INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — In the journey toward citizenship in America, the path often goes through a landscape that is rife with challenges.

Those issues can include distance from home; adaptation to new cultures; and, at times, separation from family.

For many Latinos making the voyage toward citizenship, the experience is not just a legal or geographic shift, but an emotional one that is tied to the traditions they carry with them from their homelands.

In the United States, where new customs blend with longstanding ones, Latino immigrants find themselves balancing the preservation of their heritage with American traditions.

WISH-TV contributor Gloria Jimenez joined News 8 on Thursday for a discussion on the significance of the traditions of Latinos settling in the United States.

Through assimilation, she says, many Latinos hold onto practices rooted in their upbringings. The traditions can serve as means to ground people in their identity.