Hispanics are a group of Americans who share common cultural origins and language. However, Hispanic Americans come from diverse nations and backgrounds with their own history, religion, economy and political experience. Today, nearly 30 million Americans are identified as Hispanics in the fifty states. The largest group are the Mexican Americans, who account for 64% of the Hispanic Americans. Then come the Central and South America and the Caribbean with 13%, Puerto Ricans with 11%, Cuban Americans with 5% and others are classified with 7%. The states with the largest absolute numbers of Hispanics are California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois and New Jersey.The reasons why these people immigrated to the U.S.A are different: Some came because they needed money, and with working in the U.S.A they would earn more than what they did in their homecountry (but still less than what white Americans earns). After earning money, they send them back to their poor families in South/ and Central America. Especially in Mexico that's an important factor in the Mexican economy. Another significant category of Hispanic Americans are formed by refugees who fled Cuba when dictator Castro came to power in 1959. Puerto Ricans came to the U.S.A when after the war with Spain in 1898, America took the Caribbean Island of Puerto Rico to their territory. So, many Hispanics moved to the U.S.A to get a better life, to get away from civil wars, dictators and poverty in their homecountry. A problem that has appeared among the immigrants in the U.S.A is the assimilation process. The idea of making all the different cultures into one culture; "a pot of stew", has not been very popular among the Hispanic Americans. They are part of American life, even though they tend to stick to their original language more than many other groups. With complete assimilation OR when completely assimilated in a new country, you forget your culture and identity, and become a ...
