While reading "Do you speak English or Spanish?," a comment posted in The Mom Squawk Blog, I was reminded of the importance of understanding, respecting and valuing differences within what I consider my own Latino family. The blogger, a Puerto Rican mom-to-be, shares some of the old wives' tales she has heard about childbirth: "after birth, you must eat a lot of fish so you can have a good breastfeeding experience; do not cut your childs hair before he turns one year old. Otherwise he will not speak clearly."
Every culture has its own traditions, values, cultural habits and, let's not leave out, superstitions. If we try to look at a culture through our own cultural glasses, the result is a distorted and erroneous appreciation of what that group or society is all about.
Many of the translations/adaptations we do in our unit focus on nutrition, and cultural sensitivity is a tenet we value highly. A recent Latinoeyes Health Beat study found that the most important factor influencing Latinos health perceptions and behaviors is their acculturation level. Our own Lucia Kaiser, Joanne Ikeda, Martha Lopez, among others, have done extensive research on this topic.
To peak your interest, here are some of the study's findings:
Generally, Latinos think exercising regularly (28%) the most important thing to maintaining good health, followed by eating well (22%).xercising regularly is more important to Central Americans than any other ethnic group. Mexicans more predominantly than any other group say being overweight is the most visible sign of being unhealthy. Eating fruits and vegetables is more a concern for males than females (11% vrsus 5%) found this surprising! Unacculturated Latinos are four times more likely to state that they do not feel any different when they eat healthy and exercise when compared to acculturated Latinos. Latinos believe in the restorative power of rest and socialization.
Moraleja: The more we understand the diverse and heterogeneous Latino population, the better prepared we can be to plan, develop and implement strategies to have a real and lasting impact on their lives and well being.
It is time to join the "Blog Superhighway" and contribute "mi granito de arena" to close the digital divide. It is with trepidation that I am launching Aqui entre NOS, a trilingual blog --posts will be in English, Spanish, and occasionally in espangles!
Why this name? Aqui entre NOS (Just Between Us) conveys a sense of familiarity, closeness, camaraderie. A friendly lounge (una sala de estar cibernetica) where we can meet to discuss issues, exchange ideas, learn from each other and expand our horizons. <NOS> is very appropriate since our unit, Spanish Broadcast & Media Services, has a brand new name: News and Information Outreach in Spanish --NOS for short.
On May 17, the Census Bureau reported that the minority population of the United States reached 100.7 million in 2006, led by California as home to the largest numbers of the two fastest-growing racial groups, Latinos and Asians. Minorities now constitute 57% othe state's population, including 13.1 million Latinos, 5 million Asians, 2.7 million blacks and 689,000 Native Americans and Alaska Natives.
This explosive growth poses many challenges and opportunities as we try to reach, inform, educate and serve the growing Spanish-speaking communities in our Golden state.
In 1989, the University of California SCR 43 Task Force prepared the report, The Challenge: Latinos in a Changing California. It read, "California is undergoing a most important merge of cultures. Nowhere else, or at any point in history, have people of so many cultures lived together, preserved their cultures, and yet made their larger, combined society work. This is a historical event, and we have the power to see that this unprecedented mixing of cultures is an unparalleled success."
Aqui entre NOS is a forum to talk about the challenges, but more importantly, to explore the opportunities. I intend to write about issues and topics that affect Latinos/Hispanics, and the communities we all live in.
Aqui entre NOS sera tambien un foro donde tratar y consultar cuestiones y dudas relacionadas con el espa?ol o castellano y las sutilezas del lenguaje. Para quienes nos dedicamos a la tarea de traducir, el poder contar con la asesoria de personas conocedoras de un tema o materia es invaluable. (Translate...though not too accurate)
Bienvenidos a Aqui entre NOS. Welcome to Aqui entre NOS.
