I am an America citizen of Hispanic Mexican descent. Both of my parents, Rosa Ruiz and Carlos Meza are originally from Mexico City. They came into the United States legally in 1987 and settled. They had three children, my older brother Carlos, my younger sister Monse, and me. However, the history of the Latinos Hispanics Mexicans in the United States is broad, traversing over four centuries. Hispanics (regardless of whether mestizo or criollo) were the first American citizens in the recently annexed southwest region after the Mexican–American War and became a dominant population in many states until the twentieth century. Also, the experiences of Hispanic Mexican in America varies significantly. For 50 years after Texas was annexed in 1845, the immigration was scarcely a trickle. There was a momentous migration in the other direction: Mexican natives who left the recently acquired region and resettled in Mexican territory.
History of Latino-Hispanic Mexicans immigration into the USA
Unlike my parents who came to America in 1987, Latinos had long settled much earlier. To be precise, the first major arrival of Latino Hispanic Mexican settlers to the United States happened during the Gold Rush, or soon after the borderline between Mexico and the United States was created in 1848 at the end of the Mexican–American War (Arcury and Marín 18). Under the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the Republic of Mexico surrendered to more than 33% of its former domain to the United States, including Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, California, and parts of other states. Additionally, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided blanket naturalisation to at least 75,000 former Mexican citizens who stayed north of the border toward the end of the Mexica-American war (Andrea Faville 2018). Exempt for at least 10,000 Mexican miners who immigrated to California amid the Gold Rush, immigration to the U.S. was very low during the nineteenth century, averaging between 3,000 to 5,000 per decade during the 1840s and 1890s. This changed significantly toward the start of the coming century.
Some part of this movement was voluntary. Just like my parents were driven by the hope of a better living in America due to the readily available job, our ancestor came to America for various reasons. As a result of the accelerated economic development in the West following the growth of the railroad system during the 1880s, and as labour supply from Asian countries was drastically decreased by progressively prohibitive immigration laws starting in 1882, many employers in the United States started to rely on Mexico to fill a significantly rising demand for cheap labor. This labour was needed in industries including transportation (particularly railroad construction), mining, agriculture, and construction (Jens Manuel Krogstad and López 2016). This drove many Latino Mexicans to move to the US.
However, this immigration was not entirely voluntary. The Mexican Revolution of 1910 increased the flow: political exiles and war refugees fled to the U.S. to escape violence. They also left rural areas looking for employment and stability (Stoner 251). Consequently, immigration from Mexico to the U.S. increased abruptly. The number of legal immigrants increased from 20,000 yearly during the 1910s to around 100,000 during the 1920s.
The guest worker program founded in the mid-1940s likewise had an unexpected impact of raising both legal and illegal immigration to the United States. Through the reinforced communication links between immigrant workers and their friends and families in Mexico, many Latino Mexicans could get steadfast knowledge about the migration routes, employment opportunities, and labour market condition in America (Bryc et al. 4). Thus, the number of Latinos who legally moved to the United States expanded relentlessly in the 1960s, from only 60,000 during 1940s to 219,000 during 1950s, finally reaching its peak in the 1960s when 459,000 immigrants from Mexico settled.
Reception in America
At the time my parent came in 1987, things were much better than before. However, coming to America posed so many challenges to my parent and those who had arrived earlier. As I witnessed while growing up, life in America was not easy, but it was better than what my parents had experienced in Mexico. Much like our ancestors who came early, the reception was not too friendly. More than half of Hispanics and Latinos in the United States say they have been discriminated against or treated unfairly based on their ethnicity or race (Jens Manuel Krogstad and López 2016).
There were laws and programs the United States initiated to deal with the influx of foreigners. For instance, in 1953 the Government created "Operation Wetback," which was a program to send Mexicans back to Mexico (Arcury and Marín 20). Through this program, at least 3.8 million people of Mexican descent were deported, the majority of who were already American citizens. Hispanic and Latino resistance to violence, discrimination and the U.S. push-pull immigration approach started to come to fruition during the 1920s. Factory and Cannery labourers in the Southwest began to form unions. Thus, in 1929, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) emerged with an objective to fight injustices, for example, discriminatory employment practices at the railroads and racially segregated schools in the West Coast (Stoner 251).
Consequently, during the 1960s, Hispanics and Latinos made visible their fight for equality, adopting their activities from the effective African-American civil rights struggle (Bryc, et al. 9). Cesar Chavez established the National Farm Workers Association in 1962 and 1965. It initiated a boycott on grape producers who exploited their Hispanic and Latino labourers.
Culture and custom
There are a variety of cultures and traditions that our ancestors brought with them to America, and they are practised today. For instance, for my parents and our ancestors, the family is essential. My parents have not lost touch with the family in Mexico. They keep each other updated, and we still have regular family meetings and celebration. We tend to have large, close-knit families. In our culture, it is common for three generations living nearby each other or in the same household (Andrea Faville 2018). Our grandparents play a vital role in our upbringing. Even though they are at home in Mexico, they still play a role in our lives in America. Also, the emphasis on family well-being makes us exceptionally group-oriented with family event is common.
One of the most common cultural characteristics of our culture is the Spanish language and religion (Gonzalez and Morrison 100). The later plays an essential role in our culture. We represent a profoundly Christian constituency. As per a research carried out by the Hispanic Churches in American Public Life (HCAPL), many Latinos and Hispanics identify as Protestant and Catholic (Gonzalez and Morrison 89).
Traditional cuisine is another cultural element brought by our ancestors. Latin American and Hispanic cuisines are exceptionally popular in America and have a significant influence on American eating habits and cuisine (Gonzalez and Morrison 102). Many of the everyday items we cannot miss in our food include corn-based dishes, for example, tacos, tamales, and tortillas and other salsas, for example, mole, pico de gallo and guacamole. Salsa and Tortilla chips are popular to the point that they are currently one of the top seller snacks in America.
How my family has continued the use of Spanish culture
My family has held our Mexican heritage to this day. For unknown reasons, this trace of Mexican blood expressed itself strongly in me than my family members. While celebrating our family's legacy, on Christmas Eve we could eat pozole, sopapillas, enchiladas, and tamales (Gonzalez and Morrison 99). My two sibling and I excitedly eat everything on the menu except the pozole, which we hate. During Christmas Eve supper, we are served a compulsory bowl of pozole. The deal is that we had to eat more than half of it or face the consequence. For instance, we are told Santa would leave us a lump of coal in our pants. A distinctive feature of a Latino Christmas is the "Nacimiento" (Stoner 251).
Some of my memorable childhood times are those of cultural events we used to attend. I can recall going to lavish Quinceañera parties. I cherished the pomp of these events. Carnaval is another cultural event that my family has never missed. It was meant to pay tribute to Our Lady of Peace. Carnaval is a big event with colourful Mexican blankets (Gonzalez and Morrison 104). There are also other vital traditions in our culture including Las Mañanitas (Happy Birthday song), The Three Kings (Los Reyes Magos), Quince Años celebration and El Día de los Difuntos.
Baptisms are extremely important in our culture, and my family has held them for generations. A Catholic baptism is not only a serious event but also well planned. Before the initiation, parents select Godparents or sponsors for their newborn child (Gonzalez and Morrison 100). These sponsors or Godparents have to to take classes. They play a part in during the baptismal rites by holding the infant and offering assurances for the spiritual growth of the child.
Another tradition my family has held is how we deal with death. When a family member dies, somebody in our family is selected to stay with the body to ensure they are treated appropriately and keep them company. After that, the deceased is prepared for burial. Regularly, a wake is held, during which loved ones, friends and family members sit and keep the dead company until funeral (Arcury and Marín 34). In our traditions, wakes are a get-together and considered as a time to laugh, honour, and to remember the loved ones, as well as relatives that have not been seen for a long time. It is a time to catch up with them and know what they have been doing and life in general. All these are cultural events that my family still hold to date.
Conclusion
The history of Hispanics and Latinos in the United States traverses many centuries. From the waves of immigration to the United States to the corresponding anti-immigration laws that were instituted to the cultural influenced they brought to America, the experience has been vast. The movement was both voluntary, where people were seeking for employment, and also involuntary, where people were escaping violence and instability in Mexico. While my parents might have moved and settled here at a time when things were much better, the experienced has been of both hostility and friendly. Not to mention, our ancestors brought a lot of cultural practices with, for instance, our cuisine and festivals, some of which have had great influence on America. Being a Latino myself, I can say that my family has held our culture and traditions to date.
Works Cited
Andrea Faville. "A Civil Rights History: Latino/Hispanic Americans |." | Knight Chair in Political Reporting, knightpoliticalreporting.syr.edu/?civilhistoryessays=a-civil-rights-history-latinohispanic-americans. Accessed 23 Oct. 2018.
Arcury, Thomas A., and Antonio J. Marín. "Latino/Hispanic Farmworkers and Farm Work in the Eastern United States: The Context for Health, Safety, and Justice." Latino Farmworkers in the Eastern United States, 2009, pp. 15-36.
Bryc, Katarzyna, et al. "The genetic ancestry of African, Latino, and European Americans across the United States." 2014, pp. 1-17.
Gonzalez, Roger G., and Jeaná Morrison. "Culture or No Culture? A Latino Critical Research Analysis of Latino Persistence Research." Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, vol. 15, no. 1, 2015, pp. 87-108.
Jens Manuel Krogstad, and Gustavo López. "Roughly Half of Hispanics Have Experienced Discrimination." Pew Research Center, 26 June 2016, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/06/29/roughly-half-of-hispanics-have-experienced-discrimination/. Accessed 23 Oct. 2018.
Stoner, K. L. "Women, Culture, and Politics in Latin America." The Hispanic American Historical Review, vol. 75, no. 2, 1995, p. 251.
