Cuban Culture in Miami, Florida - Essay Example

Running Head: Cuban culture Research on the Cuban culture in Miami, Florida Rajeev Bhattacharjee Academia Research The Cubans in Miami, if one were to quote Cuba’s national poet Nicolas Guillén, are "todos mezclados" or all mixed up. This is partly because Miami, with its heterogenousity, is a land of contradictions. The multiculturalism which pervades in the city makes it not only incredibly culturally volatile but also bears testimony to the newness of its development. After all, the coming up of Miami from a swamp settlement only a century ago, to what it is now is simply phenomenal. The challenge that faces a teacher in this Hispanic land is to understand and absorb the multicultural themes in a way whereby they can accommodate the various currents of the place. Epistomologically, the Hispanics in Miami come across as a race, which has a love for outdoor life, for adventure, for reaching out, and not merely aping, the contemporary fashion trends. Add to that a phenomenal zest for life, accompanied by a naturally brash verbatim, and you would get a fair picture of the Hispanic life in Miami. Socially, the Hispanics use a kaleidoscope of names to describe themselves. Compared to the American’s mathematical conception of color and ethnicity, the Hispanic terms rely more on appearance, temperament, and intention (of the speaker) as well as express a clear hierarchy in which white is right and black. Thus, they have terms like ‘mulato’, ‘jabao’, ‘trigueZo’, and ‘moro’, as well as a plethora of other distinctions which lie in-between these descriptions. The Hispanic society and its race codes show great plurality and flexibility, underscoring the permeability of categories, and simultaneously re-iterate its evolutions in the institution of slavery, colonialism, and neocolonialism. In contrast to countries where people are subject to a monolithic racism, the Hispanic society shows an interesting feature of trying to improve its race by means of finding light skinned partners who could reproduce lighter skinned babies. Thus, students in Miami come from a variety of locations, and with varied experiences and cultural backgrounds, and bring with them stereotypes and misconceptions about cultures that may be different from their own. However, this does not mean that the local discourses are to be subjugated by the pan-optic view of the teacher or the guide, but requires a sympathetic response from him / her. For example, some Cubans in Miami have an obsession with something called Destemplanza. It is a mysterious body temperature, not high enough to be considered fever, but serious enough to miss school and work. Though the illness is unknown by the American Medical Association, it is understood only by doctors of Cuban origin. Again, Hispanics students often complain of Aire which is a common malady that results when someone steps outdoors suddenly, particularly at night, without proper attire.   It is supposed to be characterized by sharp, intermittent pain which can affect any part of the body. For a culture which is heterogeneous, the Cubans in Miami are loud communicators who are proud of their indigeneosity. Their day to day communication with parents and elders is non-formal an at times almost kitchen-sinkish. However, the rusticity of expression such as “Te la comiste mi hermano” meaning “You ate it, Bro!”  rather than saying “Fantastic!”or saying Estas acabando meaning “Youre finishing”  or “Youre fabulous” , shows not only a linguistically vibrant race, but also indicates a culture which has an inherent love for creativity and arts. This maybe the reason why Miami boasts of a range of galleries, theater and dance companies, individual artists in every medium, as well as a plethora of festivals like Calle Ocho, Trinidadian Carnival, The Hispanic Theatre Festival and the Miami Bookfair. The Hispanical extrovertism also has an advantage. If teachers can take advantage of the inherent verbosity of the Hispanics, their classes could be more dialogic. The students not only get a chance to express their own points of view, thereby adding voice to the dialogue, but can also learn to respect and accept the multicultural discourses running inside a same room. Another thing which runs amongst most Hispanics is their passionate love for politics. Political discussions are not only held at places such as fruit stands and cigar factories to the eat-at windows of the cafeterias, but form a bulk of domestic discussions and debate. As a result, most Hispanic adolescents in Miami come across with very strong political ideas and affiliations as they tend to equate this with their social existence. Hispanics in Miami love food and are big eaters. Though it’s true that as most of the population thrives on industries such as car dealerships, record stores, cigar factories and cafeterias selling strong Cuban coffee, snacks such as chicharones (fried pork morsels) to croquetas, pastelitos and sugary mouthfuls of merenguítos are very popular amongst the Hispanics. A common form of enjoyment is dining and it is usually done with many cuisines. There are a variety of restaurants serving authentic Cuban dishes dining with family members in these restaurants is seen as an expression of familial solidarity.   The schooling scale of Miami is shows that almost half the Hispanic population in are semi literate. Economic instability along with lack of vocational training centres and unwillingness to study amongst youth are seen as the main impediments facing higher education in Miami. Though the place has a several Catholic and Jewish high schools throughout the area, the rate of school drop outs is alarming. Narcotic abuse is also another problem which impedes education here. Interestingly, all these problems are geneological and are off shoots of a society which has been subjugated to marginalization for various political reasons. Compounding the problem, are the lack of sympathetic educators who would enable in bridging the hiatus caused by the problems of language and a sub-altern complex of skin color. The rigidity of patriarchy also has a role to play in the educational scenario of Cubans in Miami. As most of the students are denied to express liberal views they might have learned from outside, which is essentially because of the super imposing patriarchal structure within the family, the communication between a demanding society and a student is reduced to a minimum. As a result, the divide between the generations keeps on getting wider and which bears result on the vociferous orality of the younger generation. Thus, verbal and non verbal communications become but tools of dominance and resistance both at the micro and the macro level. Teaching is by definition a dialectic process. It involves the interaction between the teacher and the student in hopes of achieving a synthesis of ideas and perspectives. As a teacher, it would be good if one can identify the cultural values that lie embedded in one’s interpretation of a students difficulties or in the recommendation for service. It is important to go beyond one’s instinctive subject position and try to ravel the ‘other-ed’ values of equity, independence, and individuality. Next, it is imperative to understand the paradigms which construct a student’s sense of culture and nationality. The cultural self-awareness has to be aided by the realization that the Hispanic kids are brought up in a system where their families value leaders who were active, directive, and present-oriented. As a result, their hyper-activity should not be seen as attitudinal problems but should be dealt delicately. A teacher should ideally find out whether the members of the pupil’s family recognizes and values your assumptions, and if not, how their view differs from yours. This should be followed by a process of acknowledgement where one gives explicit respect to the cultural differences and tries to explain the cultural basis of your assumptions. The Hispanic population in Miami has a strong sense of reason. More than this, the reason has a sort of a social implication: meaning it has a strong sense of familial sanctification. Thus, all explanations in class should be through the medium of discussion and collaboration. The students should feel that they belong to an educational system which is not only culturally reciprocative, but one which underlies the priorities, goals and visions of not only of themselves but also of their families. Another important thing that a teacher in Miami has to bear in mind is the fact that since English is not spoken as the first language here, students often suffer from a ‘stress of communication’. Since the level of social demand is so high, this often leads to the students showing signs of nonchalance and at other times depression. A teacher should draw out the students from the fringes and make them feel comfortable by means of strategic techniques which may also include stressing on conjoint structural family therapy rather than indulging in an individual approach. Works cited 1 See and for more information. Read More