Hogla Hernandez
Hogla "Holly" Hernandez is my mother. She currently lives in Miami, and has lived there since she was 10. When she was about 8 years old, her family packed up their belongings and finally left Cuba. From Cuba they went to Puerto Rico for a couple of years before finally settling in Miami.
Her Hispanic heritage has influenced her life greatly, as she has spent her entire life surrounded by it. She speaks Spanish, which is imperative for living in Miami, and opens up a lot of opportunities for her for jobs. A bilingual worker always has an advantage over an unilingual one, as a bilingual employee has the ability to communicate with a wide range of customers and business partners, etc. She also states that food is an important part of our heritage. Hispanic cultures are some of the few world cultures that are known specifically for their cuisine. "Food is a big part of our culture, and it unites generations," she tells. Lastly, she tells that one other aspect of Hispanic culture that has greatly influenced her life is the proximity of our families. HIspanic families are very close to one another beyond the immediate family. Our American friends actually call us "The Cleavers" because of how close our entire family lives to one another. I am the first of the family to move away since the move from Cuba - and even then, the whole family stayed together. Our family proximity is quite obvious during simple gatherings that normally wouldn't be such a big turnout. For example, for each and everyone's birthday, the entire family goes over to the "Abuelos' [Grandparents'] House" to sing happy birthday and cut a cake. For any event, the entire family gets together. Another example that Holly states is whenever somebody in the family accomplishes something, the whole family comes over to celebrate. When I got into Emory, the entire family came over to my house with food and a cake to celebrate. She also states that her heritage has influenced her personally through her political beliefs, political activity and work ethic. She, as well as many others know of the struggles of living in an oppressed society and of being an immigrant, but the knowledge of everything that was sacrificed to get her here has inspired her and many others alike to be very hard working.
But what would a culture be without its traditions? When asked what traditions she takes part in as part of the Hispanic community, Holly listed various examples, ranging from yearly to daily. She tells of the annual "Noche Buena" Christmas Eve party that just about every family in Miami has: the entire extended family gets together and roasts a pig to accompany "arroz con frijoles" [rice and beans]. The night is spent by eating food and simply spending time with family. Another tradition Holly states is actually one that I was not aware of her practicing. She likes to keep the Christmas tree up until January 6th (Three Kings Day). I know that we do celebrate it, however I did not know that was the reason we kept our tree up for so long. (To be honest, I thought it was because we just didn't want to put away all the Christmas decorations, haha). Other traditions that we take part in aren't necessarily annual. Birthday parties are an example of this. Once again, the entire family gets together and brings food and we dance and sing and enjoy each other's company. Even adult birthdays are celebrated with a party. Now, I know what you're thinking, birthdays are once a year, so they are annual, which is true, however as I mentioned before we have a large extended family, so there is a birthday every 3 or 4 weeks. So it becomes more of a monthly tradition. One daily tradition that my mom practices almost religiously is the brewing of cafe con leche [coffee with steamed milk] every morning. It is not so much a routine as it is a tradition because her our family has been doing this every single day since as long as my grandparents can remember. This is a tradition that has been passed on to me - I make cafe con leche every day to start my day. One big tradition that my mom left out is one of great importance in the Hispanic culture. It is the Quinceañera party. This is a tradition that occurs in every single Hispanic ethnicity that I can think of. Basically, it is a huge coming-of-age party for girls turning 15, where even the extended family of the extended family attends. The Quinceañera is filled with traditions such as the first dance with the girl's father, a dance with any male siblings, changing her shoe from a flat to a heel, etc. It is equivalent to a bat mitzvah, or a sweet 16 party - although quinces tend to be much larger than Sweet 16s.
Holly says that living in Miami keeps her surrounded by her culture, and that it very easy to maintain her culture since it is all around her. She states that practicing her traditions and finding her coveted Cuban food is extremely easy in Miami. Miami has an enormous Hispanic population because of the immigration from other Caribbean and South American countries (mostly Hispanic countries) that happens through Miami, which is also nicknamed "The Capital of Latin America."
Her Hispanic heritage has influenced her life greatly, as she has spent her entire life surrounded by it. She speaks Spanish, which is imperative for living in Miami, and opens up a lot of opportunities for her for jobs. A bilingual worker always has an advantage over an unilingual one, as a bilingual employee has the ability to communicate with a wide range of customers and business partners, etc. She also states that food is an important part of our heritage. Hispanic cultures are some of the few world cultures that are known specifically for their cuisine. "Food is a big part of our culture, and it unites generations," she tells. Lastly, she tells that one other aspect of Hispanic culture that has greatly influenced her life is the proximity of our families. HIspanic families are very close to one another beyond the immediate family. Our American friends actually call us "The Cleavers" because of how close our entire family lives to one another. I am the first of the family to move away since the move from Cuba - and even then, the whole family stayed together. Our family proximity is quite obvious during simple gatherings that normally wouldn't be such a big turnout. For example, for each and everyone's birthday, the entire family goes over to the "Abuelos' [Grandparents'] House" to sing happy birthday and cut a cake. For any event, the entire family gets together. Another example that Holly states is whenever somebody in the family accomplishes something, the whole family comes over to celebrate. When I got into Emory, the entire family came over to my house with food and a cake to celebrate. She also states that her heritage has influenced her personally through her political beliefs, political activity and work ethic. She, as well as many others know of the struggles of living in an oppressed society and of being an immigrant, but the knowledge of everything that was sacrificed to get her here has inspired her and many others alike to be very hard working.
But what would a culture be without its traditions? When asked what traditions she takes part in as part of the Hispanic community, Holly listed various examples, ranging from yearly to daily. She tells of the annual "Noche Buena" Christmas Eve party that just about every family in Miami has: the entire extended family gets together and roasts a pig to accompany "arroz con frijoles" [rice and beans]. The night is spent by eating food and simply spending time with family. Another tradition Holly states is actually one that I was not aware of her practicing. She likes to keep the Christmas tree up until January 6th (Three Kings Day). I know that we do celebrate it, however I did not know that was the reason we kept our tree up for so long. (To be honest, I thought it was because we just didn't want to put away all the Christmas decorations, haha). Other traditions that we take part in aren't necessarily annual. Birthday parties are an example of this. Once again, the entire family gets together and brings food and we dance and sing and enjoy each other's company. Even adult birthdays are celebrated with a party. Now, I know what you're thinking, birthdays are once a year, so they are annual, which is true, however as I mentioned before we have a large extended family, so there is a birthday every 3 or 4 weeks. So it becomes more of a monthly tradition. One daily tradition that my mom practices almost religiously is the brewing of cafe con leche [coffee with steamed milk] every morning. It is not so much a routine as it is a tradition because her our family has been doing this every single day since as long as my grandparents can remember. This is a tradition that has been passed on to me - I make cafe con leche every day to start my day. One big tradition that my mom left out is one of great importance in the Hispanic culture. It is the Quinceañera party. This is a tradition that occurs in every single Hispanic ethnicity that I can think of. Basically, it is a huge coming-of-age party for girls turning 15, where even the extended family of the extended family attends. The Quinceañera is filled with traditions such as the first dance with the girl's father, a dance with any male siblings, changing her shoe from a flat to a heel, etc. It is equivalent to a bat mitzvah, or a sweet 16 party - although quinces tend to be much larger than Sweet 16s.
Holly says that living in Miami keeps her surrounded by her culture, and that it very easy to maintain her culture since it is all around her. She states that practicing her traditions and finding her coveted Cuban food is extremely easy in Miami. Miami has an enormous Hispanic population because of the immigration from other Caribbean and South American countries (mostly Hispanic countries) that happens through Miami, which is also nicknamed "The Capital of Latin America."