Dating is more than just swiping left and right or heading to the club. For many Latino students at UF, relationships are closely tied to tradition, family expectations, respect and gestures.
Yeneisi Calihua, an 18-year-old UF nutritional sciences freshman, said expectations set by growing up in a Hispanic household gave her high standards when it came to dating. The novelas she watched on TV set her expectations for flowers, chocolates and dates.
“I definitely do think Hispanics love differently, in a sense, and it is very different from your typical college relationship,” Calihua said.
Even though Calihua’s father may seem nonchalant at times, he still acts very thoughtful and romantic with her mother, she said. Comparatively, she said, young men today are less expressive.
Dating apps have become the new norm for finding love. But Calihua believes meeting someone and falling for them takes time and intentional effort — not just one click online, she said, which seems to be a common misconception about modern dating.
Calihua applied those expectations to her own relationship. When she was 15, her current boyfriend asked her parents for permission before asking her to be his girlfriend.
“He asked my parents for permission, obviously, because we were 15, we were young,” Calihua said. “Over time, their connection has grown stronger.”
Diego Arteaga, a 19-year-old UF mechanical engineering freshman from Venezuela, said his family emphasized dating values focused on courtesy and respect as expressions of romance.
He said being chivalrous and making small gestures, such as opening doors and holding out chairs for women, is how men are expected to treat women, a standard strongly reinforced by older generations in his family.
For Arteaga, language also plays a significant role in dating. He moved from Venezuela and said communication barriers can make a relationship more difficult.
“My accent, the way I speak, the words I use ... not being able to share that, and the other person not understanding that part of your identity … that could weigh down on the relationship,” he said.
Aidan Garcia, a 19-year-old UF political science freshman of Mexican descent, said Mexican culture romanticizes relationships beyond the reality of college dating. By contrast, at UF, he’s noticed people treat dating as low commitment with low stakes, and “ghosting” happens often.
Romantic gestures go way back for Garcia. Growing up, he saw how his grandfather treats his grandmother.
“My abuelo for example, singing songs to his wife and the guitar and serenading her basically,” he said.
His parents follow the same examples by going on date nights and showing each other romantic gestures. Garcia believes he would follow the same steps as his family members if he dates or has a girlfriend.
Garcia said dating someone from a different cultural background isn’t impossible if one finds similarities or tries to embrace the partner's culture rather than focusing on the cultural differences. For example, he’s noticed some similarities between Asian and Hispanic cultures when it comes to dating and familial connections, he said.
Contact Dulce Rodriguez-Escamilla at drodriguez@alligator.org. Follow her on X @DulceRodrigueze.
Dulce Rodriguez is a sophomore Journalism Major with a Public Relations minor in her first semester at The Alligator, working as El Caimán's general assignment reporter. She loves to dance and bake in her free time, and she also enjoys watching murder mysteries and documentaries.
