Ricky DeLambo

HED 400

Mrs. Canfield Simbro

9/14/17

Diversity Paper

The health and illness in the Hispanic population is something very interesting to learn

about. The two main Hispanic ethnicities are Mexicans and Puerto Ricans. The Hispanic

population is very unique in its own way. They use different objects to try and protect, maintain,

and restore their health. In Mexico, a deers eye is to be decorated with an image of the Virgin of

Guadalupe and then they put a red string and a red pom-pom. Once they are done, it is pinned on

a baby to protect it from the evil eye and the envy of others. The rosa y cruz is put in the entrance

way of a home to help protect it from the envy of others, for luck, health, happiness, love, and

money (Spector, pg. 253).

The Hispanic population is the second largest emerging majority group, and it is close to

being the biggest in the United States. The words Hispanic and Latino are used interchangeably

in Census 2000. The term Hispanic refers to people who were born in Spanish-speaking

countries and now live within the United States. The hispanic population is the youngest group

with an average age of 25.8 years old. More than two in five Hispanics have not yet graduated

high school and are much more likely to be unemployed than non-Hispanic whites (Spector, pg.

254). And when they are employed, these workers earn less money than non-Hispanic whites,

even though they usually put in around the same amount of hours. Since they earn less money,

they have a higher chance to live in poverty (Spector, pg. 255).

 The United States and Mexico share a border that is about 2,000 miles long that can

easily be crossed from either direction. Los Angeles has the second highest urban Mexican

population in the entire hemisphere, behind only Mexico City. The Mexican Americans

population is the fastest growing population group in the country and make up the majority of the

largest non-English speaking population of the United States. In the United States, at least 32.8

million people are Americans of Hispanic origin, and 66.1% of that number are of Mexican

origin (Spector, pg. 256).

Mexicans believe that good Health is a reward for good behavior. They believe that

health is a gift from God and that it should not be taken for granted (Spector, pg. 256). The

protection of good health is an accepted practice that is accomplished with prayer, wearing of

religious medals, and keeping relics in the home. Illness is seen an imbalance in an individuals

body or as punishment meted out for some wrongdoing. The causes of illness can be grouped

into five different categories, which are the bodys imbalance, dislocation of parts of the body,

magic or supernatural causes outside the body, strong emotional states, and envidia (Spector, pg.

257).

Magico Religious practices are quite common within the Mexican population. If your

illness is really severe, then these practices are observed more often. There are four different

types of practices which are making promises, visiting shrines, offering medals and candles, and

offering prayers. It is very common for residents living near the southern border of the

continental United States to return to Mexico on religious pilgrimages (Spector, pg. 259). When

you visit a Catholic church in communities with Hispanic populations, it is not uncommon to see

statues covered with flowers and votive figures (Spector, pg. 260).
 There are not any rules for knowing who in the community uses the services of folk

healers (Spector, pg. 260). Not all Mexicans believe in what folk healers do (Spector, pg. 260-

262). At first, it was believed that only the poor used a folk healer, or curandero, mostly because

they could not afford any other type of treatment. Now, it seems that the use of healers is used all

throughout the Mexican populations. Folk healers usually do not do any type of advertising.

Curanderismo is defined as a medical system (Spector, pg. 262). The curandero is a holistic

healer. They usually seek their help for social, physical, and psychological purposes. A

curandero may receive the gift of healing through three means, which are they may be born to

heal, they may learn by apprenticeship, and they may receive a calling through a dream, trance,

or vision by which contact is made with the supernatural by means of a patron (Spector, pg. 263).

The most popular form of treatment used by folk healers involves herbs, especially when used as

teas (Spector, pg. 265).

Puerto Rican migrants to the United States mainland are American Citizens, but with a

different language and culture. They are not considered immigrants or aliens. They mostly live

on the East Coast, with most of them living in New York City (Spector, pg. 268).

Puerto Ricans also share with others of Hispanic origin a number of beliefs in spirits and

spiritualism. They believe that mental illness is caused primarily by evil spirits and forces. If

they this such disorder, they are usually treated by a spiritualist medium. The psychiatric clinic is

where the locos go (Spector, pg. 271). Puerto Ricans living in New York City and other parts of

the northern United States experience a high rate of illness and hospitalization during their first

year on the mainland. If you live in Puerto Rico, winter is unheard of (Spector, pg. 272). So

when they live in a cold place like New York during the winter, it could take a year or two
before they understand what they have to do to not get sick and stay warm. Not all Puerto Ricans

use the folk system (Spector, pg. 273).

In conclusion, the Hispanic population is the biggest ethnicity in the United States. What

they believe in is a little different than what a non-Hispanic American might believe in, but that

is what they grew up with, and not everyone is going to believe in the same stuff. This is what

makes the different religions and cultures so unique, and what helps make up the world that we

live in today.

References
Spector, R. E. (2017). Cultural diversity in health and illness (Sixth ed.). New York, NY:

Pearson