If you hang around Jennifer Alvarado you may be in for a treat. She drives her Toyota Prius around the city always with a smile on her face and nodding her head to whatever music she is playing. The sounds flowing from her speakers can be anything from hip-hop, pop rock or even Cumbia, which goes hand-in-hand with the Colombian flag hanging from her mirror. Her Blackberry rings and we are treated with a Cumbia she loves and says, “this one is for my family.” She answers with a Colombian accent but can easily switch to any other Hispanic accent she can think of or at least depending on whom she is talking to. Actually, she switches from flawless English to very fluent Spanish easily.
Alvarado is just another young adult growing as a second-generation Latina in the U.S.
“I feel Colombian. It’s weird to say that I am American,” said Jennifer Alvarado, 25.
Alvarado was born in Greenwich, Conn. to Colombian parents who migrated to the US in the 1970s. She grew up in Greenwich and moved to Miami when she was 11 years old.
“It hasn’t been difficult living in America with Colombian parents. It’s been very interesting and I feel blessed to have both cultures,” said Alvarado.
She tells that her parents practice some aspects of the Colombian culture, such as language, religion, superstitious beliefs, moral values, and family togetherness.
Alvarado is not the only one that feels more identified with her parent’s culture rather than feeling American. Actually, most young Hispanic- American feel privileged to have been born in this country.
“I was born in the U.S. and I feel privileged to be here,” said Rudy Briceno, who was born in Miami from Nicaraguan parents.
Unlike Alvarado, Briceno is unsure of where he stands in the two cultures.
“I really don’t know about Nicaraguan culture. I really don’t know what it’s like to live over there [Nicaragua] and living in this diverse city [Miami], I truly don’t know the background of true American culture. I guess I’m an American in my own way,” he said.
For Briceno, being an America with Nicaraguan parents has not been a difficult task.
“My parents are strange. It’s a common thing for Nicas to party a lot and my parents don’t live that lifestyle,” he said.
Nonetheless, many Hispanics born in the U.S. feel really closed to the values and traditions from their culture even if their parents have adapted the U.S. culture.
“I have my Nicaraguan values,” said Briceno, “this is especially when it comes to family. But living in this city I feel I relate more to them because when I speak to someone from over there [Nicaragua] I feel an outcast.”
Paola Capellan was also born in Miami but to Dominican parents. She coincides with the others saying she feels more Dominican than American.
“I feel more Dominican because my mother always speaks Spanish and I always go to the Dominican Republic to visit my father,” she said.
Capellan has lived with her mother most of her life in Miami but has also lived in New York and in Oregon.
“Living with a Hispanic mother has not made it difficult for me to live in this country. It doesn’t make it harder, we just mix Dominican with American,” said Capellan.
Alejandro Obregon was also born in Miami to a Guatemalan mother and to an Afghan father. Obregon spent most of his adolescence traveling back and forth from Miami to Guatemala because of his mother’s work situation. Today he resides in Miami and has it more difficult than others living with three cultures on his back.
“I have three cultures and my friends always remind me of it. With my cousin I was like the little terrorist and when I went back to Guatemala I was the gringo. So, I really don’t know what I am. I mean none of the cultures ever made me feel like one of them,” said Obregon.
Although, Obregon says that he was always conscious that he was born in the U.S. and was “going to take advantage of all the benefits that America could give me.”
Traveling back and forth did not allow Obregon to make one culture his own, but he definitely knows which food is his favorite.
“I love Guatemalan food; I love it so much,” he said.
Obregon loves tortillas, refried beans and tamales. His favorite plate though is called pepian, which is a Mayan chicken fricassee.
Second generation Latinos can’t seem to get away from the food and the music of their parents homeland. These things are actually what hold them closer to it.
“I love American and Colombian food. I love hotdogs, hamburgers, pizza, and all the food associated with the American culture. I also love empanadas, arepas, chorizo, arroz y frijoles, and all typical Colombian food,” said Alvarado.
Briceno can say the same thing. “I have been exposed to many different dishes, but I really like Hispanic food that is spicier and tastier. My mom can make Nica food as well as something Cuban and even Italian,” he said.
Pedro Yeira, who doesn’t speak much Spanish and was born to Cuban parents in Miami, prefers Cuban food as well. Yeira likes ropa vieja (shredded meet) and moro.
Entertainment
The music second-generation Latinos prefer ranges from merengue to cumbia to hip-hop and pop rock. Some of their tastes are simply defined by their roots and what their parents played at home while they were growing up.
At least this is the case of Alvarado, who recalls the Cumbia and Vallenato her parents played in her house. Some of these she actually remembers today. For example her ringtone “La Canoa Ranchaa” a Cumbia her mother played a lot.
“I listen to all types of music, except country. My favorite types are rock and hip-hop. I also love vallenato and cumbia, which are folkloric genres of music from Colombia,” said Alvarado.
On the other hand, Briceno listens to hip-hop, rock and pop music. Nothing from Nicaragua.
Obregon feels he doesn’t have a favorite from any specific culture. He plays the guitar and remembers that his cousins would call him a rocker.
“I didn’t like that they called me a rocker because I enjoy jazz and I feel that there could be something cool in salsa to put in one of my metal songs,” he said.
Although he didn’t specify that Guatemalan music is his favorite, Obregon feels that music from Guatemala is beautiful. Music in Guatemala is mainly played with an instrument called Marimba.
To provide Latinos with music they can relate too, many artists are merging their music with the English language. Two examples are Daddy Yankee with reggeaton and Texas group Kumbia All Stars (formely known as Kumbia Kings), whose sound includes Cumbia, Hip-Hop and R&B.
On television some, shows are targeted specifically to second-generation Latinos. Channels like Mun2 and MTV Tr3s have programming in Spanglish. On a music show, viewers can wacth a Juanes video as well as U2.
“The media has stereotyped us a Mexicans. They think we are part of Mexico. What I see in Mun2 and MTV Tr3s is stuff they get from Los Angeles and they are not the same as Miami or even New York,” said Briceno.
Briceno feels that in order to achieve more general Hispanic shows the media needs to learn more about the culture.
“We are still a minority in order for the country to move that way we need more Hispanics to come,” he said.
Actually, the Hispanic population is booming and will continue to boom. According to a survey done by the Pew Hispanic Institute in October of 2003, by the year 2020 second-generation Latinos will be 36% percent of the population. This will put them higher than first and third generations.
In 2006 the U.S. reached 300 million people. Another report conducted by the Pew Hispanic Institute found that of the 100 million growth in population from 1966 to 2006, 36 percent is Hispanic, which is the highest percentage.
Sounds like Latinos and their future generations are here to stay.
Video of Kumbia All Starz
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