HispanicHeritageEssaySA17

__**Why do we keep the hispanic heritage alive?**__

Why I think we should keep the Hispanic heritage alive is because of culture. Culture is when your ancestors were born in a specific country and then runs through the family such as language, religion, social habits, music and art. In this case Hispanic heritage, there are more than fifty four million Hispanics in the world. Most of them live in South America and North America. Heritage is made up of the practices and traditions that are passed on from parents to children. Heritage is also about what has been passed on the family, community and place where people have been raised. The difference is that culture refers to the daily living, attitude and traditions, one’s culture values can change over a lifetime as a person moves in different places. Culture changes over time like technology and industry. Heritage is not able of change. Heritage includes a set of traits you are born with. You can’t change yourself as Hispanic to European or Asian. The point is heritage can go so many places if you look into it. A lot of people don't even take time to learn about their heritage like Foster kids have the hardest time to find their heritage.

Why are there are over 50,000 Hispanics in Miami, In 1959 Fidel Castro took over the government of Cuba. Most Cubans had family in America or just did not want to live with a horrible dictator. Most of them traveled by boat to the United States. It carried 5 to 10 people at a time. If they were caught, they were killed. Its 485 miles or 6 days at sea to get to Florida. Most of them did not make it because of starvation, thirst or by a storm. There is 47.3% of Hispanics in New Mexico, 14.7 million Hispanics in California, and 10 million in Texas. Recently there has been immigration on the boarder of the United States and Mexico. Most of Hispanics in Mexico have family in the U.S. and crossing the border to be with their families, also kids have been crossing the border for fun but many have been going to jail.(Info please)

There is a lot of food from Hispanic places that became popular around the world but there is only one that everyone loves, chocolate. When Cortes met with Montezuma, the Emperor of the Aztec Empire in 1519, he was presented with a frothy drink, presented in a golden goblet that was accompanied by a tortoise-shell spoon. This drink, a spicy blend of chiles, vanilla and ground cacao beans, was called 'xocoatl' which translated, means bitter water. Cortes' golden vessel that the exotic drink was served in after tasting; his taste buds were captivated with something completely new. Cortes soon learned that the cocoa bean was a valued means of currency. Its pods utilized to purchase a variety of goods. When Cortes returned to Spain, his ships were heavily laden with gold and silver; but also, amongst the cargo were the cocoa bean. Once this magical bean made its way to Europe, its evolution included the addition of sugar which led, ultimately to the creation of, what we now call today, chocolate.

Holidays are a special part of the Hispanic heritage. Most Hispanics are Roman Catholic, Catholic or Christian. They celebrate Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day (this is one of the most important Hispanic holiday).(hispanic holidays) One of the most famous of all is San Fermín Festival also known nowadays as running with bulls. It runs annually in Pamplona, Spain from the 6th to the 14th of July. the festival for the patron Saint Navarra, is a festival seen as a mass gathering of people from all the corners of the many partying, the fun and joy by the people. When the clock on the church of San Cernin strikes eight o’clock in the morning. After the launching of two rockets, the bulls charge behind the runners for 825 meters, the distance between the corral and the bullring. The run usually lasts between three and four minutes, Sometimes taken it over ten minutes, especially if one of the bulls has been isolated from his companions. (Pamplona Bull Running)

The good thing is that it’s never too late to learn your family heritage. The Hispanic keeps their culture alive through teaching their families their customary language, religion, food, social habits, music and art. There are so many resources to research about your heritage. When you love someone so very much you would do anything to be with that person, that’s why most Hispanics wanted to go to America. When the Aztecs made chocolate it was one of their greatest inventions but of course back then it was not that good. My heritage is not Hispanic, but I do appreciate their culture. I know for certain I will put San Fermín Festival on my bucket list.


 * Works Cited**

"Hispanic Holidays." //Hispanic Holidays//. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2015. [] I think this is a reliable site because it shows me what holidays Hispanics celebrate.

//Infoplease//. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 03 May 2015. [] I think this a reliable site because it shows me how many people really live in the U.S.A.

"Pamplona Bull Running." //Spanish Fiestas//. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2015. [] I think this is a reliable site because real bull runners or people who saw it happen knows what they are talking about.