Hispanic+heritage+essay+icsSS217

Why Do We keep Hispanic Heritage Alive?

Why do we keep Hispanic heritage alive? I am going to be talking about some things about Hispanic heritage so you can learn how much it is important to others. I am going to be talking about religion/death, gestures/personal space, and marriage. These are some of the ways that Puerto Ricans live and support there selves. My thesis statement is, We need to keep this heritage alive because everyone does not speak English. There are other languages that others speak and we need to respect that. If we do not let them live how they live, they wont know how to support themselves or their families.

First, I will be talking about religion and death. The majority of Puerto Ricans are Roman Catholic, but religious freedom for all faiths is guaranteed by the Commonwealth Constitution. There are Protestant services for Baptists, Episcopalians, Lutherans, and Presbyterians, and there are other interdenominational services. Although it is Catholic, Puerto Rico does not follow Catholic dogma and rituals as assiduously as do the churches of Spain and Italy. Because the church supported slavery, there was a long-lasting resentment against the all-Spanish clergy of colonial days. Island-born men were excluded from the priesthood. When Puerto Ricans eventually took over the Catholic churches on the island, they followed some guidelines from Spain and Italy but ignored others. Many islanders liked the idea of separation of church and state, as provided for in the U.S. Constitution. In recent years, Pentecostal fundamentalism has swept across the island. There are 1,500 Evangelical churches in Puerto Rico today. Now I will talk about death because it relates to the religion of Catholics. In Puerto Rico, death and the passage into afterlife are commonly marked by vigils, and novenas, which are days of prayer for the dead. During the vigils, which occur between death and burial, the close friends and relatives of the dead gather around the body, which lies in state, and pray for the soul's passage into heaven. Throughout the night of the vigil, people who knew the deceased come and go while a small group of women and men who were particularly close to the dead say the rosary. Candles burn, and the prayers last until dawn of the day the person is to be buried. Following the funeral, the novenas begin. These nine consecutive days of prayer take place in the house of the deceased and constitute a means by which God's favor is solicited on behalf of the deceased's surviving kin and friends, as well as a means of reaffirming ties among households and community solidarity. Many Puerto Rican patients might want to receive communion before death. You should ask the patient’s family about religious preference if death is imminent, and contact a priest or a minister of a given denomination. (Religion)

Second, I will be talking about personal space and gestures. As in most Latin countries, people tend to stand close to one another in any social or even business setting. This relates to a different perspective on 'personal space,' with North Americans and many Europeans believing that people should stand about an arm's length from one another. If you tend to move away from someone from a Latin country, it could be considered as insulting. Men tend to smile and stare at women, which is considered acceptable, but the reverse is not. Puerto Ricans tend to interrupt each other frequently and are not upset when this occurs. If someone wiggles their nose, it probably means he or she is saying.

 'What's going on here?' You will hear restaurant patrons signal for waiters by making a 'psssst' sound. ( gestures )

Finally, I will be talking about marriage. Marriages in Puerto Rico are usually recognized by the Catholic church. Marriage takes place at a young age, usually in the teens, and most Puerto Ricans desire children shortly after marriage. Both marriage and the birth of children are important events in terms of forming bonds between families and households, with well-established visiting patterns among related households and compadrazgo relations formed between households at the baptisms of children. The requirements are, valid photo, affidavit, medical certification, internal revenue stamp, birth certificate, divorce degree, spouses death degree. Any one under twenty on years of age must be accompanied by a parent. The registrar shall examine all documents, if in compliance; the marriage certificate will be issued and signed. For the last and final step, make sure the priest/minister or judge who officiates the wedding deliver the certificate, marriage license and all other documents to the Demographic Registry of the municipality where the ceremony took place no more than 10 days after the marriage. The couple must review all these documents, sign all sections of the marriage certificate and officiate at the ceremony. After all these requirements are done, congrats, your married. ( marraige)

Now you know why we should keep Hispanic heritage alive, by marriage, religion/death, and gestures/personal space. These are not the only ways, and there are many more but by these few things, we can keep it alive. Now think to yourself, how can you keep Hispanic heritage alive?

**Work Cited** "Countries and Their Cultures." //Religion and Expressive Culture//. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2015. .


 *  I know its a valid source of information because it says on the websites that it is updated everyday so no one changes the content.

"Puerto Rican Culture." //Children Community Health Plan// (n.d.): n. pag. Web. .


 *  I know this is a valid source of information because it is a very well known travel website.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Open Sans','Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">"Religion." //In Puerto Rico//. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2015. <[|http://www.frommers.com/destinations/puerto-rico/744401#sthash.cqqVX12F.dpbs]#ixzz3Y3YhxOaw>.

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;"><span style="font-family: Open Sans,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"> Result Filters." <span style="font-family: Open Sans,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"> //National Center for Biotechnology Information//  <span style="font-family: Open Sans,Helvetica Neue,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;"> . U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2015. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9826843>.
 * <span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">I know this is a valid source of information because I have used this website before for other projects.