Hispanic Culture is Not a Trend

Hispanics have many cool traditions, such as El Día de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead), quinceañeras, and more. However, there are people who think it’s a trend that everyone can do, which is not true since it’s Hispanic culture. It has its own backstory and why we celebrate it. It’s fine for people to think our traditions are neat, but not to the point where they have to make it a trend. Back in 2016-2018, people would make fun of it.

La Catrina

The back story of La Catrina is that Jose Guadalupe Posada created her; they were a Mexican political cartoonist. La Catrina is a “reminder to enjoy life and embrace mortality.” El Día de los Muertos is celebrated on November 1st and is a day to honor the people you have lost. What Hispanics do is they create an altar, which is a place where they put their loved one’s picture and put marigold flowers, lights, and the foods and drinks they liked when they were alive around it. 

Quinceañera 

A quinceañera is a party for girls who are turning 15 years old. When someone has a 15th birthday it means they are going from a child to an adult. A quinceañera is a big party where the birthday girl has a big dress, some have multiple dresses, and a theme color. Most people choose red or blue. Some Hispanics don’t have a quinceañera because they don’t have the money and aren’t able to afford it. Recently, there have been a lot of non-Hispanics having a quinceañera. They have seen that it’s a big fancy party and they decided to also have one, which they shouldn’t. It’s not because we are gatekeeping, but because it’s our tradition that we have been doing for centuries. 

Other Trends

Some people think using Hispanic traditions shouldn’t be a big deal, but it is. For example, a dark brown lip liner with clear gloss. Most people think that it’s just makeup and everyone can do it, which is true, but just a few years ago people got made fun of for wearing brown lip liner. People were called “ghettos” just because of their brown lip liner, and it wasn’t only to the Hispanic people, but also to black people. Hailey Bieber showed her go-to lip combo and now people are calling it “glaze brownie” and starting to wear it because of her. Hispanics have been doing this since the 90s getting made fun of, but when a white woman wears it, they start trending and everyone is saying how gorgeous it is. Hoop earrings were also considered ghetto, along with wearing bandana shirts, and creating their own version of a tiger blanket. Now, these things are considered a “clean girl aesthetic,” changing the things us Hispanics already have. 

Aguas frescas are now considered “spa water” because a white woman decided to change the name. People are now renaming Hispanic food as if it wasn’t in the name, like esquite (corn in a cup). It’s now being called a “corn salad.” It’s disrespectful to the Hispanic culture that there are people who are renaming things that already have a name. It’s okay to show appreciation for our culture, but trying to turnit into “the white version” is not okay.

There are a lot of traditions that Hispanic people have, and they should stay in the Hispanic community. We know the background and we know why it’s celebrated and how it’s supposed to be celebrated. It’s not a cool trend that should be going around for everyone to be able to do it. Everything Hispanics have been doing for years shouldn’t be a popular trend.