“Food, music, faith and family gatherings help keep the culture alive,” said Diego Yoel Inestroza Lara, who runs a tree-service business with his father in Tar Heel, North Carolina. Latino families are building businesses and sustaining cultural life in small towns and cities often overlooked as immigrant destinations. They’re creating community, too.
Community Built From the Ground Up
Holyoke, Massachusetts, has the highest percentage of Puerto Ricans per capita of any U.S. city outside the Caribbean archipelago. Boricua families have made it a center since the 1950s, and the community has grown steadily since then. Last January, the city designated a Puerto Rican cultural district along an eight-block stretch of Main Street. The district celebrates nearly 20,000 people, about 52.4% of the city’s total Boricua population, and features murals, new businesses and regular events.
Community life took root generations before the city’s recognition. Holyoke elected its first Puerto Rican mayor, Joshua A. Garcia, in 2021; he was born and raised there. The district designation and election mark official recognition, but families, gatherings and local businesses keep traditions alive every day.
Ismarie Rivera and her husband, Manuel, opened Jireh Delights Bakery & Restaurant downtown around the district’s launch. Their family moved from Puerto Rico to Holyoke in 2015 after an invitation from their church, Fyre House. Rivera doesn’t speak English, so a bilingual employee shared her comments. “God sent me and my family here,” she said. “Kindness and cultural closeness make us feel close to home.”
Business is booming at the bakery and restaurant, which draws customers from around the state. Rivera said Jireh means “the Lord will provide.” The family’s business is among the new businesses in a district centered on Puerto Rican culture and a substantial local community.
Work, Welcome and Uncertain Protection
In Tar Heel, Diego Yoel Inestroza Lara runs Inestroza’s Tree Service with his father, Cesar Inestroza. Cesar came to the United States from Silca, Olancho, Honduras, under TPS in 1998 after Hurricane Mitch devastated his home country. Many Hondurans received U.S. work permits after the hurricane, but a recent Supreme Court ruling may limit the program moving forward. The decision has brought renewed uncertainty to a government program that shaped families’ ability to work.
“North Carolina has given my dad a chance to rebuild his family’s life,” Diego Yoel Inestroza Lara said. He said extended family members, including uncles, cousins and grandparents, came for work and farming opportunities they knew from Honduras. North Carolina still offers a chance to work hard and start over, he added.
Close to 900,000 North Carolina residents have Latin American ancestry, including Mexican, Salvadoran and Honduran roots. The article cites growth in Mecklenburg County, Wake County, Siler City in Chatham County, Robbins in Moore County and Kenansville in Duplin County. These families bring work and traditions to communities well beyond traditional immigrant centers such as Los Angeles and New York.
Culture and the Local Economy
Georgia’s Hispanic population grew rapidly between 1990 and 2000, particularly in the Atlanta region, according to the U.S. Census. Hispanic migration in the state has increased by 33% since 2010. Georgia has nearly 900,000 Latino families, with more than half a million concentrated in Atlanta, largely because of Mexican and Puerto Rican migration. Atlanta has welcomed immigrants from more than 50 countries and is nicknamed the New Ellis Island.
Santiago Marquez, CEO of the Atlanta-based Latin American Association, said the organization supports people and families through immigration legal services, workforce development, family stabilization, youth services and economic empowerment. “We are committed to helping all people that come to our door to overcome barriers, access opportunities, and achieve self-sufficiency,” he said. The article provides no information about the organization’s funding.
Marquez, who was born in Cuba and immigrated in 1971, said Atlanta’s economy has drawn people from across Latin America. Their stories have reached local theater, including the Alliance Theatre and Aurora Theatre. Restaurants and small businesses contribute to the economy while serving as cultural gathering places.
Along Buford Highway, visitors can find cuisine from Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, Peru, Argentina and other countries. These businesses and gatherings aren’t a footnote to community life; they’re part of how families make a place their own.