Introduction
The Hispanic group consists of several categories of people and although they have some similarities, there are a few unique traits that make each group different. This paper is going to look at these individual groups with regard to different aspects of their lives. These groups are the Mexican Americans, Cubans, Guatemalans and the Puerto Ricans.
Discussion
Most of the Mexican Americans are Roman Catholics with a few practicing Protestantism. Their main language is Spanish although English is used in educational institutions. There are high levels of poverty among the Mexican Americans since most of them do not have American citizenship. They therefore take up low paying jobs as illegal workers.
Social status is determined by the kind of employment one is able to obtain. Initially, women stayed at home and performed household chores but due to the low income, they were forced to look for some source of income. The main political issue relates to the Mexican American borders and the reduction of illegal immigrants (Denton, & Emory, 2002).
The other group of Hispanics is the Puerto Ricans. In this group, there are high numbers of Protestants although their traditional religion was the Roman Catholic. Like the Mexican Americans, they also speak Spanish. There are two political groups in Puerto Rica: the nationalists and the statists.
The statists believe that Puerto Rica should be governed by its own constitution while the nationalists believe that they should be governed by the American government. These people are able to obtain high paying jobs so their social status is generally higher than that of the Mexican Americans. They have a high level of attachment to their homes and gender roles are inculcated in children as they grow up (Parrillo, 2009).
The other group is the Cuban Americans. Their poverty levels are much lower than those of the other Hispanic groups. There hold strong family relations which pull extended families to live together. These relations are however questionable due to the high divorce rates. The family relations are mainly matriarchal.
The main economic activities revolve around market places. Although they are Catholics, a very low proportion is devoted to religion. Santeria is also a practiced religion. There are many Independents and Republicans from this group (Yang, 2000).
The final group in this paper is the Guatemalan Americans whose main languages are Spanish and the Mayan language. A small proportion of the Guatemalans practice some Mayan religious ceremonies with the majority being Roman Catholics. There is only a very small percentage of this group residing in America so not many of them take part in American politics. They are well educated and are therefore able to get good jobs making their social status to be high. Family ties are also very strong (Ochoa, & Smith, 2008).
Conclusion
The main similarities among the four groups discussed above are the use of Spanish as the main language and the religious affiliation. The dominating religion for all of the Hispanics is Roman Catholic. However, there are a few differences in the way words are pronounced. Their word choice also varies.
All the groups have altered the role of women in society over time with men also taking up domestic chores. They also come from different geographical and cultural backgrounds. People from the four groups are not exposed to the same level of education therefore creating a difference in the kind of jobs they can attain. Social classes are therefore differentiated by the career opportunities available.
Reference List
Denton, N. & Emory, S. (2002). American diversity: a demographic challenge for the twenty-first century. Albany: State University of New York Press. Ochoa, G. & Smith, C. (2008). Atlas of Hispanic-American history. New York: Facts on File.
Parrillo, V. (2009). Diversity in America. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Pine Forge Press.
Yang, P. (2000). Ethnic studies: issues and approaches. Albany: State University of New York Press.