Cultural Writing

I think adding a character's cultural heritage to a book can enhance it.  You want to develop your characters as deeply and uniquely as you can, so it's good to know about their families and their heritage.  In so many books, characters are just American with no significant cultural background.  In After the Dream, one of my main characters is Latin American.  I used my knowledge of the Latin mindset based on living and working with them on an LDS mission for two years and insights from Latin friends to create what, I hope, is a reasonably convincing third-generation Latino.  In Pigs Fly, one of my main characters is a second-generation Finn.  My husband's mother was a Swedish Finn, so I lean on his cultural knowledge to write that character.  But I know second-hand cultural knowledge is not enough.  I've also been researching Finnish culture from a Finnish perspective.

When one presents cultural heritage, it should not be based simply on stereotypes and hearsay.  And why have the culture at all if I can't present what it feels like, looks like, smells like to be in the culture?  So I have scenes where the characters are immersed in the experiences and meaning of Finnish life.  I've read very little written from a Latin American perspective but nothing at all from a Finnish-American perspective.  Through writing this way, I get to go on a cultural voyage and take others with me.