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    Latinos in the Washington Metro Area
    Latinos in the Washington Metro Area
    Latinos in the Washington Metro Area
    Ebook222 pages44 minutes

    Latinos in the Washington Metro Area

    By Maria Sprehn-Malagónm, Jorge Hernandez-Fujigaki, the Richland County Historical Society, and the Richland County chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society. A historian, filmmaker, and artist, McKee is also the author of the Postcard History Series ti and Linda Robinson

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    About this ebook

    The Latino presence in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area has diverse roots and a rich history. The earlier residents were relatively small in number, but the Latino population increased dramatically in the late 20th century. Today, this unique Latino community is the 12th largest in the nation. While people of Salvadoran origin are the most numerous, this area is also home to those who hail from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Uruguay, and many other nations and cultures. This book highlights the early days of the Hispanic Festival, the Central American peace movement, the struggle for civil and immigrants rights, and notable residents. With a shared immigrant experience and broad cultural bonds, these and many other Latino residents have transformed the Washington, DC, area.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateJul 21, 2014
    ISBN9781439646304
    Latinos in the Washington Metro Area
    Author

    Maria Sprehn-Malagónm

    Anthropologist Maria Sprehn-Malag�n, PhD, whose family is from Spain; historian Jorge Hernandez-Fujigaki, PhD, a Mexican immigrant; and college counselor Linda Robinson, of Puerto Rican descent, collaborated on this book. Both Maria Sprehn-Malag�n and Linda Robinson are lifelong residents of the DC area. The pictures in this book were collected from family albums, local photographers� collections, scholars� archives, Spanish-language newspapers, and the Library of Congress.

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      Book preview

      Latinos in the Washington Metro Area - Maria Sprehn-Malagónm

      project.

      INTRODUCTION

      This collection of pictures offers only a glimpse into the rich history and culture of the Washington, DC, area’s Latino community, mostly before the advent of digital photography. The challenge of constructing this snapshot of Latino life was locating the stored pre-digital photographs in a world dominated by electronic files. The greater challenge, however, was stopping the process of collecting the stories and photographs. As more people contributed their stories and photographs, the more interesting this story became. Hopefully this small compilation of images will complement current projects, lead to future inquiries, and perhaps inspire more people to share their stories and pictures with one another and preserve them for future generations.

      The Hispanic presence in the Washington, DC, area has historical depth and diverse roots. This area has been a destination for and influenced by travelers and immigrants of the Hispanic diaspora since the 16th century. The earlier visitors to and residents of the region were small in number, though they represented many different countries and cultures of origin. It was not until the late 20th century that the number of Hispanic residents in the area increased dramatically. This rise in the Latino population resulted in the formation of new communities that share an immigrant experience and broad cultural ties. It has also created new forms of cultural expression and identity. Some of the photographs in this book predate the use of the terms Hispanic and Latino, which are recent categories. The US Census first used the term Hispanic in 1980. In this book, the terms refer to people who have ancestry and cultural ties to Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula.

      The Latino community in the Washington, DC, metro area today is the 12th largest in the nation. It is unique in that no single ethnic group forms a majority. Although Salvadorans form the largest group, this area is also home to those who hail from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Uruguay, and many other nations and cultures. This area also has the largest Bolivian community, the highest number of Latino college graduates, and one of the highest standards of living for Latinos in the United States.

      As a national capital, Washington, DC, has drawn residents from throughout the world. These residents made and continue to make the metro area extremely diverse. The earlier Hispanic residents were comprised of diplomats and professionals working at embassies and other international institutions and organizations. They were often accompanied by staff and domestic workers who sometimes stayed in the area while their employers moved on to new posts. It was not unusual for the children of international employees as well as those of their domestic workers to stay in this area and become first-generation Latinos.

      The earlier arrivals were less visible than the immigrants who arrived in the 1980s and onward in greater numbers. Fortunately, the pre-1980 arrivals are visible in the photographic record, made up mostly of family and personal albums showing how they forged communities and became Washingtonians, Marylanders, and Virginians. Puerto Rican and Mexican-American white-collar professionals who were already citizens came to the DC area looking for federal jobs linked to the New Deal and World War II in the 1930s and 1940s. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, in response to revolution and political upheaval, many Cuban and Dominican immigrants arrived in the area. Soon after, during the 1960s and 1970s, many South Americans arrived, escaping the conflicts and crises in their countries.

      The early residents generated a demand for Latino businesses and services, such as restaurants and markets that provided an economic base for other Latino immigrants and created a foundation for the diverse Latino community of today. Some of the earlier Latino businesses mentioned in works by Olivia Cadaval and Elaine Peña are several DC markets, including Casa Peña, which existed in the 1950s; Casa Diloné, a Dominican market; La Sevillana; and the Panamerican Laundry. The Churreria Madrid, a restaurant that serves churros (which taste like a Spanish version of funnel cake) and Spanish dishes, opened in 1973 in Adams Morgan. By mid-century, there were church services being conducted in Spanish. In Washington, DC, St. Paul’s Church and the Church of the Sacred Heart offered Spanish-language services, and in Potomac, Maryland, the chapel of the Academy of American Franciscan History did as well.

      The earlier arrivals also started public celebrations, such as the Latino Festival, which still occur in DC. In her book, Creating a Latino Identity in the Nation’s Capital: The Latino Festival, Olivia Cadaval traces the history of this festival since its beginning in 1970. In more recent times, Latinos moved to the suburbs and nearby cities, and more Latino festivals have emerged. Baltimore has been celebrating a Latino Festival for 33 years, and the city of Frederick has for 9 years.

      During the 1980s and 1990s, the armed conflicts of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua brought many immigrants from these countries to the Washington, DC, area. The earlier migrations of women from Central America who came to the region, working as domestic workers for diplomats and families working at the international institutions, carved the path for the arrival of many who were fleeing the conflicts. As a result of these original arrivals, a process of chain migration that brought relatives and friends began in the 1980s. As noted by Lopez and Dockterman (2012: 88), almost half (46 percent) of today’s Washington, DC, metro area Hispanics are from or trace their ancestry to Central American countries.

      The substantial demographic increase of Latinos in the 1980s and 1990s transformed the DC area to a place where the Spanish language is common and the people and culture of the Iberian diaspora form a prominent part of the area’s identity. Latinos work and are successful in all occupational positions and contribute to politics, education, and the arts. They have contributed to creating the community organizations that today continue to assist newly arrived immigrants and to the schools that have established language programs for children. Today, through the work of many Latinos, adult immigrants can learn English and pursue training for more skilled

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