Heridtege

As humans, we are social beings. We seek to associate ourselves with others, creating bonds and support networks of other people like us within which we can shelter ourselves, assuring us that we aresafe from adversity. But during the time of our birth, we are in no way affiliated with a social group or demographic other than two things that stick with us always, our race and our heritage. Itseems that the defining feature for somebody during their first moments is both his race and his heritage. Race is the most identifiable. It is in most cases as simple as looking at somebody’s skin toneor features to identify what race he is. It acts as a free ticket to an already established social group, whether it is Europeans, American, Latin, etc. But heritage, while not an easy to perceive,is much more defining who you are as a person. Heritage isn’t just something that is handed down from family, but is actually handed from civilization to civilization. It is what fuels you much morethan a culture with which to identify yourself. It finds a way to your likes and dislikes, your way of communicating and socializing, and most importantly of all, it never goes away.

My Latinoheritage has been a great part of my life, and its something I proudly identify myself with. Here in Puerto Rico, our Latino culture is embraced with pride and joy. Even though our legal status identifiesus as citizens of the United States of America, we have our own customs and celebrations, as well as our own exquisite cuisine. From a very early age, I was taught all about my island’s discovery, whywe celebrate Christmas as well, as the Three Kings Day as an ode to, not only our Spanish heritage, but also our most recent American heritage. Through all of my life, I have used these culturalresources to connect with people, not only from other Latin countries, but also with people from the U.S, which I consider a huge advantage. I have never felt left out no matter where I am, yet I always...