In Nebraska Latino culture still revolves around traditional practice

*Latino elders in Nebraska fear that their culture is fading. Here’s how they’re working to keep tradition alive. VL

By Chabella Guzman, Star Herald

Ben Castinado grew up speaking Spanish and worked as an interpreter for years. Now and then, he speaks in the mother tongue. But the language no longer flows from the mouths of his children, nor his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Assimilation has its benefits, said Castinado, now 78, but he worries that generations of young Latinos are losing touch with their heritage, caught in a quandary between being “fully Americanized” and holding to the old language, traditions and ways of life.

“I talk to people with Hispanic parents, and they don’t know any Spanish,” said Castinado, who was born and raised in Nebraska’s Panhandle. “It’s sad, but it’ll just keep fading out and fading out.”

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[Photo by Luis Peon-Casanova/Star Herald]

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