from home for long hours each day. The couple acknowledges that this can put stress on their relationship and work to keep that from happening (see Appendix C for ecomap). Ariana migrated to the United States with both of her parents at the age of 8 and Ramon migrated with his mom when he was 6-years-old. There are many reasons …show more content…
It is becoming more common for Hispanics to co-habitat before they enter into marriage. According to Landale, Oropesa, and Bradatan (2006), “One of the most significant changes in family behavior that occurred during the past several decades is the retreat from marriage… and cohabitation has become so widespread that it has largely offset the decline in marriage” (para. 8). Ariana did explain that in Venezuelan culture it has been quite common historically to marry someone who is considered to be “whiter” than you in terms of racial features. As a family they do not feel that they have felt oppressed or discriminated against due to their race; at the same time, they are aware that this is not the case for all people who are of ethnic minority. Researchers Flippen and Parrado argue that, “Latinos’ experiences with discrimination are central to debates about whether they will follow in the footsteps of earlier waves of European immigrants into upward mobility, or face enduring barriers to inclusion” (2015, pp. 681). Ariana and Ramon both come from middle class or upper middle class families and because of this they have been able to give their small family a better socio-economic stability than many individuals and families who share the same minority