HispanicHeritageEssaySR

Hispanic heritage is very rich in America now, but how long will it last? There are many reasons to keep it it alive in this melting pot we call home. A specific country that I will be focusing on is Cuba. I live in Florida and we are so close to the Caribbean Island that many of the Cubans come over here or Miami to live and start a new life. They come to Florida so often that they have affected our culture. The three parts of culture that I will be talking about is food and celebration, Quinceañera tradition, and music and literature. Losing our Hispanic Heritage would be very sad and change the way we live our lives in the world. Without the Hispanic influence in America think of all of the foods and music that we would not have. We are lucky to have the Hispanic influences that we do and we shouldn't lose it.

Food and celebration is very important in the Hispanic culture. Whenever my family gets together for a gathering, there is always a lot of food, and every time we have a lot of leftovers to take home. Everybody brings their special dish and we put them all together so you can pick and choose any meal you want, with enough to go back for seconds, or even thirds. Some foods that are staples in the Hispanic diet are empanadas, beans, rice, and pork. Some deserts that we have are guava pastries and flan. A big family celebration that involves a lot of food is Noche Buena, which is Spanish for Christmas Eve, December 24th. The main food on Noche Buena is pork. Every year we go to a farm and kill a pig, we prepare it by shaving and cleaning it, and have it cook in a firebox all day with a marinade we call Mojo. In the evening all of our family and friends come from all over to catch up, play dominoes, eat the pork and side dishes and have a good time. Even though my family no longer lives in Cuba it is still important to keep the culture and our heritage alive. I was born in America and have never been to Cuba, but I still have been exposed to many Cuban traditions and hopefully my children will be as well. I think it is special that I get to participate in this Cuban tradition even though I live in America.

Another Spanish celebration is a girls Quinceañera, or for Americans, her sweet sixteen. But instead of celebrating when a girl turns sixteen, a Quinceañera is celebrated by Spanish people when a girl turns fifteen. It is also called fiesta de quince años, fiesta de quinceañera, quince años or simply quince This celebration isn't only celebrated in Cuba, it's actually celebrated in many different Spanish countries. On a girls Quince she goes from childhood to women hood. There is a big party with the girls in fancy dresses and boys who escort them. In Cuba specifically there is usually a group dance that is choreographed. The Quinceañera girl and a boy of her choice are dancing in the middle of the group dance. The dancers aren't usually very experienced at dancing, but they practice for many weeks to learn the dances. If the family has money then they could afford to rent an expensive hotel. Otherwise, they would have it in the girls house, or in a more spacious house of a relative. I think it is good that these girls and their families get to keep that tradition alive in America and enjoy themselves even though they don't live in a Spanish country anymore. It is a great celebration and they shouldn't stop doing it just because they left their country. ( Quinceañera )

Music and literature are also two big parts of Cuban culture. The Cuban music is a form of Son. Son is a mix of Mambo, Salsa, Rumba, and Cha-Cha-Cha. It has strong European and African influences on this style of music that is probably the most wide spread and influential type of Latin music. But the most well known is the Salsa. Two big Cuban artists that are well known are Gloria Estefan and Celia Cruz. Cuba is also known for its classical music because of composers like Ernesto Lecuona. Another type of music is Reggeaton. Reggeaton is basically reggae music, but in Spanish. Over time it has evolved to much more than that. In some countries it is called Cubaton because of how big the music is in Cuba. Literature is also a way Cubans express themselves. Famous writers like Nicolas Guillen and Jose Z. Tallet wrote as a social protest. Dulce Maria Loynaz and Jose Lezema Lima have been influential in the novel and poetry world. Some writers like Reinaldo Arenas, Pedro Juan Guiterrez, Zoe Valdes and Guillermo Rosales have gotten international recognition. Most of them have had to work in exile because they think they will get in trouble with Cuban authorities. Our culture is so much better with the Spanish influences that we have. Who can imagine a word without Salsa music. (Cuba)

Those are just a handful of reasons why we should keep Hispanic Heritage alive. There are many, many more reasons why losing our Hispanic heritage would be bad. Because if we lose them, we are going to lose them for good. That would be a shame to lose such neat and different traditions. The Hispanic traditions and heritage adds to our diversity that makes America special. It would be very boring if everyone was the same and did the same things. Our live are better by being exposed to many different things and cultures. I only focused on food and celebration, Quinceañera, and music and literature. There are other reasons but these topics alone are good reasons to keep it alive in America.

Works Cited

"Activities." // CountryReports //. Country Reports, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. .
 * This is a credible source because Country Reports has correct information.

"Central American and Caribbean: Cuba." // Central Intelligence Agency //. Central Intelligence Agency, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. .
 * This is credible source because this is an actual website that has factual information and its a .gov

"Cuba." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. .
 * This is a credible source because wikipedia has credible sources for its information.

 "Quinceañera." //Wikipedia//. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.
 * This is a credible source because it is a page on a credible website.