Latino culture is more than tacos, pinatas and Ricky Martin.

Western culture may have popularized these items, but they are not the essence of what it is to be Latino.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 40,459,196 people identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino in 2004, 5 million more than in 2000. But what does it mean to be Latino?

To find out, Y-Press talked with two groups of young people who would know -- members of IUPUI's Latino Student Association and youth who attend St. Monica's Spanish Mass. Some of the students were born outside the United States, while others are first-generation Americans.

Hanging on to their ethnic heritage and traditions is important to these youth, and the way they do that is through their families.

"Family is big for Latinos, just to be with their family and hang out with them and party with them," said Keyla Guevara, 20, who is from Nicaragua.

Latinos define family loosely, including many generations. For Edgar Quebrado, 13, who was born in Mexico, family defines Latino culture.

"I see (culture) as spending time with your family and being with your family," he said.

Eric Mata, assistant director for diversity education programs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, explained that Latino parents like to keep a close watch on their children, especially girls, who are usually encouraged to live at home until marriage.

"To use my family as an example of that, I went away to school three hours from home. And then when my sister wanted to go away to school, my mom made it a very difficult decision. My mom was supportive of her to go to school, but wanted to keep an eye on her."

No rush to leave

Danielle Davila, 15, whose parents are from Mexico, pointed out that Latinos, like most of the IUPUI students interviewed, often continue to live with their parents long after high school.

"When (American kids) are 18, usually you're leaving your house, you can leave whenever you want. And at our house, in our culture, you always stay with your family until you're married, and even then some people still stay with their family."

"That's what comes first in your life," explained Allen Anders, 21, who was born in Mexico. "We tend to be a lot closer to our families . . . we'll never put our parents in homes. That's mean. I could never do that to my dad."

Latinos also enjoy having a good time, especially with family. "We're a pretty happy people. Latinos love to party," said Jose Juarez, 21, whose parents are from El Salvador.

Most of the students agreed that being Latino involves lots of parties, many of them for religious rites of passage.

"We celebrate basically all of the celebrations that you do here, and then like for baptisms, first communions, confirmations, weddings -- anything," said Danielle.

Food, music and dance are all elements of traditional Latino celebrations. These events don't just provide a chance to party; they also connect these youth to their friends and families and to their traditions.

For example, while dancing can be viewed as a way for couples to meet, it also is a way to express a love of music. Such is the case with Lissette Vasquez, 20, whose parents are from Nicaragua and who has appreciated Latino rhythms all her life and began dancing at a young age.

Latinos celebrate other traditions in ways different from other countries. For example, their Christmas celebration generally begins on Dec. 24, with many people staying awake until midnight to mark the birth of Christ.

From there, different countries have different traditions. In Nicaragua, Keyla said, people try to wear something new that day, "and if there is money, you exchange gifts. You don't have a gift for everybody. If not, then we don't worry about it." She added that most families go to the beach on Christmas Day.

Allen says his extended family gets together on Christmas Eve for a party and "we cook this little baby (figurine) in a cake, and whoever gets the piece of that cake with the baby in it has the party next year. That's our thing."

A unique festivity for Latinos is La Quinceanera, a coming-of-age celebration for girls marking their 15th birthday. Traditionally, the girl wears a white floor-length dress and tiara and receives an adult prayer book, rosary and jewelry during the ceremony, which is often followed by a big party.

"Most of my family looked at it as, 'You are ready to date, you're 15, you're becoming a woman,' " Keyla said. "It's kind of like permission for you to do grown-up stuff."

The ceremony can be large or small, depending on the country and the family's finances. Charlenne Gonzalez, 19, whose parents are from the Dominican Republic, says the Quinceanera is a big deal there.

"It's almost as big as a wedding, and it's like you have the dress, you have a lot of friends there, and you have to practice all the waltzes and all that stuff," she said.

In the United States, ceremonies also vary. Some of the interviewees were new to the United States and thus had smaller affairs on their 15th birthdays.

Small but meaningful

Lissette says her ceremony was small, and that her family went out to dinner afterward. However, it still was a significant passage for her.

"My dad that day had a long conversation with me with how I should be thinking about my future and stuff like that. It's a very important stage for a girl. It changed the way I looked at everything pretty much," she said.

Close family ties have given these students a strong sense of identity. And although the Indianapolis students have family members from many parts of Central and South America, with many different traditions, they agreed that Latinos share some common characteristics, such as diligence, determination and an upbeat demeanor.

"For me, Latino would mean someone's who diverse, someone who's united with their family, a hard worker. And a lot of times, I just see it as being humble," said Lissette.

However, while customs are usually carried over from home countries, they sometimes do not have the impact because of time. "It really depends on how far removed the family is from their motherland. The longer a Latino is in the United States, you know, generationally, the harder it is to maintain the connection," Mata said.

And despite their strong traditions, it can be hard to be Latino in the United States. These students say they often feel like part of a minority culture, either at school or in their neighborhoods.

Danielle said there are few Latinos around her home or school. "Where I live, there's two black families and three Mexican families and everyone's white. It's hard to be the only one that's different."

Maricela Gutierrez, 15, knows the feeling. Born in Mexico, she moved to Indiana five years ago with her family. Learning English was difficult, she said, and she often felt isolated because of it. "I would just stay home," she said.

Charlenne believes that Latinos are more strict than American parents.

"That kind of makes it hard sometimes to keep up with American friends 'cause they don't understand when their parents would just drop them off to the movies in the mall and your parents are more cautious. They're just not as comfortable with me having that much freedom," she said.

Money is an issue

Family and cultural beliefs are not the only things that are viewed differently by Latinos than by Americans, though. Money and how it is earned is also seen differently.

Most of the youth say that money is not plentiful in their home countries, so celebrations don't often involve gifts. "Christmas in our culture is more about the actual religious holiday and not so much about presents," Charlenne said.

Edgar explained that since money is not as easy to come by in Mexico, children learn its value at a young age and are accustomed to hard work.

"Right here in the United States, it's like a rich country," he said. "In Mexico, it's kind of hard; you have to really work to live. Lots of times kids drop out of school" to help their families.

All but a few of these youth speak Spanish regularly, usually with family but sometimes with friends, too. To them, Spanish ties them to each other and to their culture.

Most agreed with Keyla, who explained that she tries to speak Spanish whenever she can because "English, everywhere you go you're gonna hear it, and with Spanish, if you don't practice it, you'll lose it. When I'm with my friends and they know Spanish, I try to speak to them in Spanish just because I feel comfortable."

Daniel Krapf, 22, wishes he could express himself in Spanish. Born in Colombia but adopted by American parents, he didn't learn the language when he was young. "It bugs me sometimes, hearing everybody speaking so fluently and me not being able to do that."

Adriana Escoto, 29, also wishes she knew Spanish better. Though her parents are from Mexico, they never pushed their children to learn the language.

"My parents didn't speak Spanish to me. They spoke Spanish to each other when they were arguing or they didn't want anyone to know what they were saying," she said. "I'm not fluent. I can get by."

However, Adriana's mother is an excellent Mexican cook, and she has taught Adriana much of what she knows. That is how Adriana also plans to pass on her Latino heritage.

"You can preserve your culture through food, by teaching your kids how to make foods that come from where your family is from. So that's how I try to do it," she said.

Though traditions can vary from family to family, the bonds they feel to their homelands give their lives an added dimension.

"If I don't carry it on to my children and my family in the future, they are going to be missing a uniqueness that I would love for them to experience. I think it's an honor for me to have that and to incorporate that in their lives," Lissette said.

REPORTERS: Erin Tuckman, 14, Celia Ristow, 14, Elaine Lynch, 13.

"Family is big for Latinos, just to be with their family and hang out with them and party with them."

Keyla Guevara, 20

"You can preserve your culture through food, by teaching your kids how to make foods that come from where your family is from."

Adriana Escoto, 29

"In Mexico, it's kind of hard; you have to really work to live. Lots of times, kids drop out of school" to help their families.

Edgar Quebrado, 13

"If I don't carry it on to my children and my family in the future, they are going to be missing a uniqueness that I would love for them to experience."

Lissette Vasquez, 20

"Christmas in our culture is more about the actual religious holiday and not so much about presents."

Charlenne Gonzalez, 19

"We tend to be a lot closer to our families . . . we'll never put our parents in homes."

Allen Anders, 21

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Who we are

Y-Press is a nonprofit news organization with offices in The Indianapolis Star building. Stories are researched, reported and written by teams of young people ages 10 to 18. For more information, call (317) 444-2010 or send an e-mail to ypress@ in.net.

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