Writing POC 101

Honduran Characters - @orionvanessa

Hi, there!

My name is Karla and I was born and I'm still currently living in Honduras. I know you might be asking yourself: What the hell is that? We're located in Latin America, and more specifically, in Central America. Honduras is like the belly button of Central America, right in the middle.

I have never seen a Honduran character in any story ever. And honestly I feel like there should be more diversity when it comes to writing Latino characters. I know Mexican is the first thing you think about when the word Latin comes to your head, and it's kinda the easy route to take.

So, if you're into diversity and want to try out a Central American character, here is one for you! Also I apologize beforehand if you get confused with my choice of words, English isn't my first language and I know slang better than the real thing.

Races

I think people have this conception that every Latino is the same (hairy, tanned, brown eyes, etc) First of all, there are different races in here. I am a mestiza. What does that mean? It mean that I am a mix of two races, and more specifically, my ancestors are Spanish & Indians (but not like from India, the country) (more like Native Americanish) and mestizo/a is mainly used to determine people who come from those two descents. I live in the North Region of the country, and you'll find many people with that race.

Still in the North Region of my country you'll find different people. Like, for example, there is (like a state) Santa Barbara where most of the people there are cheles which is a nickname given to people who are white, with blonde/clear brown hair, and blue/green eyes. So when you see someone like that around my city you immediately know they're from Santa Barbara (and we know)

There is also a very rich history of Black people in my country. Very few of them live in my city but you'll normally find them around the beach areas. There are different races around here but the most popular one are the Garifunas. The Garifunas are descendants from Africans, Caribbeans, and Aruhuaco. I don't want to make it too long (since I told you they have a rich history) but the Garifunas are not only located in Honduras, but in different countries in Central America (and also in the USA) They were brought as slaves, but they managed to escape to the Caribbean and the story just goes on from there.

PS: If you wanna know more about them, please do, and google them up!

Languages

For Latinos, now a days, it's really important to know more than one language. At least in my country, it is required for you to be bilingual. Our native language is obviously Spanish, the second language you learn (if you're lucky) is English, and then most people decide to learn another language, I have a few friends who can speak either French, German, or Mandarin additionally.

I'm going to mention the Garifunas again because they will serve me as good example here. The Garifunas you normally find at the coasts (and even in the city if they do live here) speak their native language which is the same, garifuna. And if they do live out of where all of them live (which is at the Gulf of the country) and decide to go to the North Coast or the city, they speak Spanish. I've even heard some speak English.

Education

There are two types of Education in my country, public and private. And no, it is not the same as in the USA. Personally, I don't how education works back there but Public Schools seem to have a really good education. Here, it's different.

I recently graduated High School and I assisted to the same school throughout all my life as a student. And I attended a Private Bilingual school, which is a blessing because they're really expensive. There are many schools like that in my country which most parents who are financially stable decide to put their kids in. There are also regular Private schools who don't teach you English, they're just private ??? And then there are the public schools.