Latinos account for more than half of U.S. population growth and are the country’s second-largest ethnic group, according to the PEW Research Center, as cited in the article. Their communities are growing in traditional immigrant centers such as Los Angeles and New York, and in small towns, too. Families have brought arts, food and family traditions to industrial towns in the Northeast and farming regions in the South.
Holyoke’s Puerto Rican district
Holyoke, Massachusetts, has the highest percentage of Puerto Ricans per capita of any U.S. city outside the Caribbean archipelago. Boricua families have made the city a community center since the 1950s, and their numbers have grown steadily. In 2021, Holyoke elected its first Puerto Rican mayor, Joshua A. Garcia, who was born and raised there.
Last January, the city designated a Puerto Rican cultural district along an eight-block stretch of Main Street. It celebrates nearly 20,000 people, about 52.4% of the city’s total Boricua population, with murals, new businesses and regular events.
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 their church, Fyre House, invited them. Rivera doesn’t speak English, so a bilingual employee shared her comments. She said the couple felt connected to the community because many people speak Spanish, and she cited religion as a reason for moving.
“God sent me and my family here,” Rivera said. “Kindness and cultural closeness make us feel close to home.” The bakery and restaurant is booming. Customers come from around the state. Rivera said Jireh means “the Lord will provide.”
Work and family ties in North Carolina
In Tar Heel, North Carolina, Diego Yoel Inestroza Lara runs Inestroza’s Tree Service with his father, Cesar Inestroza. “Food, music, faith and family gatherings help keep the culture alive,” Diego Yoel Inestroza Lara said.
Cesar Inestroza 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; a recent Supreme Court ruling may limit the program moving forward.
North Carolina has close to 900,000 residents with 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. Diego Yoel Inestroza Lara said North Carolina gave his father a chance to rebuild his family’s life. Uncles, cousins and grandparents came for work and farming opportunities they knew from Honduras, he said. The state still offers a chance to work hard and start over.
Atlanta’s expanding community
Georgia’s Hispanic population grew rapidly between 1990 and 2000, particularly in the Atlanta region, according to the U.S. Census. Atlanta has welcomed immigrants from more than 50 countries and is nicknamed the New Ellis Island. Hispanic migration in Georgia has increased by 33% since 2010 and continues to grow. The state has nearly 900,000 Latino families, with more than half a million concentrated in Atlanta, largely because of Mexican and Puerto Rican migration.
Santiago Marquez, CEO of the Atlanta-based Latin American Association, leads an organization that provides 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. “Atlanta’s strength comes from its diversity.”
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, he said, and Atlanta’s culinary scene has expanded over recent decades. Along Buford Highway, visitors can find cuisine from Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, Peru, Argentina and other countries. Marquez said restaurants and small businesses contribute to the economy and serve as cultural gathering places where people preserve and share traditions.