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Culture & Identity of Honduras

WARNING: Violence is common in Honduras, please read this travel warning before going!

Introduction

Life in Honduras is fairly diverse, but is heavily influenced by the urban-rural divide. Nearly half the people live in urban environments and the other half are in more rural areas, many of whom are farmers.

Much of Honduras's culture is rooted in their past, much of which is based on the rural life and farming. Even today about 40% of the working population is employed in agriculture. For these people the way of life is heavily based on this occupation as days are determined by the sun, the weather, and the seasons. During busy seasons it often becomes a family affair as much help is needed.

For many others the daily way of life seems to be based on a work schedule with a bit more consistency. For many people working the industrial or services sectors hours tend to be more regulated by the clock, not the weather. Most businesses and shops are open from about 9:00 am to about 5:00 pm and many people also work Saturday morning.

Sundays are generally a day off, unless farm work needs to get done. Many families attend church this day and may spend the afternoon socializing with other church-goers or spend time with family in the home.

While work seems to dictate the schedule for many people in Honduras, for most people their wages don't provide much money and few people can spend money on luxury items. Because of this much of the people's free time is spent in the home with family, although some people, particularly in the capital, can afford the entertainment options prevalent in many cities.

Identity

The people of Honduras tend to identify as Honduran, which is an identity based on nationality. This political-based identity is fairly vague in definition as the people are better at understanding who they are not than who they are; tensions with some neighbors and other foreign countries help the people cling to each other but not so close that they understand what it means to be Honduran. The people tend to have a significant amount of indigenous ancestry in them and therefore this ancestry tends to be an important aspect of being Honduran, but Spanish ancestry is often just as, if not more important from an ethnic level. Additionally, ethnicity is generally not the single most important, or even the defining aspect, of the identity as anyone from the country can identify as being Honduran.

Many people also consider themselves "Hispanic" or "Latin American." People who identify as Hispanic (in the Americas) are generally a mix of Spanish and Native American ancestry who speak Spanish. It is this ethnic and linguistic link that is the true definition of the term, although today the foods, music, religion, and dress of the people are also closely associated with the term. Although the word "Hispanic" can refer to anyone with a historic tie to Spain or Portugal, in the Americas it tends to be an inclusive identity only referring to Spanish-speaking people from the Americas. Latin American is more inclusive as it refers to anyone from Latin America, no matter a person's ethnicity or linguistic affiliation.

This page was last updated: December, 2013