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Hispanic American Diversity

Hispanic Americans are made up of a very diverse group of people who have similar background but very different and distinct cultures. A few of the groups that make up a part of Hispanic Americans are Cubans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Nicaraguans. Below are some facts concerning the linguistic, political, social, economic, religious, and familial conventions or statuses of these four groups; these facts shed some light on the commonalities and differences between these four groups.
In Cuba, the national language is Spanish. In America, Cuban Americans speak both English and Spanish, although, there are differences in which is the predominant language spoken varies between those born in Cuba and those born in America. (Buffington, N.D.) Although the trend for Cuban Americans born in the US is shifting towards monolingualism, conditions in the Miami area are considered conducive to the maintenance of Spanish within the Cuban community. Favorable social conditions coupled with a positive attitude towards Spanish are cited as two reasons bilingualism is still strong. Although bilingualism is still strong among Miami Cubans, each generation is increasingly shifting towards English speaking. (Porcel, 2006)
Early, or first generation, Cuban Americans could be characterized as being politically cohesive with an overwhelming majority preferring the Republican Party; this cohesiveness has dwindled as the subsequent generations are becoming more diverse in its political preferences.(Moreno and Warren,1998)
According to the 2000 US Census, 1.2 million Cuban Americans made up three and a half percent of the total Hispanic population in the United States. (Guzman, 2001) Many of the Cubans who arrive into the United States settle into established exile communities formed by earlier immigrants who came to America to escape political turmoil.

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