Latino Culture Vs. American Culture

Latino culture vs. American culture

There are many similarities between Latino culture and American culture but there are just as many differences between the two cultures. As we know today, the American culture is a mix of different cultures. Latino, on the other hand, has its own cultural values. I would like to introduce the differences between Latino and American culture. Comparisons between the two cultures can be made through ethics, family values, time management, education, marriage, entertainment, work ethics, and more but I will compare Latino and American culture to these seven categories.

Work ethic is the principle that hard work is intrinsically virtuous or worthy of reward. I believe that both cultures think that hard work can get you what you want. Latino culture innately establishes a personal connection, including close relationship with co-workers. Also, they find physical contact with others quite normal and it’s all part of daily interaction. American’s can relate to communication such as handshakes but not much more than that. American culture on the other hand like to be independent. They earn what they work for. A similarity would be that both Latino and American culture respect authority. Employees of both cultures tend to treat those in positions of authority with a great deal of respect. Also, don’t want to be ordered around meaning that they want a leader not a “boss”. There are differences in worth ethic between two cultures but there are also many similarities between Latino and American cultures regarding work ethic.  

Another major difference between the two cultures is family values. Family is valued in both Latino and American cultures. American people tend to have a series of short-term relationships, and many do not commit with one person for a long time. The family is the nucleus of Latino life. Latinos tend to be highly group-oriented. A strong emphasis is placed on family as the major source of one’s identity and production against the hardships of life. This sense of family belonging is intense and limited to family and close friends. The family model is an extended one; grandparents, aunts cousins, and even people who are not biologically related may be considered part of the immediate family. A similarity though is that family is valued in both Latino and American cultures. One major thing about family values between the two cultures is that family is important and precious to them.

Time management is also something to compare and consider between Latino and American culture. Time management is important in life such as if you are in the business field and even for family time. I believe that Latino culture is relaxed about time and punctuality. On the other hand, Americans are big on punctuality. Also, Latinos focus on immediate short-term goals whereas Americans like to plan things ahead for the future. Time management can be a sensitive subject because for example, Americans like to be on time and even early a lot of the times but if you were to put American and Latino culture people together, it may not be the best idea. Having someone of Latino culture be late to an event hosted by someone of American culture, the host may not be happy about it. So, it is important to know about different cultures so that you don’t mean to act offensive at a place with a different culture.

Education is considered to be important for success in life for Latinos and Americans. Every person is given the opportunity to achieve higher education but it doesn’t come easy to everyone and different situations cause for delays or forfeits for education. For Latinos, there is a big gap between the high value Latinos place on education and their aspirations to finish college. This mainly appears from financial pressure to support a family. Economic factors remain an obstacle to college enrollment. Americans find education to be important in life as well since it will allow bigger success in life. In America, most students finish high school and directly go to college for higher level education. Many families have financial circumstances but there are a lot of help from the government and the school to allow for students to achieve higher education. In America, without a college degree, it is hard to find a decent job that can support a relaxed lifestyle. Both cultures know that education is important but we need to realize that the opportunity in education may not be as easy to get as in American culture.

Marriage allows each person to seek his or her own mate, but traditionally the elder family members keep close watch to make sure that the choice is an appropriate one. The average age of marriage has increased lately, but typically it is lower than the overall average in the United States. Latino groups have their own marriage customs such as the wedding and celebrations being large, well-attended, often catered affairs hosted by the bride’s family. However, for Americans, marriage is focused mainly on the bride and groom. The size of the wedding hall tends to be on the smaller side. They like to celebrate with close family and friends. In this case, this is where the family culture difference comes in. For Latinos, your extended relationships are considered family whereas in America, your family consists of those who you live with. So, the wedding celebration size could only result in being smaller compared to Latino weddings.