...welcome to this celebration of the Hispanic Heritage Month. It is my distinct honor to speak to you today. Hispanic culture is deeply intertwined with the history of this Nation. We live on the same side of the world with the largest Spanish speaking population due to our proximity to Mexico, Central, South America and the Caribbean. So it is important to recognize the contributions of the Hispanic culture as well as other cultures to celebrate and acknowledge how the history, culture, values and traditions of the United States were and continue to be shaped by the make-up of its ever changing population profile. When I started to think about what I would say, it occurred to me that perhaps I should do a little research and review history instead of presuming I know everything about my heritage. I am glad I did because I learned many facts that challenged my own understanding of history. I want to share some of these facts with you today. On September 1968, Congress authorized President Lyndon B. Johnson to proclaim National Hispanic Heritage Week, observed during the week that included Sept. 15 and Sept. 16. The observance was expanded in 1989 by Congress to a month long celebration (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15), America celebrates the culture and traditions of those who trace their roots to Spain, Mexico and the Spanish-speaking nations of Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Sept. 15 was chosen as the starting point for the celebration because it is the...
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... Cultural understanding is an absolute requirement for any business leader today. Failing to understand the culture of the people you are communicating with can lead to some spectacular communication blunders. For example, in my workplace the phrase “killing the sacred cow” is often used as a business term to indicate a radical change in thinking about a longstanding process. When we were a small company located in the wild west populated mostly with Americans this wasn’t a big deal. We now have a staff augmentation workforce from India. As you can imagine, the phrase “killing the sacred cow” is no longer appropriate. Our cultural insensitivity reached an all time low when the Director of Information Services decided to take his new Indian workforce out to a special celebration dinner. He took them to a traditional southwest steakhouse. Coming from a culture that reveres cows, they found a restaurant dedicated to the slaughter and eating of cows to be an abomination. This was not good for team morale. Cultural insensitivity has produced some major slipups over the years. The alcoholic beverage Irish Mist had abysmal sales in Germany, where the word mist translates to manure. The Japanese sports beverage Pocari Sweat doesn’t sound very appealing to english speakers. The Nokia Lumia translates to prostitute in spanish. CocaCola’s Fresca product had reduced sales in Mexico because it translates to Lesbian in some spanish dialects...
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...governance. Later, as the eruption of the Taal Volcano destroyed a significant portion of the town, the provincial centre was transferred to Taal, which was then called Bonbon and the name of the province was changed after that of the town. The term batangan means a raft, the people used so that they could fish in the nearby Taal Lake. It also meant the numerous logs found in the Calumpang River, the body of water that runs through the northeastern portion of the town and assumes the shape of a tuning fork Language Although much can be said about the way a Batangueño speaks his or her Tagalog, the high literacy of the locals means English is also widely spoken in the province. Spanish is also understood up to some extent. In fact, some towns like Nasugbu, Taal and Lemery still have a significant minority of Spanish...
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...Western Governors University FDT4 – Task 2 Hispanics Food Traditions Celebrations Corn Language Mexico Independence Day Tortillas Religion Catholic Cinco De Mayo Beans/Rice Pinata Day of the Dead Asians Food Traditions Celebrations Chicken, Duck, Fish, Fresh vegetables Language Chinese New Years Noodles Religion Buddhism Lantern Festival Rice Tea Ching Ming Festival FDT4 Task 2 D. Kentucky Subcultures It takes a great deal of patience and understanding to be a teacher in a culturally mixed environment. The educational environment that I plan to teach in consists of cultures made up of Asians and Hispanics. I wish to better understand these two cultures so that I can understand the differences and provide a teaching environment that will be valuable in my classroom. In order to accomplish this, I have researched the foods, traditions and celebrations of two Kentucky subcultures, which are Asians and Hispanics. In the state of Kentucky, according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2011, Hispanics make up 138,563 of the total population. According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2011, Asians make up 52,201 of the total population. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2013 a) E. Hispanic Culture - Foods Hispanics are well known for starting and overseeing authentic Mexican restaurants. The love of Mexican foods by the majority of Americans has kept the Hispanics in business for many years. Corn is the main base in foods of most...
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...Cultural Diversity in Nursing Care Rhonda Dilks Grand Canyon University Family Health Promotion NRS 429V November 01, 2010 Cultural Diversity in Nursing Care Health in all cultures is an important aspect of life. A person’s cultural background, religion and/or beliefs, greatly influences a person’s health and their response to medical care (Spector, 2004). These diverse cultures guide decisions made in daily life; what food eaten, living arrangements made, medications taken and medical advice listened to. A nurse must be knowledgeable and respectful of these diverse cultures and understand their importance when providing care. This understanding helps to build a strong nurse/patient relationship, increasing patient compliance, which ensures positive outcomes are met. Patients who are satisfied with their care are more likely to continue their treatment especially when their cultural beliefs are considered (Flowers, 2005). This paper will discuss the importance of a heritage assessment, compare the differences of three different families’ cultural beliefs and address their health maintenance, protection and restoration. Heritage Assessments In 2008, 34 percent of America’s population claimed a minority or ethnic heritage (Minckler, 2008). The Census Bureau reports the U.S. population is becoming increasingly diverse with Hispanics and Asians the fastest growing minorities (Minckler, 2008). Heritage assessments are used to create cultural awareness. Understanding...
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...Heritage Assessment Tool Samantha Rich Grand Canyon University May 21, 2013 The Heritage Assessment Tool (HAT) is a way to asses an individual’s ethnic, religious, and cultural heritage as well as health traditions. Using this tool allows healthcare providers to deliver high quality patient care as well as develop a therapeutic relationship and healing approach. Being able to deliver high quality care to patients and families is of utmost importance for nurses. In order to be most efficient in the delivery the nurse has to be culturally competent. Being culturally competent encompasses more than just asking where a patient was born. In America, this is due to the fact that a good portion of the population consists of people who have immigrated from all over the world (Edelman, Kudzma, & Mandle, 2014). This paper discusses the usefulness of using the HAT when evaluating three culturally diverse families. The Italian Americans, Spanish Americans, and Filipino Americans will be compared to identify the differences in health protection, health maintenance, health restoration, common health traditions and practices. The HAT assessment consists of twenty-nine questions that focus specifically on an individual’s cultural background, religious practices, beliefs, and family relations. By using the Heritage Assessment Tool the nurse learns about the patient’s culture which assists in better caring for a culturally wide range of patients (Saver, 2007). Not only does this...
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...is celebrated to mark an overturning of daily life.The roots of carnival both lay in Africa and France(Liverpool:57). Trinidad carnival is a very significant festival in the island of Trinidad and Tobago. This festival has evolved from an elegant, exclusive affair to an all inclusive national festival of the country. Therefore in order to understand the meaning of this festival one must look at the acculturation, cultural assimilation and cultural persistence. It is also necessary historical, social, cultural and political background which gave birth to a national celebration. In 1498 Christopher Columbus had step on the soils of Trinidad and claimed the island in the name of the King and Queen of Spain. The country was ruled by Spain for about 300 hundred years and remained much undeveloped. In the 1970s the Bourbon reforms of Charles III, which was designed to rejuvenate flagging colonial effiency, is when the Spanish crown decided to pay attention Trinidad which at that time was thinly populated and uncultivated at that time. A Cedula issued by the Spanish crown in 1776 highlighted the island’s neglected state with no European Spaniards available for emigration; it invited West Indian French Catholics who were dissatisfied by Britain’s 1763 take over of their Antillean islands which were Grenada, Dominica, St.Vincent and Tobago to settle in Trinidad. They were encouraged to buy land grants to set up agricultural units under their own and to transfer slaves in quantity...
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...O. Box 12345. Any Town, U.S.A. 54321. Re: Excessive Multi-Cultural and Diversity Awareness Programs / Celebrations. To: The Superintendent, Your Local School District. My wife and I once again received a handout from my son's elementary school concerning a non-American study project. This one concerns a week devoted to study of the Mexican Era. It asks for volunteers to help out with a culminating classroom "celebration of all things Mexican." Although my wife, Kim, and I often volunteer to assist with school functions for our children, we will NOT be volunteering for this one, or any other school function centered on non-American subject matter. Bottom line…we've had it with the onslaught of multi-cultural and diversity awareness programs being shoved down the throats of children in this school district. Before you label us racist, or right-wing religious fanatics, or homophobic, or whatever is currently en vogue to defend the Any Local School District agenda this week, I will ABSOLUTELY DENY YOU the opportunity. I defended democracy and freedom for fifteen years in the Air Force, flying hundreds of missions over hostile territory in combat conditions. I worked closely with people of every conceivable race or racial mix you can imagine. I trusted my life to them, and them to me. Not once did we put our tails on the line so my children would be deluged with Mexican, African, or "whatever-can" celebrations. We put our tails on the line for AMERICA! I am an AMERICAN...
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...is believed to derive from the word “coca”, name of a wooden platform where the natives performed their dances or “zapateados”. During the Pre-Hispanic era, “Cocula” became a fascinating place for music. The ability of the indigenous to connect and play their rustic instruments to "feel close" to their main gods “Cocolli” and “Teocáyatl” was captivating. Indigenous music was played for special occasions like weddings and religious celebrations using instruments like horns and drums. By the time the Spanish arrived in these lands,...
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...population makes it challenging for health care professionals to provide culturally competent and effective holistic care to these groups. It is imperative that health education strategies include performing a heritage assessment to include a person’s ethnic background, cultural heritage, health traditions and beliefs, cultural considerations affecting health, as well as traditional methods used for maintaining, protecting and restoring health (Spector, n.d.). It is of upmost importance for the health care provider to be knowledgeable of their own cultural beliefs and values in order to provide respectful, appropriate and culturally sensitive care to these diverse populations. Likewise, being culturally competent and possessing a complete understanding of the diverse minorities and ethnic groups is imperative in order to provide optimal health care to include ongoing maintenance, protection and restoration of health (Edelman, 2014). To analyze this theory three families of different ethnic backgrounds were interviewed using a heritage assessment tool which included additional health related questions. After completing these assessments the author believes that it is important to incorporate knowledge of a cultural heritage assessment into their practice and that this exercise is a beneficial learning experience for health professional students in order to apply an optimal plan for health promotion and restoration (Schmidt and Owens, 2012). The first family is an African...
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...Three centuries under Spanish rule followed by 50 years of American influence has made the Philippines an Asian country unlike any other. Through a thick layer of Spain and America, we can glimpse the Filipino soul trying to express its unique, cultural identity through creativity. Through music and dance: Usually a celebration of the earth’s bounty, ready to dance in the streets to tribal drum rhythms. Or simply marvel at elaborate floats blooming with the season’s harvest and the town folk’s crafty work. From masquerades to mud fests, pilgrim processions to pageant parties, the island-style parties are open to everyone. Through art: It can be seen in the handicraft, design, fashion. Spot it in the churches or the parks. It can be loud like the jeepneys or as clean as the embroidery. Through food: the distinct cuisine came from the comfort food that reminds Filipinos of family, home, and simple joys. Its many-layered flavors are expressed differently from kitchen to kitchen. Take the national dish, adobo. It has as many recipes as we have islands. But we all share it. With islands so diverse, Philippine culture is a buffet or fun and festivity. Wherever we go, we will be welcomed by people as warm as summer and that is the Filipino culture First, is that the Philippines is not an ethnically homogeneous country. There are some 170 languages spoken here and some cultures are very regionals such as the Ifugao art and handicraft. Second, the country was a colony for more than...
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...ritual that commemorates the Cebuano people’s pagan origin, and their acceptance of Christianity. * The festival features a street parade with participants in bright-colored costume dancing to the rhythym of drums, trumpets, and native gongs. 3. Dinagyang (4th Sunday of January) * The Dinagyang is a religious and cultural festival in Iloilo City, Philippines held on the fourth Sunday of January. * Dinagyang was voted as the best Tourism Event for 2006, 2007 and 2008 by the Association of Tourism Officers in the Philippines. 4. Panagbenga Festival (Whole Month of February) * The festival in Baguio was created as a tribute to the city’s flowers and as a way to rise up from the devastation of the 1990 Luzon earthquake. * The festival includes floats that are decorated with flowers unlike those used in Pasadena’s Rose Parade. The festival also includes street dancing, presented by dancers clad in flower inspired costumes, that is inspired by the Bendian, an Ibaloi dance of celebration that came from the Cordillera region. 5. Kaamulan (Second half of February to March 10) * The Kaamulan Festival is a Bukidnon ethnic-cultural festival, from the Binukid word amul, “to gather”, is an indigenous Bukidnon term for a gathering for any purpose. * The...
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...Brazil Studies: Brazil socio-cultural factors and Cross-cultural issues By: Lawanda Timmons Date: January 31, 2015 Instructor: Minsky TROY Managing in a Global Environment MGT-4478 Introduction I am pleased our company decided to expand the W Hotel to Brazil. Brazil is a great place to start a new service business at, especially a hotel. Brazil is a place where the culture believes in diversity. Also they consider themselves to be Americans as well. Therefore they do not mind using U.S products or services. They are a people that believe in family and that family is a key part to life. Brazil is a place that is filled with variety and is not afraid to allow new cultures to their part of the world. Cultural Analysis In Brazil, the primary language is Portuguese. It was the Brazilians’ first language, but over time immigrants such as Italians, Germans, Japanese, and Spanish-speaking introduced new words and expression to their language. It is much easier for some Brazilians to understand Spanish language than other Latin American countries. The Portuguese they speak in Brazil is different from what they speak in Portugal. The language is so different. It’s just like the English spoken in the United States. However, in Brazil there are many customs. In fact, their daily communication style of Brazilian locals is typically relaxed and relatively informal. It is not unusual during a conversation to be interrupted. Although it’s not rude in...
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...It may not have a specific origination, but it is said to date as far back into the Aztec times where the Aztecs were said to have started a similar tradition to what the Quinceañera is today. The Quinceañera is known for being the rite of passage for young women into womanhood. This traditional celebration has been influenced by the Europeans and the Spanish Catholics from the ceremonial balls to the idea of celebrating it with an enormous party. The dress it is self has come a long way. At first, it was custom to have a pink dress but now numerous colors have been used some even having more than one color on the dress. This massive celebration has many parts to it that it is advised to start preparations at least a year before the day of the Quinceañera. This, one in a lifetime, celebration starts off at the church with a mass where the Quinceañera gives thanks to God and the Virgin Mary. After the mass, starts the party where the Quinceañera performs her womanhood rituals and dances the night away with her close family and friends. A Quinceañera is dreamt by a little girl who realizes as she grows up that this celebration has more meaning than she imagined. A Quinceañera is a well respected tradition that many young girls look forward...
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...made up of a very diverse group of people who have similar background but very different and distinct cultures. A few of the groups that make up a part of Hispanic Americans are Cubans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Nicaraguans. Below are some facts concerning the linguistic, political, social, economic, religious, and familial conventions or statuses of these four groups; these facts shed some light on the commonalities and differences between these four groups. In Cuba, the national language is Spanish. In America, Cuban Americans speak both English and Spanish, although, there are differences in which is the predominant language spoken varies between those born in Cuba and those born in America. (Buffington, N.D.) Although the trend for Cuban Americans born in the US is shifting towards monolingualism, conditions in the Miami area are considered conducive to the maintenance of Spanish within the Cuban community. Favorable social conditions coupled with a positive attitude towards Spanish are cited as two reasons bilingualism is still strong. Although bilingualism is still strong among Miami Cubans, each generation is increasingly shifting towards English speaking. (Porcel, 2006) Early, or first generation, Cuban Americans could be characterized as being politically cohesive with an overwhelming majority preferring the Republican Party; this cohesiveness has dwindled as the subsequent generations are becoming more diverse in its political preferences.(Moreno and Warren,1998) According...
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