C U L T U R ADLI F F U S I OANN D E T H N I C I T YT 5 7
CalleOcho
Formanyof Miami'sCuban-Americans,
CalleOcho,or Southwest
EighthStreet,is sacredspace.In fact, it is a longthoroughfare
thatconnects
Miamiin Florida's
southeast
cornerwith Tamoaon
thestate'snorthwestcoast.So for mostof its routeacrossFlorida
i t i s c a l l e dt h e T a m i a mTi r a i l a
, n do n l yt h e s m a l lp o r t i o no f t h e
streetthat runsthroughMiami'sLittleHavananeighborhood
is
refened
to as CalleOcho.But CalleOchois the namethat locals
r i t h .I n t h e e a r l y1 9 6 0 s ,
a n do u t s i d e rasl i k ea r em o s tf a m i l i aw
thefirstwaveof Cubanrefugees
cameto the UnitedStateson
theheelsof Castro's
communistrevolution
on the island.Some
wentnorth,to placeslike UnionCity,NewJersey,
wheretoday
population.
thereis a sizableCuban-American
Others,however,
came(oreventually
relocated)
to Miami.Oncea predominantly
Jewish
neighborhood
calledRiverside,
this neighborhood
became
theheartof earlyCubanimmigration
and wasrenamedLittle
Havana.
ShopsalongCalleOchoreflectthe Cubanoriginsof the
grocerssuchas Sedanos
residents:
and La Rocacaterto the
S p a n i s h - i n s p ci rueldi n a r tyr a d i t i o nosf C u b a c; a f 6 ss e l l i n gs m a l l
G
Diffusion
Cufturol
ondEthnicity
How do the various types of cultural diffusion-relocation,
hierarchical, and contagious-help
us understand the complicated geographical patterns of ethnicity? Do ethnic homelands, islands, ghettos, and neighborhoods result from
different tlpes of diffusion?
Migration and Ethnicity
Much of the ethnic pattern in many parts of the worldincludingNorth America, Australia, and virtually all urban
neighborhoodson every continent-is the result of relocatinndiffusion.Infact, ethnicity is often created by the migration processiself, as people leave countries where they
belongedto a nonethnic majority and become a minority in
a newhome. Voluntary migration has accounted for much
of the ethnic diversity in the United States and Canada,
whilethe involuntary migration of political and economic
refugeeshas alwaysbeen an important factor in ethnicity
worldwideand is becoming ever more so in North America.
Chainmigration may be invoh.'edin relocation diffusion.
In chainmigration, an indiviclual or small group decides to
migrateto a foreign country. This decision typically arises
cups of strong,sweetcafe Cubanoexiston everyblock;and
famedrestaurants
likeVersailles
aresocialgatheringpointsfor
Cuban-Americans.
Becauseethnicityand its expression
on the landscape
are
fluid and ever-changing,
the landscape
of CalleOchoreflects
t h e c u r r e n dt e m o g r a p hci ch a n g e u
s n d e rw a yi n L i t t l eH a v a n a .
W h i l et h e n e i g h b o r h o oi sds t i l l a L a t i n oe n c l a v ew, i t h a H i s p a n i c
populationin excessof 95 percent,not evenhalf of its
p o p u l a t i oind e n t i f i e a
d s " C u b a n "i n t h e 2 0 0 0 c e n s u sM
. ore
than one-quarter
of Little Havana's
residents
are recentarrivals
l yi c a r a g uaan d
f r o mC e n t r aAl m e r i c a cn o u n t r i e sp,a r t i c u l a r N
H o n d u r a sw,h i l em o r ea n d m o r eA r g e n t i n e a n
a sn d C o l o m b i a n s
are arriving-likethe Cubansbeforethem---onthe heelsof
p o l i t i c aal n d e c o n o m i c h a o si n t h e i rh o m ec o u n t r i e sT.o d a y o u
arejust as likelyto seea Nicaraguan
fritangarestaurant
as a
CubancoffeeshopalongCalleOcho.This has promptedsometo
suggestthat the neighborhood's
namebe changedfrom Little
Havanato The LatinQuarter.
from negative conditions in the home area, such as political
persecution or lack of employrnent, and the perception of
better conditions in the receiving country. Often ties
between the sending and receiving areas are preexisting.
such as those formed when military basesof receiving countries are established in sending countries. The first emigrants, or "innovators," may be natural leaders who
influence others, particularly friends and relatives, to
accompany them in the migration. The word spreads to
nearby communities, and soon a sizable migration is under
way from a fairly small district in the source country to a
comparably small area or neighborhood in the destination
country (Figures 5.15 and 5.16). In village after village, the
first emigrants often rank high in the local social order, so
that hierarchicaldiJfusionalso occurs. That is, the decisionto
migrate spreadsby a mixture of hierarchical and contagious
diffusion, whereas the actual migration itself represents
relocation diffusion.
Chain migration causes the movement of people to
become channelizcd,a process in which a specific source
region becomes linked to a particr.rlardestination, so that
neighbors in the old country became neighbors in the new
country as well. This processwas at work three centuries ago
and still operates today. The recent massmigration of Latin
Americans to the United States provides an example.