Writing POC 101

Cuban American Characters - @ADRENALlNE

I'll be talking about the Hispanics of Cuba, or at the very least, the side of Cuban culture that I have experienced. Your characters, of course, don't have to be verbatim according to what I have written. Let's start off with:

STEREOTYPING
To be honest, many Cuban stereotypes are true, just exaggerated. Yes, we are very loud and expressive, using our hands to speak just as much as our mouths. Many families discipline their children vigorously (I was hit with a belt, sandal, or clothing hanger as a child) but this is not true for everyone. Family ties are strong. A lot of Cubans are conservative due to the country's current government, and sadly still believe in gender roles. Another note, we do not eat nothing but quesadillas and not all of us work in cosmetics or construction industries.
FOOD
Cubans love their food. We are especially obsessed with yucca, black beans with rice and chicken, all things guava (especially pastries), croquettes, plaintains, and ropa vieja (a type of shredded beef). Our cuisine comes from Latin American, African, and even Native American dishes.
A family will sit down and eat dinner together. Towers of stacked food in the center of a long table that you can pick from and fill your plate with. Meals are always three times a day and big and always filling.
LANGUAGE
Cuban Americans will find themselves cursing or talking to themselves in Spanish, or forgetting how to say words in English. As I mentioned before, we are expressive and loud and dramatic, and speak VERY quickly. When writing dialogue, please avoid:
"Hola ¿Que pasa?" he said.
"What?"
"Sorry, 'Hi, what's up?'" he corrected. "It's hard to switch back sometimes."
Something I've actually seen in a book. Please learn basic Spanish grammar before even considering writing sentences. Use Google translate if you have to. Instead, try:
"Hey, can you pass me the..."
"The what?"
"The thing! With the-ugh," she grumbled to herself, making strange gestures with her hands. "Como dices esa mier-THE FISHING POLE!"
Popular curse words include:
"hijo de puta" = son of a bitch"cojone" = balls"mierda" = shit"carajo/joder/follar" = fuckother exclamation: "por la amor de dios" = for the love of god
It's impossibly funny watching Cubans cursing, because they don't stop until they utter every filthy word they know.
FAMILY, SOCIETY, AND CHILDHOOD
The stereotypical chancleta beating is real but not as common as it used to be. Families are usually big and close knit. My own family is small, but we see each other often, usually around holidays and birthdays.
In a typical Cuban town, every single house door is open. Yes, mosquitos are rampant and they have learned to just live with it. There is hardly any air conditioning in Cuba but it's not really a problem. People are friendly and live in a "everyone knows everyone" kind of community.
Children after school immediately run to get their bikes and chalk and sport balls, as they aren't burdened with too much homework. They are outside in the streets playing every second they get. Kids know their friend's parents, parents know their kid's friends, and parents know other parents.Once it's time for dinner a mother will stand outside her home's door, cup her hands around her mouth, and yell for her child(ren) to come inside. Sometimes a friend will tag along. After dinner, cold water baths and sleep, although there is plenty of sneaking out to party.

APPEARANCE

Colorful, loose, and poofy clothing, especially for women. Most Cubans have darker skin although it's not uncommon for someone to be white. Men will wear plain white shirts and dress pants/shoes for sociable occasions.

GENDER ROLES

While it is something I would love to pretend didn't exist, gender roles play a big part. Cuba still holds relatively backwards views on the treatment of women. They are there to be pretty and care for the home. A man is meant to be tough with hairy, muscled arms, smoking a pack of cigars a day. The LGBTQ+ community is not as taboo as it used to be, but might be a little strange, as awful as that sounds.

HOLIDAYS

Catholicism is a widely practiced religion, meaning Christmas and Easter are big deals. Even New Years calls for a celebration - we're just party loving people.For Christmas, immediate and distant family is called under one roof for several days of cousin fights, feuds between uncles, and forcing the older teenagers to care for the babies. Even my agnostic family never fails to visit relatives and make a big deal about Christmas. The really religious Cubans will have statues of baby Jesus in his barn, spending too much on the biggest tree they could find.

NAMES

Some first names:•Raisa•Elba•Marisol•Isabella•Alejandra/Alejandro•Martina/Martin•Diego•Esteban•Fabio•Daniel

And surnames:

•Guiterrez•Sanchez•Galeano•Díaz•Del Río

CUBANS IN AMERICA

A lot of Cubans are living in southern Florida, especially in the city Miami. We brought our culture with us. A lovely old couple lives in the apartment next to mine. I only know the wife-Rita. They keep their door open all day, and are constantly cooking for themselves and the neigbors. Cubans don't immediately adjust to the Amerian lifestyle.There are also different generations of Cubans that fled from Fidel Castro, the past dictator, and how they got to Florida (usually by boat thanks to the Wet-Foot Dry-Foot Act), but I'll leave that research to you.

WEIRD THINGS

•Many Cubans are superstitious. One is, "Si cuentas las estrellas, recibirás pecas." 'If you count the stars, you will get freckles.'•We also have funny sayings, like, "Me quede como un pescado en tarima." 'I stayed like a fish on a platform.'•I have no idea why every Hispanic knows this, but this chant is said every single time a child is injured. "Sana, sana, colita de rana. Si no sana hoy, sanará mañana." 'Heal, heal, frog tail. if it doesn't heal today, it'll heal tomorrow.' Yeah, I don't know either.•Every single Cuban grandmother has VapoRub, to be rubbed on your chest or above your upper lip. It will cure anything.•Latin America's tooth fairy is Ratoncito Pérez, el Ratón de los Dientes. A literal rat.

These are all general statements and not every Cuban fits these descriptions. If any of you have questions, feel free to PM me. Have fun writing!