For the Latinos coming to America, it’s something life changing as many people leave behind their love ones, normal environment, and a piece of themselves. A culture change happens as immigrants risk their lives to come to America. Mora points out the effects of Acculturation as low-income Latinos move into urban areas with harmful conditions that contribute to the risk to the Latinos health. Mora looks at a study done…
While driving down Hemphill Street, it is clear to perceive that the businesses and the houses that line the area has Hispanic influence. From Mexican flags to Spanish language on advertisements, the neighborhood spans from Felix Street to West Allen Avenue. Although this project was to explore strictly Hemphill, streets forking off east and west show signs of similar culture. The community is expanding and the culture is growing stronger, turning it into a city within a city.…
When people from the South Bronx neighbourhood go to stores, hospitals, or churches outside of their own area, there is a sense of rejection. “They’re right. I don’t belong in a nice hospital. My skin is black. I’m Puerto Rican. I’m on welfare. I belong in my own neighbourhood. This is where I’m supposed to be.” (Kozol, 176) This is the common reality that plagues the adults. Consequently, a society that discriminates against people due to their skin colour and status contributes to the negative way these children think. If the adults are having a difficult time dealing with the issues already, what possibly could be on the minds of their children? Majority of the children believe they do not fit the social norms of the American society and therefore are treated like outcasts. The poverty-stricken children discuss with Kozol the reasons why they feel this way. “If you go downtown to a nice store, they look at you sometimes as if your body is disgusting. You can be dressed in your best dress but you feel you are not welcome.” (Kozol, 41) The sixteen year old girl Maria believes this is how people of the ghetto are viewed; they are viewed dirty, hopeless, unwanted and different. Furthermore, the children feel…
What did John Winthrop mean when he spoke of his “city upon a hill”? To what extent were the Puritans successful at building this city?…
This community is considered to be a predominantly working, middle class neighborhood with people ranging from children, teenagers, young, and older adults. Majority of the population is white, non Hispanic. However according to the NYTimes, “Young Israel of Eltingville, an Orthodox congregation, has been growing rapidly in the last few years and this summer welcomed a new rabbi, Azriel Blumberg, and his family, who moved here from Queens.”(Fioravante, 2003.) The town is small with a lot of activity due to a popular train stop and multiple bus stops right outside of the train station. Observed at the transportation stops were young teenagers heading to or from school, working adults in business attire, or Hispanic males and females. Another observation I noticed were the females were seen either dropping off their kids to school, or running errands. Throughout the week I continued to observe younger adults, who were walking, exercising or on their way to work; Most people seemed to be in a rush, or on a mission to get things done this portrayed an unfriendliness. Although appearing unfriendly, when you would walk into the local Italian deli, bagel store or pharmacy everyone seemed to know eachother and were seen conversing in a friendly manner. During the day a few senior adults were seen in the area carrying some groceries, pushing baby carriages. Many appeared to be in good health, except the…
City of God (Meirelles 2002) was an eye opening film about the life of the people living in favelas in Rio de Janeiro. It depicts the gruesome details of growing up in a slum and the choices youths must make in order to survive their reality. In an article by Joanne Laurier called “Sincere, but avoiding difficult questions”, Laurier attacks director Fernando Meirelles on his artistic choices when creating his film City of God (Meirelles 2002). However, Laurier completely misses what Meirelles brought to the film and the impact it had on its audience.…
I currently live in Blackwood New Jersey. This is a small town in New Jersey with a population of 4547 people in 2010. The community is composed of many cultures, races and religions. I find this to be one of the perks of living here is being accepted for my customs and race. I am African American, and even though my race only makes up a small percentage. The majority of the town is Caucasian, but African Americans make up the largest minority. Members of my close community look similar to me. There are a lot of mixed race people also in my close community. The…
Saigon, a small city situated in South Vietnam, is where I grew up. It’s not a big city; however, its population has been growing rapidly in the past decade. New immigrants from different part of the country keep coming toward us for higher-paid jobs and modern technologies. Unlike the U.S, Vietnam is not a developed country. We have low standards living condition; some parts of the country even have no electricity; crimes and violations happen frequently because people want to escape from poverty; etc. Growing up in a country consisted of those characteristics, I was taught to be ambitious and to push myself hard enough to reach higher goals. It is the bad condition in my country that harbors my dreams to come to the US and to get access to…
Miranda, Lin Manuel. In the Heights. The Fabulous Fox Theatre St. Louis . 12 Nov. 2009.…
Back home I was used to water parks and a million other things to do. In the beginning, I found nothing amusing about New Mexico. I guess this is where my isolation began; New Mexico was so different from my hometown that everything just reminded me of how much I missed California. I ended up staying indoors all the time. The biggest impact that New Mexico had over my person was not the land but the cultural shock that I encountered. I come from a Mexican background and have been speaking Spanish since I was in diapers. I was proud of what I thought I knew about my culture, but the first few months in New Mexico taught me that I couldn't be more wrong and different from the real Hispanic population. I thought I spoke Spanish but upon hearing almost everyone around me speak it, I thought so myself, I’m in trouble. The Hispanic population is overwhelming in New Mexico, and in the beginning I felt very isolated even though we shared a common language. Everything literally spiraled downward from this point. If my family and I couldn't even be comfortable with our own people how were we suppose to mix ourselves with a whole new community? Little did I know that moving to New Mexico was actually going to strengthen my Hispanic culture because I ended up celebrating a very important tradition in the Mexican culture; my quinceanera. A quinceanera is celebrated…
1. I live in Miami, Florida. Miami is an urban city located on the southern tip of Florida on the Atlantic coast (Located at the mouth of the Miami River on the lower east coast of Florida. Approximately 228 miles north/northeast of Havana, Cuba. Approximately 204 miles south of Orlando,FL. Approximately 668 miles southeast of New Orleans, LA). Miami is a very hot and humid place. There are no mountains here, or hills. It doesn’t snow ever, and year round we have a lot of rainfall. It is called a “worldly” city because of its cultural diversification. The city has a heavy Hispanic population. The largest ethnic group is Cuban.…
Latino neighborhoods have increased by 232% from 1980 to 2010 (Onesimo Sandoval & Jennings, 2012). Residential segregation, which I define as the Latino and White spatial segregation by income for this paper, is an important concept to consider when creating health policies that are meant to ensure equal health outcomes among society as a whole. Although the World Health Organization defines health to be “a complete state of physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity,” empirical evidence and statistics show that residential segregation has a threatening impact on the physical and mental health outcomes for disadvantaged Latinos (WHO, 100). Therefore, it becomes a social determinant of the health of the fastest growing population in the country (Onesimo Sandoval & Jennings, 2012). However, health researchers and practitioners…
In the film City of God, director Fernando Meirelles and Kàtia Lund utilize subtle yet effective cimatography techniques to call attention to the inequality that lies within the favelas of Brazil. City of God, released on January 17, 2003, focuses on the lives of two black boys, Lil Zé and Rocket, from the City of God. Rocket is the ambitious, kind, and charming photographer while Lil Zé is the as the callous, sinister, and selfish drug lord. Meirelles and Lund utilize this film in order to expose the social, political, and economic exclusion that City of God faced. While also shining a light on how the city’s exclusion and inequality leads to a violence breeds violence lifestyle that is seen throughout the film.…
The plight of the Hispanic citizen in the United States is difficult to characterize; a massive demographic that has made its home in an equally massive nation - every major US city today boasts an impressive and diverse Hispanic population. Nowhere is this more true than in Los Angeles and New York City, where Hispanic Americans number in the millions. But who are Hispanic Americans? To what degree have they assimilated to the broader “mainstream” American culture? How do they differ from one another? In major American cities, Hispanics have, by degrees, experienced a blend of alienation and acceptance.…
New York City is known as a center of art, culture, fashion and finance with iconic sites such as Times Square, The Statue of Liberty, and The Empire State Building. There are certain aspects which are easily identified with New York City such as skyscrapers, rap, the subway, and Broadway. However, in my mind, there is one aspect of New York City which I feel represents the city as a whole. One place that can be found in each neighborhood with different ambiences and different people. Diners are delightful environments and food joints serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Diners show the traits which make New York City so enjoyable for me.…