Hispanic and African-American Cultures Practice Similiar Traditions

Hispanic and African -American Cultures Practice Similar Traditions In the Hispanic culture, when a young girl enters into adulthood, a celebration is held. The cerebration is called “Sweet Sixteen”, the family plan a big event for the youth as a representation for entering adulthood, this preparation consist of holding a ceremony at the family’s church or a church of their preference, followed by a reception which is usually held at a ballroom, family and friends are dressed in high fashion ballroom attire, the first dance would be of the youth with her dad, followed by dinner and gift receiving. In the past, a young girl entering adulthood in the African American culture, often geared away from the spiritual aspect of the meaning of the transition. The focus was usually on glamour, glitz and ridiculous amounts of money spent on trying to mimic their favorite celebrity parties. Today African-Americans went back to the traditional ways of cerebrating “Sweet Sixteen” which is done exactly like the Hispanic culture , with the exception that in the African-American culture the girl is very involved with the planning of the party and it’s organizing. What I found to be interesting in African American culture the mother usually is the caregiver as well as the provider and has to work and take care of the entire household and all the bills, on the other hand an Hispanic mother responsibility is to be caregiver of the home, she is not to work, her responsibility is to keep their house clean, cooked food and make sure all the bills are in order, if she work she must give her husband her paycheck. When it comes to similarities of Hispanic and African American culture, food is always cooked in big quantities, because in some cases there is always an unexpected visitor whether a longtime friend or a family member, there will always be something for them to eat. Also another similarity would be the respect for granny, in both cultures the grandmother is the root that holds everything and everybody together, whether it is nurturing or problematic, she would be the person to go to for help or advise; she always seem to make everything better with her most trusted wisdom. Work Cited “The Tradition”, copyright 2002-2014, Quinceanera-Boutique.com Inc. www.quinceanera-boutique.com, Quinceanera History, Traditions, February 7, 2014. Chanelle-Stroman, Fame, Soulful Sweet 16 Celebration into Womanhood For African Americans, copyright 2009, Mrs. Fame Chanelle-Stroman , soulfulsweet16.com, February 7, 2014.