Growing up with Hispanic roots isn’t rare, but everyone’s culture differs depending on your family’s origin. I was born and raised in the United States with a family that had a generation of immigrants, so customs were essential to keeping in our family. I was lucky to see firsthand the differences between cultures because of my dual heritage.
You probably clicked this article to find out what the term CubaNic was, and I don’t blame you. My dad came up with this term to easily identify my two cultures, Cuban (Cuba) and Nicaraguan (Nica) as a joke, and I’ve always stuck with it. However, I sometimes identify more with my Nicaraguan side (sorry, Dad).
- food
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Food was always my favorite part of growing up, especially when my grandma made it. Growing up in Miami, there were many places where we could find Latin food, but it was better when it was homemade. My grandmas made food from their country, but my Nica grandma made our traditional dishes.
The most iconic traditional dish she made was the Nacatamal; it was a battle royale in that house once those were made. Before the brawl, we made this dish together as a family using an assembly line rotation. It was one of the best bonding experiences I had with my family. This has become the comfort dish I beg my grandma for whenever I visit home.
My Cuban grandma would make torrejas, a traditional dish for when the holidays came around. This Spanish-style French toast dish is popular in Cuba because of the Spaniards who migrated there a long time ago. These pieces of Cuban bread are drenched in a sweet, homemade syrup and then baked. We mainly eat this on Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) and on Christmas as a sweet treat from many we’ve already consumed.
- music
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This is common in every Latin community, but I still find it crucial to include it from my childhood. Music was an important part of my household because it was always playing. I heard it at our house parties, karaoke nights, Sunday mornings, and in the car.
Music is the soul of a Latin household…at least, it was in mine. We’d listen to so many songs that if I made a list, it’d reach over 300 songs long. It was still the best feeling in the world to walk into my house every day after school and feel so alive because of the music my grandparents played.
You can listen to many of the songs I jammed to when I was younger that have stuck with me now in this playlist!
- December traditions
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Las Posadas and a roasted pig bring back so many memories (or was that just my family?). Well, I remember these two big traditions happening when the holidays came around. Each of them came from two different sides of my family, and I loved being able to experience both.
Las Posadas is a celebration that takes place between Dec. 16 and Dec. 24. It’s a celebration where we remember Joseph and Mary’s journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. I won’t bore you with the religious details, but I’ll tell you what my family has done.
We would sing songs about Mary and Joseph asking for a place to stay, which sometimes made me feel awkward when I was a kid. Although, what I’d wait for is the food that was shared after all the singing.
Another staple tradition I remember was on Christmas Eve, which we call Noche Buena in Spanish. A whole pig was prepared and roasted in a big brick grill at my dad’s aunt’s house throughout the day. Until about five years ago, my great-grandfather would make the pig, and I’ll always have the core memory of seeing him take it out with my tios (uncles).
After the pork was ready to eat, they’d place the whole pig on a table. Usually, everyone began eating off it while someone carved it to put on the table for dinner. My grandpa always got me a piece of pork skin right off the pig because it was my favorite.
- Weekend Activities
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I was always so excited whenever the weekend came because I knew something fun was coming. My family did a lot on the weekends, but Sunday was the official family day. We went to church on Sundays like many others do unless we had a “special trip.”
Was my family the only ones obsessed with trips to a beach that was almost two hours away? We’d wake up at around 5 a.m. to be on the road to Naples at 6 a.m. My grandparents would make sure to pack their small gas-powered grill so we could cook up churrasco (skirt steak), ribs, chorizo, tortillas, and chicken (we called this an asado). The cherry on top was the huge chunks of watermelon my grandma cut for us to munch on when we finally took a break from running all over the place.
On other weekends, we usually played soccer with our family and friends for the day. While my grandma would watch the smaller kids play in the playground, the adults played soccer in the big field. However, I would always escape from the playground and disrupt the game by running up to my mom. I just loved my mom way too much.
- Birthdays
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Birthdays are a huge deal at my house. I mean, we have three songs that we sing on those days.
The one main tradition that still happens even with me away from home is my grandparents singing “Las Mañanitas” by Vicente Fernandez. Every morning on my birthday, my grandparents set up their karaoke, blasting the song as they sang it to me.
It’s a sweet song meant for birthdays. My family has made it our tradition since my mom was a kid. I think many people should consider it, too, because it always puts a smile on my face.
We can’t forget the very important song sung after “Happy Birthday to You.” “Ya Queremos Pastel” (We want cake) is the last song in the triage of birthday songs we must sing on everyone’s birthday.
Overall, these were my experiences growing up in my CubaNic household. If this brought back old core memories, then I did my job. Perhaps you were able to relate to some things, but if not, think about what your household did differently. Thank you for visiting my house and meeting my family!
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