June 25, 2010
Building Bridges
Workshop focuses on Latino culture
Acuzena Dubon, Tita Prado and Chuyita Prado listen as Maura Robinson talks about the Latino culture, its customs, rituals, social structure, needs and concerns during a June 19 workshop at the Guadalupe Center in Huntingburg. Click for a larger version.
By MARY ANN HUGHES (Message staff writer)
Carolyn Leffert is the parish secretary at Mary, Help of Christians Church in Mariah Hill. Last Monday, two days after she attended a workshop at the Guadalupe Center in Huntingburg, she was still talking about what she had learned.
The workshop, entitled “Building Bridges — Creating Healthy Relationships,” was attended by an equal number of Hispanics and Anglos.
It was given by Venezuela native Maura Robinson, who talked about the Latino culture, its customs, rituals, social structure, needs and concerns.
Robinson presented the information in both English and Spanish, and the participants were immediately asked to divide into two teams, and build half of a paper bridge between two chairs — without exchanging a word between the teams.
When asked what she learned from the exercise, Tita Prado said that the teamwork showed her “together we think better” and that “people of different languages can work together.”
Robinson agreed, noting, “when we talk about differences, it’s more that we are the same. This exercise is about learning to communicate.”
She began her presentation by asking participants about the term “culture,” then suggested it is “what you learn from your parents. And what is North American culture? You may say ‘apple pie,’ but it’s a mixture of cultures.”
She wanted the Anglos to know — and the Latinos to be reminded — that the core values of the Latino culture involve the family structure, which emphasizes “we” not “I.”
Just as the European-American population is very diverse — with German-Americans, Irish-Americans, Italian-Americans — the Latino population is also very diverse, she said. “There is not just one look of Hispanics,” she said, noting European, Incan and African influences.
The term “allocentrism” can be applied to the Latino culture. That means its members “think in terms of the group. It’s a family affair. It keeps us united. It’s the group mentality, depending on friends and family more. We tend to take care of them more.”
She also cited the term “personalism” which means “we believe in interpersonal relationships rather than institutional relationships.” That means that “we make you our friends immediately. If I meet you today, if I see you at Wal-Mart tomorrow, I will give you a hug. You automatically become my friend.”
And there is the term “simpatico” which when applied to the Latino culture means “a certain level of conformity and empathy for the feelings of others. We want small and pleasant interactions,” she said. Because of that “people think Latinos are submissive — but we are not.”
She explained, “When you ask for something to be done, we will agree with you — even if we can’t do it, and we may not do it.”
Maura also explained the term “fatalism” and how it relates to the Latino culture. “There is the cultural belief that emphasizes that there is little an individual can do to alter fate.
“Many Latinos believe that events are meant to happen because of fate, and that they cannot control it. That may prevent them from seeking help.”
Latinos have an understanding that each family member “has the responsibility to aid the other members in need.” She laughed as she said, “We always have someone living with us,” and “the family includes the extended family, cousins, uncles and aunts.”
Even friends of the family often become “part of the family circle.”
Latino children are traditionally trained to “be seen and not heard, and to do what the parents tell them to do.”
She then talked about the problems that the Hispanic immigrants are facing as they migrate into the United States. Often, when illegal immigrants are arrested and deported, their children who are American citizens are “left behind. We are creating a new level of homeless children.”
Hispanic children also face great hardships in schools as they struggle to learn the language while learning classroom lessons. Retired Huntingburg teacher, Janis Seger agreed, noting, “They understand it, but they are not comfortable giving it back because of the language.”
Marianna Serrano nodded her head, adding, “Embarrassment.”
On a lighter note, Robinson talked about the issue of time with many Hispanics. “For some in the Latino culture, in two minutes to two months is on time.”
Personal space also has a different definition in the Hispanic culture than in the Anglo one. “We like to be close — nose to nose. In the North American culture, it’s arm’s length.”
Hispanics “like to touch people.”
The barriers that many Hispanics face in the United States include poverty, she said. “Approximately 23 percent of the Hispanics in the United States live below the poverty level.”
To the Anglos, she asked, “Help us to integrate into this land, to live together.” And to the Hispanics and the Anglos, she suggested both groups learn to respect the other.
Leffert said she thought the workshop was “very good. I think we do need to learn and understand their culture.”
She loved the idea that “when they meet you, you are their friend. I really like the way of always seeing everyone as a friend.”
She also “loved the way they get together with family, that family is very important to them.”
She knows that because of what she learned at the workshop she wants to “make them feel comfortable, especially the children. I think how hard it is for the children to go to a new school, meet new friends, and learn the language.
“If we had to move, I think about how hard that would be for my children.”
Of the workshop, she said, “I couldn’t quit talking about it this weekend.”