What It Means To Be Hispanic

by Jayla Gibau

Nahomy, Freshman:

Being Hispanic gives me a sense of belonging and having a rich culture. Having people that came before me and made tremendous sacrifices gives me motivation to be just as successful as them.

Leylanis, Junior:

I am proud to be Hispanic, but there are days where I wish I were white because I'd feel much at ease. I love everything about my culture. Something I'd like to tell everyone about my culture is that being Honduran is the best and everyone should try baleadas!

Gianna, Junior:

I feel good about being Hispanic because my culture is amazing! My favorite thing about being Hispanic is the dances and the music. Something I'd like to tell everyone about my culture is that we have really good food. A stereotype I often hear about Hispanics is that we’re all Mexican, which is not true.

Jose, Sophomore:

I am not ashamed of being Hispanic. I am proud of my Colombian and Puerto Rican roots. My favorite thing about my culture is the food. We eat good rice, meats, empanadas and many more, it's super tasty! Something I'd like to tell everyone about my culture is that we are very nice. We’re not as bad as society makes us look. A stereotype I hear often is about Spanish drug cartels and things revolved around that. Not all of us and there are many Hispanics that are normal people and we’re not all related to that type of situation.

Perla, Sophomore:

I am proud to be Hispanic. I am Dominican and Salvadorian, and I show pride in my culture. My favorite thing about being Hispanic is all the food. We have things like mangu, arroz con habichuelas, platano con salami, and yuka, etc!! Don't even get me started with the music like bachata and merengue or listening to dembow. As a Dominican, we always find some sort of excuse to party. A stereotype I often hear is that we speak trashy, or that Dominicans have broken Spanish. It irritates me because it's just Spanish y’know? It's how we speak, we just happen to speak fast. In every Hispanic country they have their own way of speaking Spanish, pronouncing things, and they have their own accents. It goes the same way in the Dominican Republic. Just be happy and proud of your heritage! HAPPY HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH!

Cathay, Senior:

I love being Hispanic. I love the culture and having that sorta “spice” in my life. The only complaint I have is the discrimination and difficulties with it. My favorite thing about being Hispanic is definitely the dances. It's so fun when you know how to dance, or even if you don't, it's so fun not to care. I wish people would be more open about my culture. Just because it's not yours, doesn’t mean mine is weird. A stereotype that’s often implied is because some haven’t had the standard education, or don’t speak English they aren’t smart. It makes me upset because intelligence goes beyond books.

Anonymous:

I feel sort of in the middle about being Hispanic. Sometimes I feel left out of my own culture. For example, if you can’t speak proper Spanish you get called “no sabo”. I love everything about my culture from the dances to celebrations. Something I'd want people to know about my culture is that once you can experience the culture for yourself, you can see how amazing it is! A stereotype that I hear often that makes me upset is that all Hispanics are racist. That isn't what I want to be seen as for someone else’s mistakes. Another thing I'd like to talk about being Hispanic is that my mom has gotten hate crime before in multiple jobs. She works in cleaning. They’ve told her she’s not legal - to “go back to your country”, “you’re stealing our jobs.” My people didn’t come here to destroy America, they came here to get away to start fresh, to live life without worrying whether they’ll have food on the table or not. They came for another start at life and lots of people don’t see that.

70% of the people who took this survey also said that they have experienced hate crimes. Everyone's different and unique in their own way, but that's what makes it so great. Take time to learn about someone else's culture and the struggles they have before you comment on them.

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month!

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