As a former resident of New York, I was accustomed to living as a part of an extremely culturally diverse city. That soon changed when I decided to study in Cincinnati. Although not very diverse, people in Cincinnati are still aware of many cultures because of events such as Black History Month. However, Latinos are not subject to any month or celebrated in any American holiday. In my stay here, many incidents have occurred that proved the lack of Latino awareness in Cincinnati. While talking about food with my boyfriend’s roommate, I expressed my disappointment in being unable to find a Hispanic restaurant that was not Mexican. He responded by asking if there was a difference between Mexican and other Hispanic food. That was like asking me if Japanese and Chinese food are the same because they are both Asian foods.
Another example of this occurred when I went to eat in an Indian restaurant and one of the cooks asked me my nationality. I told him that I was from the Dominican Republic, but he had never heard of that country and asked me where it was located. Similar to this incident, a cook in my school cafeteria had asked me if I was Mexican or Puerto Rican. My initial response was “Are those my only two options?”
However, I am glad for these incidents, since they have inspired me to write this article and make people more aware of Latinos and their contributions. I should start off by saying that the U.S. would not have been what it is today had it not been for Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand from Spain, who had funded Columbus’s expedition when he founded America.
We can then focus on the endless abundance of natural resources found in almost every Hispanic country, from petroleum in Ecuador to gold and nickel in the Dominican Republic.
From a more artistic aspect, there are many Hispanics who have contributed, such as the Spanish painter and cubist Pablo Ruiz Picasso and the Mexican painter Fridah Kahlo. They are both very influential icons of art today.
Chilean writer Isabelle Allende, won the Nobel Prize for her “House of the Spirits,” and so did Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez for “One Hundred Years of Solitude;” both highly recommended novels.
Many forms of music have also been introduced by Hispanic countries, such as tango from Argentina and merengue from the Dominican Republic.
Finally, there are many Hispanic actors, actresses, singers, directors, models and even fashion designers, who produce much of our entertainment on a daily basis. For instance, Andy Garcia, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, director Robert Rodriguez, and designer Oscar De La Renta are a few of the many worth mentioning.
All in all, Hispanics are a very important culture; indeed they have contributed much to all of society. We can be found all over the world, from South America, to the Caribbean, and even to Europe; nevertheless, we are all culturally united and extremely patriotic.