The Atittide To Death In American And Hispanic Cultures

The Oxford Dictionary defines death as “the permanent ending of vital processes in a cell or tissue”. The definition itself sounds simple, scientific, and not something to fear. We do not give much thought to death when it is plants, bacteria, and animals that have died. Yet when it is a person whose vital processes are permanently ending, death takes on an entirely new meaning. Death and the dying process have never been topics that the American culture has embraced, resulting in most of us avoiding engaging in any discussion concerning them. However, this is not the case in many other cultures, due to varying religions, customs, and ways of life. The Hispanic culture centers around family, and family members support each other throughout everything that is going on in their lives. If a family member is going through the dying process or can no longer take care of themselves, the rest of the family will be the caregivers, as opposed to sending the ill to an assisted living community or nursing home. It is also common for extended family to live together, such as grandparents living with their children and grandchildren. As a result, many Hispanics die at home with their loved ones by their side, which is appropriate, since family is such a significant part of their culture and their lives.

Many Hispanics identify as Roman Catholic and are taught that “the soul is eternal and continues on after the physical body has died” (Redmond). Hispanics have a special celebration to honor their family members who have passed on. It is called Day of the Dead but actually lasts multiple days, from October 31 to November 2. They clean and decorate their loved ones’ graves, place food, drinks, photos, and candles on personal ofrendas, or altars, and celebrate with music, dancing, and colorful skulls and skeletons. Hispanics believe that the dead “awaken from their eternal sleep to celebrate with their loved ones” during these festivities. Because of the importance and the emphasis the Hispanic culture places on family and the belief that their loved ones are never really gone, they are not afraid of death like I am.

In the American culture, people often avoid talking about their mortality and try to push it to the back of their minds to forget about instead. This in part has to do with how advanced American medicine is, and how we go to great lengths to extend our lives. If we get sick, we do not immediately think that we are going to die, because modern medicine is typically able to cure us, or at least buy us time. Death is viewed as a problem of sorts, and one that we must try to solve. However, it is hard for us to be around death and the dying. We send loved ones to nursing homes when they can no longer take care of themselves and rarely visit them because it is a painful reminder of what is in our future. After people die in America, family members will visit the loved one’s grave, often leaving flowers, but there is not a specific celebration for honoring the dead in our culture. The way American culture treats death has impacted my perception of it, and it is clearly different from that of a Hispanic.

It frightens me to think that I will simply not exist one day, or that my loved ones will not either. I believe it is because my faith in my religion is weak and I am uncertain if there is an afterlife. If there is not, then what happens? Where will my soul and my conscious go? I am fearful of the unknown, and since I love my life and living on this earth, I am desperate to stay. I knew from taking several years of Spanish in high school that Hispanics celebrate death in a way that I wish I did, where it is not something to fear or a topic to evade discussion of. Therefore, I chose to delve into the Hispanic culture’s perception of and beliefs about death. I learned that Hispanics, being Roman Catholic, typically have a priest come to their deathbed and give them their last rites. They also speak their last confessions so that the priest can give them absolution, or freedom from guilt of their sins. Reading about Hispanic traditions like these did not change my mind about how terrified I am of death, but I wish it were as easy as reading about something to cure you of your phobia.