Hispanic American
LEADERSHIP
A Reference Guide
Victor M. Rodriguez, Editor
Contents
List of Articles vii
Reader’s Guide ix
Contributor List xi
About the Editor xiii
Introduction xv
Chronology xix
Articles
A
1
B 19
C 35
D 63
E 73
G 93
H 101
I 125
L 139
M 175
N 193
P 205
R 227
S 241
U 265
V 269
Resource Guide 275
Hispanic Leadership Index 281
Leadership Glossary A1
List of Articles
l
A
Advertising to Hispanics
Affirmative Action
Argentinian Americans
Assimilation and Acculturation
B
Biculturalism and Bilingualism
Bilingual Education
Boricua College
Boycotts
C
Catholic Church
Chicano Movement
Chicano Studies Research Center
(UCLA)
Chilean Americans
Colombian Americans
Color Discrimination
Costa Rican Americans
Cuban Adjustment Act (1966)
Cuban Americans
Cultural Diversity and
Leadership
D
Deportation
Diario-La Prensa
(New York)
Dominican Americans
E
Economic Development
Ecuadorian Americans
Education for Leadership
Employment and Unemployment
Entrepreneurs
Ethnic-Specific Products
G
Gender and Leadership
Glass Ceiling
Guatemalan Americans
H
Health Care
Hispanic Americans in Elite Schools
Hispanic Association on Corporate
Responsibility
Hispanic National Bar Association
Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors
Hispanic-Owned Businesses
Hispanics in the Military
Honduran Americans
Housing Issues
Housing Organizations
I
Immigration Law
Immigration Rights
Individualism and Collectivism
Internet
v ii
L
La Opinión (Los Angeles Daily)
Labor Organizing
Lambda Theta Alpha
Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity
Latino Educational Attainment Initiative
Program
LatinoJustice PRLDEF
Latino Leadership Institute (UCLA)
Latino Studies
Leadership, Definitions of
Leadership in Business
Leadership in International Organizations
Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations
Leadership in Religious Organizations
Leadership in Sports Organizations
League of United Latin American Citizens
Literature
M
MANA, A National Latina Organization
MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano
de Aztlan)
Mexican American Legal Defense and
Educational Fund
Mexican Americans
Mexican Hometown Associations
Minority Rights
Movies
Music
N
National Hispana Leadership Institute
National Puerto Rican Day Parade
Naturalized Citizenship Process
Newspapers
Nicaraguan Americans
v iii | List of Articles
P
Panamanian Americans
Pedro Albizu Campos High School
Peruvian Americans
Political Leadership
Protestant and Evangelical Churches
Puerto Ricans
Puerto Rico Independence Movement
R
Racial and Ethnic Discrimination
Radio
Religious Organizations
Reverse Discrimination
S
Salvadoran Americans
Short-Term and Long-Term Orientations
Social Media
Social Mobility
Southwest Voter Registration Education
Project
Southwest Workers Union (San Antonio)
Spanish-Language Television
Spanish-Language Theater
Stereotypes About Hispanic Americans
U
UNAM Los Angeles
United States Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce
V
Venezuelan Americans
Visual Arts
Reader’s Guide
l
Arts
Literature
Movies
Music
Spanish-Language Theater
Visual Arts
Education and Research
Bilingual Education
Boricua College
Chicano Studies Research Center (UCLA)
Education for Leadership
Hispanic Americans in Elite Schools
Latino Educational Attainment Initiative
Program
Latino Leadership Institute (UCLA)
Latino Studies
Pedro Albizu Campos High School
UNAM-Los Angeles
Business and Employment
Economic Development
Entrepreneurs
Ethnic-Specific Products
Glass Ceiling
Hispanic-Owned Businesses
Hispanics in the Military
Leadership in Business
Media
Advertising to Hispanics
Diario-La Prensa (New York)
Internet
La Opinión (Los Angeles Daily)
Newspapers
Radio
Social Media
Spanish-Language Television
National Origins and Cultures
Argentinian Americans
Chilean Americans
Colombian Americans
Costa Rican Americans
Cuban Americans
Dominican Americans
Ecuadorian Americans
Guatemalan Americans
Honduran Americans
Mexican Americans
Nicaraguan Americans
Panamanian Americans
Peruvian Americans
Puerto Ricans
Salvadoran Americans
Venezuelan Americans
Organizations and Institutions
Catholic Church
Hispanic Association on Corporate
Responsibility
Hispanic National Bar Association
ix
Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors
Lambda Theta Alpha
Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity
LatinoJustice PRLDEF
Leadership in International Organizations
Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations
Leadership in Religious Organizations
Leadership in Sports Organizations
League of United Latin American Citizens
MANA, A National Latina Organization
MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano
de Aztlan)
Mexican American Legal Defense and
Educational Fund
Mexican Hometown Associations
National Hispana Leadership Institute
National Puerto Rican Day Parade
Protestant and Evangelical Churches
Religious Organizations
Southwest Workers Union (San Antonio)
United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Politics and Direct Action
Affirmative Action
Boycotts
Chicano Movement
Cuban Adjustment Act (1966)
Deportation
x | Reader’s Guide
Housing Organizations
Immigration Law
Labor Organizing
Naturalized Citizenship Process
Political Leadership
Puerto Rico Independence Movement
Southwest Voter Registration Education
Project
Social and Psychological Issues
Assimilation and Acculturation
Biculturalism and Bilingualism
Color Discrimination
Cultural Diversity and Leadership
Employment and Unemployment
Gender and Leadership
Health Care
Housing Issues
Immigration Rights
Individualism and Collectivism
Leadership, Definitions of
Minority Rights
Racial and Ethnic Discrimination
Reverse Discrimination
Short-Term and Long-Term Orientations
Social Mobility
Stereotypes About Hispanic Americans
About the Editor
l
Dr. Victor Rodríguez is
a professor and former
chair of the department
of Chicano and Latino
Studies at California State
University, Long Beach
(CSULB). He has previ­
ously taught courses at
the University of Califor­
nia, Irvine; Concordia University, Irvine; and the
Metropolitan University of Puerto Rico. He re­
ceived a B.A. in history at the University of Puerto
Rico in Rio Piedras and received a master’s degree
and Ph.D. in Comparative Culture with an empha­
sis in Sociology of Race and Ethnicity at the Uni­
versity of California, Irvine. His area of expertise
is the racialization of Latino identity in the United
States and the Caribbean and its impact on polit­
ical behavior and education. He is also an anti­
colonial activist and public intellectual. His work
has been published in English and Spanish in aca­
demic journals in the United States and Spain. He
has also written for the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register, and Spanish publications in
Colombia and Puerto Rico. His most recent ar­
ticles were published in ACADEME: Magazine of
the American Association of University Professors on
neoliberalism and higher education in Puerto Rico
(2011) and in Counterpunch on Puerto Rico’s colo­
nial and economic crisis (2014). The revised edi­
tion of his book Latino Politics in the United States:
Race, Ethnicity, Class and Gender in the Mexican
American and Puerto Rican Experience (Kendall-­
Hunt) was published in June 2012. At CSULB he
teaches courses in social inequality, including
Wealth and Poverty in Latino Communities; Chi­
cano/Latino Politics and Identity Assimilation in
Chicano and Latino Life; The Ethnic Experience;
Latino Transnational Experience in the Carib­
bean: Empire, Reform and Revolution (including a
field experience in Cuba, Dominican Republic, or
Puerto Rico); and Latino Population in the United
States. Rodríguez is a nationally known consultant
diversity trainer.
About the Editor | xiii
Dong, Q., and Phillip Gundlach. “The Impact of Bicultural
Identity on Immigrant Socialization Through
Television Viewing in the United States.” Journal of
Intercultural Communication Studies, v.15/2 (2006).
Friedman, H. Personality: Classic Theories and Modern
Research. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Higher
Education, 2012.
Guan, M., and Cole Lee. “Complexity of Culture.” Cultural
Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, v.18/3 (2012).
Martinez, V., and J. Haritatas. “Bicultural Identity
Integration (BII): Components and Psychosocial
Antecedents.” Journal of Personality, v.73/4 (2005).
Mok, A., and M. Morris. “Bicultural Self-Defense in
Consumer Contexts.” Journal of Consumer Psychology,
v.23 (2012).
Torres, V., et al. “The Connections Between Latino Ethnic
Identities and Adult Experiences.” Adult Education
Quarterly, v.62/1 (2012).
Bilingual Education
In its most basic form, bilingual education is the use
of two languages in an academic setting for any number of educational or social purposes, usually involving a country’s official or majority language and the
language of a significant minority group; it can also
take place in areas in which there is more than one
official language. In the United States today, English and Spanish are often both used in many school
settings to facilitate Hispanic immigrants’ learning
and, in some cases, native English speakers’ command of the Spanish language. Although there are
other major bilingual education programs, such as
English and Navajo programs, the English and Spanish set of bilingual education programs is one of the
largest in the United States today.
Why Bilingual Education?
There are several reasons that school administrators,
parent groups, and others associated with various
public and private education systems and institutions at all levels decide to utilize bilingual education
programs. These programs are designed to allow
students to appreciate and transition to living in
other cultures, whether they be for Spanish speakers just coming to the United States or native English
speakers looking to more fully embrace Hispanic
culture. They also allow for more effective learning
on both ends—English speakers can learn Spanish
more easily and thoroughly by directly interfacing
with Spanish speakers on a day-to-day basis, including both students and teachers, and Spanish speakers coming to America can excel in all of their classes
without worrying about a language barrier.
This last is one major reason that bilingual education programs are instituted in various places
throughout the United States where there are a high
number of Spanish speakers (or speakers of another
important minority language, such as Chinese or
Navajo). Math, science, literature, and history
teachers who are native or fluent Spanish speakers can more easily impart knowledge to Spanishspeaking students, allowing these students to demonstrate their potential and become leaders in the
classroom. This also benefits the United States government and economy by instilling a good education in students, no matter what their linguistic or
cultural backgrounds, so that they may more effectively live and work in the United States.
Bilingual education also has potential social benefits. In schools where there is little or no bilingual
education, Spanish-speaking students may feel isolated from their peers, or even inferior, due to difficulties associated with everyday communication
and poorer performance in the classroom. However,
bilingual education diminishes their feelings of inferiority by allowing them to fully demonstrate their
potential and uniqueness, and helps acclimate them
to the United States by allowing them to learn the
majority language while also pursuing other studies. This allows them to improve themselves academically while also opening many doors for them
socially, allowing them to communicate more easily with their English-speaking peers. For students
having difficulty learning English, bilingual education can also be helpful in that it provides a sort
of safety net, an area where it is perfectly acceptable
to know only Spanish—where students who do not
speak English well can still demonstrate their intelligence in other areas and feel empowered by their
successes, inspiring them to continue learning English and to become leaders among their peers.
Because it encourages Spanish-speaking students
to interact more with English speakers, bilingual
Bilingual Education | 2 5
education allows them to achieve higher levels of success in the United States; but because it does not force
them to abandon their native language in all their
studies, it allows them to preserve their roots as well,
letting their original culture influence them as they
go on to their adult lives. Bilingual education is often
seen as a middle road between allowing Hispanic
immigrant students to learn only in Spanish, which
may harm them in their adult lives as they seek jobs
and attempt to build business and social networks,
and forcing them to learn only in English, which can
alienate and demean them and devalue their culture.
Types of Bilingual Education
There are various types of bilingual education, with
the differences between these various types generally involving the amount of time a student spends
learning in her native language and learning in the
majority or official language. However, before understanding how different types of bilingual education work, it is important to understand some of the
concepts and theories behind bilingual education.
One of the main driving forces behind bilingual
education is the idea that literacy transfers across
languages; that is, that a student who is fully literate in his native language is more likely to become
fully literate in a foreign language because of the understanding of basic literacy concepts such as parts
of speech and various grammatical constructions.
There is a great deal of research showing that this
is most likely true not only with languages utilizing
the same alphabet, as English and Spanish do, but
even with languages that do not use the same alphabet, such as Spanish and Chinese.
Another theory behind bilingual education is that
it is very important for a child’s education to be well
rounded and that he/she must focus on other subject
areas such as math, science, and history as well as
language. These will allow him/her to succeed once
the new language has been grasped more fully. Similarly to literacy, it is widely believed that concepts
learned in one language will automatically be more
understandable in another language. This is particularly important when dealing with young Spanishspeaking children who will learn basic math concepts alongside English and then, when their English
has improved, go on to pursue higher mathematical
ideas that require knowledge of the basic concepts.
26 | Bilingual Education
Because both of these driving ideas assert that it
is important for a child to have a basic level of competency in all areas, not just in the language of the
country to which he has immigrated, bilingual education primarily focuses on the transitional years
when a child is first introduced to a new language or
leaves a Spanish-speaking home to pursue an English education. However, the length of this “transition period” and even its exact purpose change
across different types of programs.
The main type of bilingual education that is
used in the United States today is called transitional bilingual education. However, even within
this type there are several subtypes and nuances
that can shift according to region and exact goals.
Essentially, this type of program sets out a certain
amount of time, usually from one to three years,
during which Spanish-speaking students may take
major subjects such as math and science in Spanish while simultaneously pursuing English competency through English as a second language
(ESL) classes. This allows them to continue growing in their understanding of and level of literacy in
their own language—which is especially important
for young immigrant children—while also learning basic English skills and continually improving
their knowledge across other subject areas so that
they will not be disadvantaged later when they are
switched to all-English classes.
Another type of bilingual education, sometimes
called dual language or dual language immersion,
places Spanish speakers in English-speaking classrooms but also requires English-speaking teachers to be well versed in Spanish in order to answer
questions and otherwise communicate with Spanish-speaking students in their native tongue. This is
often used when faster progress is desired and there
is already a better understanding of basic Spanish, math, science, history, and English in place—
meaning it is usually used for older students. However, it is important for younger students and their
families to be aware of this model as well, as something like it is often utilized when schools do not
officially offer any sort of bilingual education program. In this scenario, other students may also help
the Spanish speaker(s), as well as teachers.
There is a third type of bilingual education sometimes used in the United States, which is called
two-way bilingual education. This bilingual education model is designed in particular to help students
slowly acclimate to a new language and culture
while also holding on to and maintaining appreciation for their native language and culture; it also
helps native English speakers learn Spanish and immerse themselves in Spanish culture. Essentially, it
works in much the same way as the transitional bilingual education model, but instead of providing
one to three or more years of Spanish-only education and then switching abruptly to English-only
education, it starts students off with a high proportion (say, 90 percent) of class time in their native
tongue and gradually introduces more and more education from another language as time goes by. This
model is also beneficial because it encourages students from different cultures to interact with one
another directly and learn more about each others’
respective languages and cultural values.
All types of bilingual education are practiced in
the United States, though transitional is the most
common, and all are beneficial to helping Spanish speakers get ahead and more quickly and more
thoroughly adapt themselves to an English-speaking culture without losing touch with their Hispanic
roots. Additionally, some forms of bilingual education also educate English speakers about Hispanic
cultures; this creates more opportunities for all, allows for better cross-cultural communication, and
generally improves quality of life for Spanish speakers who want to become leaders and English speakers who want to interface with Spanish speakers,
either abroad or in Spanish-speaking areas of the
United States. This type of cultural exchange is very
important to the growth of both Hispanic American and mainstream American cultures and encourages Hispanics and other Americans to work
together to empower and provide equal opportunity
for Hispanics and other minority groups within the
United States and elsewhere.
Bilingual Education Controversies
and Politicization
That said, there is still some dispute as to the effectiveness of and need for bilingual education programs. Although they have been shown to help
Hispanics and other immigrant and minority populations empower themselves, become leaders, and
fight discrimination and institutional or cultural
disadvantages, there are also examples of Spanishspeaking students who have succeeded without bilingual education programs.
There are many reasons that bilingual education programs are criticized. Some are simply practical—bilingual education often costs much more
than traditional, single-language education (because there either have to be more teachers or more
qualified teachers, as well as various bilingual resources ranging from signs to books to computer
programs); however, arguments such as these can
easily be countered simply by showing that bilingual education is worth the expense. There are also
some arguments against bilingual education that
are more heavily based in theories and ideas, which
are not as easily quantifiable.
For example, many say that bilingual education
programs alienate Spanish-speaking students from
mainstream culture, especially if they allow Spanish-speaking students to take a long time learning
English and integrating themselves into mainstream
American culture. This is because Spanish-speaking
students may have to take special classes and often
end up interacting with each other more than with
those outside their comfort zone, which reduces
cross-cultural communication and understanding
and makes it much more difficult for students to become leaders in American society.
However, it is difficult to tell if there is merit in
such arguments, as many students who go through
bilingual education programs turn out much better
adjusted to English language and American culture
than those who did not. Because bilingual education itself is a fairly new phenomenon, especially on
the large scale on which it is being seen now in the
United States, it is difficult for scientists and statisticians to successfully weigh its benefits and risks.
There are various knowable and unknowable, quantifiable and unquantifiable, discovered and undiscovered factors that influence how each individual
Spanish speaker responds to different types of bilingual education programs. More research needs to
be done into exactly how various factors impact students’ reactions to these types of programs before
any substantial conclusions can be drawn.
Bilingual education also creates controversy because it, like education in general, has become a
Bilingual Education | 27
heavily politicized and polarizing issue, with some
political factions demeaning other languages or
claiming that clinging to old cultural ideas is detrimental to fully experiencing America. When choosing between or adapting to new education programs,
it is important for immigrants and their children to
consider the issues behind the various political ideas
surrounding bilingual education today; this involves both determining how these ideas may affect
one’s experience with bilingual education and how
they inflate certain issues within bilingual education systems and are largely constructed for reasons
other than purely for the perfection of the immigrant experience in America. Acknowledging some
of these political issues is important, but it is more
important for immigrant families to decide how bilingual education may affect them personally.
The Social Impact of Bilingual Education
Although bilingual education is a relatively new
phenomenon, it is a major part of the cultural landscape into which children of immigrants and new
immigrants will have to integrate. Although there
may be some potential drawbacks, there are also
many ways in which it helps educate and empower
Hispanics to become leaders within their schools
and communities. Beyond its actual direct effects,
the debate over bilingual education and the focus
on its successful implementation within the education world are drawing attention to the unique cultural backgrounds Hispanics bring to the table and
the difficult challenges facing them and other immigrants in the United States today.
Although bilingual education focuses on language, culture is also being taught, and one’s culture and language influence the ways in which one
learns. Attention to the ideas of transference of literacy and other skill sets across linguistic and cultural
divides is something that is important to every Spanish speaker in the United States today, as well as to
every English speaker looking to study or work with
Spanish-speaking groups and individuals. Bilingual
education is often a huge part of learning about and
testing these ideas. Bilingual education is one way
that many Spanish speakers and other immigrants
become introduced to American culture and language. Although it is not the only path, it is one that
some immigrant families may consider, and one
28 | Boricua College
that seems to be growing in both prominence and
commonality. This growth and the research it inspires will allow its effectiveness to be more accurately measured, although the success of any type
of educational program is often just as dependent
upon individual students, smaller-scale community
standards, the effectiveness of individual teachers,
and many other factors that cannot be generalized.
David Gonzalez
See Also: Assimilation and Acculturation; Biculturalism
and Bilingualism; Education for Leadership.
Further Readings
Garcia, O. Bilingual Education in the 21st Century.
Malden, MA: John Wiley & Sons, 2009.
Kloss, Heinz. The American Bilingual Tradition. Boston:
Newbury House, 1977.
National Association for Bilingual Education. Politics
of Bilingual Education. Wheaton, MD: National
Association of Bilingual Education, 2014.
Boricua College
Boricua College was founded in 1973 with a mission to utilize educational opportunities to remedy
economic and social inequalities. In particular, Boricua College has sought to train human services
professionals to aid bilingual communities in New
York. Since its founding, Boricua College has offered bilingual education and multicultural instruction, with a special focus on Puerto Rican, other
Latino/a, and Caribbean literature, history, culture,
politics, economics, and art. Boricua College has
even offered programs of study focusing on Latino/a
studies curricula, including a bachelor of arts in Inter-American Studies and a master of arts in Latin
American and Caribbean Studies.
Early History
Boricua College was founded by Antonia Pantoja. A
dynamic activist, educator, and community organizer, Pantoja was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico,
on September 13, 1922. She received training in education, sociology, and social work at the University
Ospino, H. “Hispanic Ministry in Catholic Parishes: A
Summary Report of Findings From the National Study
of Catholic Parishes with Hispanic Ministry.” Boston:
Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, July
2014. http://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/schools/
stm/pdf/2014/BC-NatlStudyParishesHM-Rep1
-201405.pdf (Accessed November 2014).
Perl, P., Gray, M. M., and J. Z. Greely. “How Many
Hispanics Are Catholic? A Review of Survey Data and
Methodology.” Washington, DC: Center for Applied
Research in the Apostolate, Georgetown University,
September 2004.
Chicano Movement
The Chicano movement, whose name is sometimes expanded to the Chicano civil rights movement, was an important part of Hispanic American
history. Although it was an extension of the Mexican American civil rights movement, which began
in the 1940s and continued through the 1960s and
1970s and concerned itself particularly with Mexican American issues, the movement has had a lasting impact on the lives of all Hispanic Americans
and all non-Hispanic Americans who interact with
Hispanics.
The Chicano movement was distinct from the
rest of the Mexican American civil rights movement in that it particularly concerned itself with
Mexican American youth, especially young people who had been born in the United States to Mexican immigrant parents and therefore were U.S. citizens, although they were not accepted everywhere
in American culture, experienced a great deal of discrimination and often felt at least one degree further removed from Mexican cultural heritage than
their parents. The Chicano movement is also known
simply as El Movimiento, and it was an important
part of the establishment of Mexican American culture in particular and Hispanic American culture in
general, in that it hybridized elements of American
and Mexican culture.
Origins of the Chicano Movement
The word Chicano was originally used as a derogatory term by non-Hispanic Americans to describe
3 8 | Chicano Movement
Mexican Americans, in particular Mexican Americans who were the first-generation children of Mexican American immigrants. Two important factors
in the origins of the Chicano movement are the discrimination by members of the mainstream American culture and the partial separation from Mexican national culture created by being not only an
immigrant but also a descendant of a land, culture, and people that one has never actually seen.
These Chicanos felt disconnected both from their
home culture and from American culture, which
made their extension of the Mexican American
civil rights movement much more volatile yet also
highly effective.
Eventually, the meaning of Chicano changed; although it has remained much the same, the connotation turned a complete 180 degrees, so that those
who had formerly been abused with the term made
it their own and took it on in order to create their
own unique identity and culture that did not depend fully on Mexican or American culture but
on a new and unique combination of the two. It is
this new and unique combination that gave rise to
the distinctiveness and longevity of Chicano culture, many elements of which still persist in Mexican American culture today and, to a lesser extent,
in the Hispanic American community at large.
The term Chicano is now the preferred term of
identification for many Mexican Americans and is
considered quite easily interchangeable with Mexican
American in the academic and policy worlds. This
is just one example of a significant change that the
Chicano movement worked on American culture. It
is also representative of the more overarching, profound change that the Chicano movement wrought,
in that it helped bring about a major shift in attitudes
toward Hispanic Americans in general and Mexican
Americans in particular at that time in history.
Throughout much of American history, minorities, both cultural and racial, have been oppressed
by the cultural mainstream (as has happened in
many other nations and cultures throughout history). While many facets of this oppression are
still in existence today, there was a major shift in
the degree to which oppression happened and affected the lives of individuals from cultural or racial minorities in the 1960s and early 1970s; the Chicano movement was a natural extension of both the
overarching counterculture movement that pervaded the 1960s and the two decades of Mexican
American civil rights activism that had come before.
Mexican Americans and other Americans of
Hispanic descent were often discriminated against
both institutionally and by individuals and informal groups; some of these forms of discrimination
and oppression were not dissimilar from those experienced by African Americans in the years between
slavery and the major successes of the African American civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s,
although in most cases the institutional discrimination was not as severe across the board for Hispanics
as for African Americans. The discrimination from
individuals and informal groups, however, was extremely severe, ranging from racist taunting to actual physical violence. More harmful than these incidents, though, was the attitude toward Mexican
Americans and other Hispanic Americans in American mainstream culture. Although Mexican Americans and other Hispanic Americans had been part of
the makeup of American culture in a significant proportion for about 100 years, they were still treated as
outsiders and as inferior.
This general treatment came to a head when Mexican American soldiers started returning home from
World War II. After serving their country in some of
the most unimaginably brutal conditions and defeating enemies across the globe who had seemed
insurmountable, these soldiers assumed they would
be returning to a land that accepted them as individuals and as Mexicans; but this was not the case
in the majority of situations. In fact, discrimination
against Mexicans and other Hispanics in some areas
was so bad that soldiers who had been killed fighting for the United States were not given military funerals. The pain of this was tremendous for families who had already experienced the pain of losing
a family member.
Mexican Americans, other Hispanic Americans,
and other oppressed groups in the decades before
World War II had protected themselves from some
of the worst instances of discrimination against their
people by forming and joining organized groups designed to fight discrimination and give their people a voice. One such group is the League of United
Latin American Citizens, which was formed in 1929
and is still active. Mexican American veterans also
formed a group called the American G.I. Forum, at
first specifically created to take care of the needs of
Mexican American soldiers who had fought in the
war and returned home to alienation and discrimination. It became a catalyst for a much larger and
more general movement, the Mexican American
civil rights movement, of which the Chicano movement was a large part.
The American G.I. Forum became politically active, protesting the denial of military funeral services to people like Felix Z. Longoria, a soldier killed
in World War II whose town in Texas refused to
give him a service. As time went on, the American
G.I. Forum became more active in nonmilitary issues, such as running “get out the vote” campaigns
in Hispanic American, particularly Mexican American, communities. Hispanic Americans at the time
were discriminated against during the political process, with poll taxes being used as a method of disenfranchisement targeted at racial and national minorities, including Hispanic Americans, African
Americans, Asian Americans, and even some Caucasian immigrant groups, such as eastern Europeans, who had not fully adapted to the American
cultural mainstream and, as a result, were often economically disadvantaged.
Although the American G.I. Forum could not
get the poll tax repealed, it was successful in getting members of Hispanic American communities to vote despite the poll tax, which made them
more powerful as a community that was part of
American democracy. The American G.I. Forum
and other Mexican American and Hispanic American civil rights groups also won legal victories
during the 1940s and 1950s, including a 1947 decision that made it illegal to segregate Latin American schoolchildren from “white” schoolchildren,
and the general civil rights victory of Hernandez v.
Texas in 1954, which deemed that historically subjugated groups, including Hispanic Americans and
other racial, ethnic, national, and cultural minorities, were specifically entitled to equal protection
under the law by the Fourteenth Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution. It was against the backdrop of
civil rights successes, continuing racist and nationalistic attitudes from Americans, and disconnection
from Mexican culture that the Chicano movement
took off.
Chicano Movement | 39
Youth and Other Political Activism
During the Chicano Movement
During the 1960s and 1970s, student activism in
public schools and in universities was at an alltime high in American history; and the culture of
societal upheaval and changing cultural attitudes
caused students to think critically about what they
were learning, such as views of American history
that consciously or unconsciously taught the inferiority of Mexicans and justified expansionism during the Mexican–American War, during which the
vast majority of the troubles that the Chicano movement sought to correct really began.
As such, student activism was a major part of the
Chicano movement, with many Chicanos and Chicanas (the female form of Chicano, meaning a girl
or woman child of Mexican American immigrants
or migrant laborers) staging walkouts and protests
in school; a great deal of this activity was centered
in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area, which
had a very vibrant Mexican American subculture and
a high Mexican American population. This led to
clashes with the Los Angeles Police Department and
other groups. It also helped bring about a change in
the way people think about education today, particularly social history education, and was directly influential on and influenced by other student activist
events at the time and since. These include various
anti–Vietnam War student movements that coincided with the Chicano movement to a large degree.
California was also the center of much of the more
strictly political and less student-influenced activity
of the Chicano movement, which was less of a break
from and more of a natural extension of the overarching Mexican American civil rights movement.
Groups such as the CASA HGT (Centro de Acción
Social Autónoma) grew from the Hermandad General de Trabajadores (HGT), which was founded in
1951 by Bert Corona; the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA), founded in Fresno in 1959;
and the Community Service Organization (CSO), a
voting rights group in Los Angeles, formed throughout the Chicano movement, encouraging various
types of activism, ranging from voting campaigns
aimed at getting Hispanic Americans legitimate representation in Congress and other political bodies to
more radical protests and marches such as those favored by student activists during this time period.
40 | Chicano Movement
One other major political action of the Chicano
movement was the student-led event known as the
Chicano Moratorium, or the Chicano Moratorium
Against the Vietnam War. This event was also centered in Los Angeles, although it became a nationwide phenomenon. What distinguished the Chicano Moratorium from other anti-Vietnam protests
was its focus particularly on Hispanic Americans affected by the war: Hispanic Americans died in disproportionate numbers in Vietnam and also faced
a great amount of discrimination when returning
home, making them feel as if they had even less to
fight for than white soldiers—they were fighting on
behalf of a democracy in which they could not in reality fully participate. Although the moratorium did
not get fully started until 1970 and did not continue
until the end of the war, it was a force to be reckoned with, and it inspired many of its members to
become politically active in other anti-Vietnam and
pro–Hispanic American social and political causes.
The Chicano movement also concerned itself
with a wide variety of other political and social
causes, ranging from land restoration to the descendants of Native Americans to increasing rights and
opportunities for the poor (focusing on Hispanic
Americans but also including African Americans,
Asian Americans, and poor whites) to exposing the
realities of inner-city life.
Chicano Movement Leaders,
Writers, and Thinkers
The ideals of the Chicano movement were embodied in many leaders and groups, many of which are
still serving similar purposes. These include the
Comision Femenil Mexicana Nacional, a Chicana
feminist group designed to focus on issues that affected Mexican American women, and other important student and youth activism groups such as
MAYA (the Mexican American Youth Association).
More radical groups were also formed, such as the
Brown Berets, a much more militant and nationalist youth group.
Many important political leaders ran for public
office during the Chicano movement, such as Edward B. Roybal, who won a seat on the Los Angeles City Council in 1949, defeating the white incumbent to become the first Mexican American to serve
on the council since 1886. He did so with the help of
the Chicano movement, and by doing so, began the
process of breaking down racial and ethnic barriers
that prevented minorities from achieving true success in American politics.
Other notable Mexican American leaders at the
time of the Chicano movement included Hector
P. Garcia, founder and leader of the American G.I.
Forum; the poet Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales; and
famed political activist César Chávez, who focused
on issues of civil rights for Hispanic American farmworkers and laborers and who is still regarded today
as one of the most important and influential American political activists. Perhaps the most notable of
all the institutions that were created during the Chicano movement was MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which
could not have come about without the backdrop of
the Chicano movement.
Foci of the Chicano Movement
The Chicano movement had a wide variety of foci
but was concerned not only with political issues
but also with negative ethnic stereotyping of Mexican Americans in the media and in the mind of the
American public. It also dealt with the identity crisis
faced by Mexican youth in the United States. Many
of the issues involved with that crisis arose not only
from discrimination by other Americans but also
by a disconnect from Mexican culture experienced
by these young people. Mexican Americans, or Chicanos, expressed this not only in political activism
and dissent but also through artwork. The Chicano
movement gave rise to a new form of Mexican nationalism and respect for Mexican culture. The Chicano movement also influenced and was influenced
by various other forms of activism going on at the
time, ranging from African American civil rights activism to protests against foreign aggression to the
women’s liberation movement. The 1960s and 1970s
are remembered as a time of turbulence and change
that helped a great deal to shape life today, and it is
important to note that Hispanic Americans were a
large part of that cultural climate.
The Art of the Chicano Movement
The Chicano movement was not just about political causes; in fact, political causes were secondary
to those dealing with ethnic pride and identity and
with legitimizing Mexican American culture. Because this movement was essentially about creating a culture, art and literature were a huge part of
the Chicano movement. Chicanos and Chicanas felt
alienated from and rejected by both American culture, which discriminated against them, and Mexican culture, which did not consider them truly
Mexican.
The art of the Chicano movement is defined not by
any singular aesthetic conventions but by a particular
subject matter, focusing on the realities of the lives of
Mexican Americans and a blend of feelings of alienation and Mexican nationalism. Many of the symbols and motifs associated with Mexican nationalism
today, particularly those that are derived from or representative of Aztec culture, came out of the Chicano
movement. Chicano art and literature were also influenced by Mexican and Chicano history, with many
folk heroes in Mexican history and myth and within
the Chicano movement held up as paradigms and as
subjects of art. This also involved a return to such influential forms as Mexican mural painting.
The effect of the proliferation of Mexican American art during the Chicano movement and the years
that followed it has been profound, in that it has
not only increased and made easier cross-cultural
communication but it also has legitimized Mexican American and, through it, all Hispanic American art in the eyes of mainstream American culture. This has opened the floodgates for thousands
of new points of cultural exchange to be created,
ranging from Latin-influenced pop and rap on the
radio today to the great works of Latin American
magical realism that have gained immense popularity and become one of the most important parts of
the canon of world literature.
Conclusion
Although the Chicano movement concerned only
one particular group of Hispanic Americans and
took place in what many Hispanic Americans and
others today see as a distant past, this movement
is important for several reasons. First, it demonstrates to Hispanic Americans and other minority groups that their voices can be heard, and that
the obstacles they face are surmountable, especially
when communities and cultures band together. Second, it can serve as an inspiration and example for
Chicano Movement | 41
Mexican Americans and members of the larger Hispanic American community in general (as well as
members of the American cultural mainstream
who are interested in advancing the cause of Hispanic American rights) who wish to create similar
changes. Although the Chicano movement helped
remove some of the worst instances of racial and national discrimination, there is still discrimination
leveled against Hispanic Americans by both institutions and individuals.
The Chicano movement also did something
that greatly assists Hispanic American culture and
worldwide culture in general in that it legitimized
Mexican American art and literature. Since the Chicano movement and the other movements of the
1960s and 1970s, there has been progress in terms
of the cultural mainstream accepting works created
by and/or for Hispanic Americans as legitimately
worthy of preservation. There is also a new emphasis on translation of and scholarship related to Latin
American works of literature and art.
However, one factor that limits the outstanding
cultural and social effects of the Chicano movement
is the fact that education about it is limited. This is
something that can and should be addressed at all
levels of culture, from public policy all the way down
to individuals in the smallest communities. It can be
improved at higher levels through community activism that lets educators know about the importance of
spreading awareness of the Chicano movement. Simply being aware of the Chicano movement lends it
more cultural capital and social power, which in turn
can lead to ever-increasing opportunities for Hispanic Americans.
David Gonzalez
See Also: Cultural Diversity and Leadership; Hispanics
in the Military; Mexican Americans; Political Leadership;
Stereotypes About Hispanic Americans.
Further Readings
League of United Latin American Citizens. “LULAC
History—All for One and One for All.” http://lulac.
org/about/history (Accessed February 2015).
Oyez.org. “Hernandez v. Texas.” Chicago-Kent College of
Law. http://www.oyez.org/cases/1950-1959/1953_406
(Accessed November 2014).
42 | Chicano Studies Research Center (UCLA)
Stern, Alexandra M. “Sterilized in the Name of Public
Health—Race, Immigration, and Reproductive
Control in Modern California.” American Journal of
Public Health, v.95/7 (July 2005).
Chicano Studies Research
Center (UCLA)
The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC) was established in 1969 to foster multidisciplinary research activities as a component of the land grant
mission that was directed by the University of California. The mission of the CSRC stipulates that University of California research must cater to the needs
of the state as well as maintain its existence in the
local community. The CSRC aims to instill balance
across various disciplines as well as applied research
in methods that can influence traditional academic
departments and disciplines. Based on these efforts,
the CSRC thus represents and upholds the institutional priorities of UCLA, which include academic
excellence and engagement in civic activities, as well
as diversity. The CSRC thus remains steadfast in its
commitment to research, thus imparting a significant difference to society.
The CSRC has played a major role in the establishment of scholarly research activities that are focused on the Chicano-Latino population, which is
currently recognized as the largest minority group
in the United States. This group is also the fastestgrowing population in the United States. The CSRC
is recognized as one of the four major study centers specializing in ethnic research; it is regarded
as a component of the Institute of American Cultures (IAC), which directly provides information
to the office of the chancellor of UCLA. The center is also recognized as a founding member of the
national Inter-University Program for Latino Research (IUPLR), established in 1983, which is a consortium of various Latino research centers that is
currently composed of 25 institutions across the
United States.
The CSRC was established to impart a systemic effect on the campus as well as on the area of
The primary difference is that it does not require
a bond or any other conditions of release. The illegal alien can be provided with a copy of the document, with a copy also provided to the court for record-keeping purposes. The individual may receive
the document by mail at the address they have on
file. If they fail to appear, they will automatically be
considered a fugitive of the state. In certain cases,
ICE participates in follow-up investigations to locate
individuals as well as to arrest them.
The judge may proceed to hear the case in absentia. This enables the court to order the removal of the
alien even if he or she never shows up for the hearing. Of course, the issue in such circumstances would
be to actually find the aliens to deport them. Deporting an individual who does not want to be deported
can be a difficult and time-consuming task, and in
a country filled with more than 35 million legal and
illegal aliens, an individual can easily disappear for
years without being found by authorities.
David Gonzalez
See Also: Cuban Adjustment Act; Immigration Law;
Immigration Rights.
Further Readings
LeoGrande, William M., and Peter Kornbluh. Back
Channel to Cuba: The Hidden History of Negotiations
Between Washington and Havana. Chapel Hill:
University of North Carolina Press, 2014.
Miller, Debra A. Illegal Immigration. Detroit, MI:
Greenhaven Press, 2007.
Moloney, Deirdre M. National Insecurities: Immigrants
and U.S. Deportation Policy Since 1882. Chapel Hill:
University of North Carolina Press, 2012.
Diario–La Prensa (New York)
El Diario–La Prensa in New York, established in
1913, is the oldest U.S. Spanish-language newspaper directed toward a Hispanic readership. Today, El
Diario is produced under the umbrella of impreMedia, a leading news and information company in the
United States that targets a Hispanic audience. After
a 100-year-long history, El Diario reaches over 1.3
million readers with a daily circulation of 183,925 in
print and digital formats. It is the number-one newspaper in New York, the second-largest Hispanic market in the United States, with 4.9 million Hispanic
Americans living in the metropolitan area.
El Diario is a daily newspaper, covering local and
international news, Latino issues, immigration,
sports, entertainment, life and style, health, automobiles, money, jobs, family topics, and opinion
sections. Of its readers, 60 percent are men, 40 percent are women, and 81 percent were born outside
the United States. The newspaper has a wide cultural readership base, with 23 percent of its readers
being Dominican, 21 percent Mexican, 17 percent
South American, 15 percent Puerto Rican, 9 percent
Central American, and 3 percent Cuban. The online
newspaper is read primarily by men, and only one
in four readers is a woman. The paper also participates in and organizes events within the Hispanic
community.
The general manager of El Diario is Hernando
Ruiz-Jimenez, who is the executive vice president
and general manager for the East Coast operations
of impreMedia, managing La Raza in Chicago and
La Prensa in Orlando, Florida. El Diario has 80 inhouse content producers and a total network of over
120 contributors and columnists.
The newspaper is historically known for its liberal perspective and aggressive journalism. Despite
its large size and reach, there have been concerns
regarding its current success and future due to decreasing readership, internal issues with staff and
labor outsourcing, and its purchase by a more conservative Argentinian publishing house.
History
El Diario–La Prensa New York is the result of a
merger between two Hispanic newspapers from New
York. The first was founded in 1913 as La Prensa
(The Press) at a small publication in Lower Manhattan called La Prensa, owned by a Spaniard, Rafael Viera. A Dominican doctor, Porfirio Dominicci,
then founded El Diario (The Daily) in the 1950s. O.
Roy Chalk, founder of Trans Caribbean Airways,
purchased El Diario from its original owner in 1961
and then bought La Prensa in 1963, creating El Diario–La Prensa, New York’s largest Spanish-language newspaper to date. But those were not all the
Diario–La Prensa (New York) | 67
mergers and owners that El Diario–La Prensa would
go through. In the 1980s, the newspaper was sold by
Chalk to Gannett, which in turn sold it to El Diario Associates. In 1995, El Diario Associates merged
with the Entravision Latin Communications Group,
which was bought in 2003 by Canadian John Paton,
head of the MediaNews Group. In 2004, he bought
La Opinión (The Opinion), a Los Angeles daily newspaper and the largest Spanish-language newspaper
in the United States, and merged it with El Diario–
La Prensa. The merger created impreMedia, the largest Spanish-language publisher in the United States.
In 2012, US Hispanic Media, a subsidiary of Argentina’s S.A. La Nación (The Nation) bought a majority
stake of impreMedia.
Notable journalists include the deceased former editor in chief Manuel de Dios Unanue, a Cuban-born journalist who was known for his aggressive writing about drug trafficking and cartels. He
was murdered by the drug cartels in March 1992.
He hired Rossana Rosada, the newspaper’s first female city editor, publisher, and later chief executive
officer (CEO), who went on to win an Emmy, a Star
award from the New York Women’s Agenda, and a
Ruben Salazar Award for Communications from
the National Council of La Raza.
Awards and Events
El Diario–La Prensa has won numerous awards for
outstanding journalism and investigative practices.
In 2005, it was awarded the José Martí Award as
the best Spanish-language newspaper in the United
States by the National Association of Hispanic Publishers. In 2012, the newspaper won the Golden José
Martí award for Outstanding Design—Newspaper,
Tabloid Format; Silver for Outstanding Hispanic
Daily and Outstanding Hispanic Success Story; and
Bronze for Outstanding Special Section, Outstanding Hispanic Success Story, and Outstanding Editorial Video.
El Diario–La Prensa organizes annual award ceremonies highlighting exceptional people in the
Hispanic American community. Two of the most
important events are the “El” Awards and the Mujeres Destacadas (Exceptional Women) Awards.
The Mujeres Destacadas Award honors exceptional
women nominated in five categories: health, education, community, art and culture, and business and
6 8 | Diario–La Prensa (New York)
New York is home to four of the 10 largest newspapers in the
United States. El Diario La Prensa is the city’s largest Spanishlanguage daily and the oldest in the nation. Many New Yorkers
navigate the city through mass transit and use this time to read
their favorite newspaper. (Wikimedia Commons/Travis Ruse)
technology; the event features an annual gala for top
nominees. The “El” Award is the male equivalent of
Mujeres Destacadas and is presented to 25 outstanding Hispanic American men yearly.
impreMedia
Created in 2004 by John Paton, through the merger
of El Diario–La Prensa and La Opinión, 90 percent
of the stake in impreMedia is owned by Argentina’s
S.A. La Nación. ImpreMedia’s CEO is Monica Lozano, named Media Executive of the Year by the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies. The agency
is a leader in Hispanic media in the United States, including print newspapers and magazines, as well as
online publications, video, audio, and social media.
ImpreMedia has access to 15 Hispanic markets in the
United States, and 26 percent of all Hispanic Americans use at least one impreMedia product. Some of
the top products produced by impreMedia include
El Diario–La Prensa in New York, La Opinión in Los
Angeles, La Raza in Chicago, El Mensajero (The Messenger) in San Francisco, Rumbo in Texas, La Prensa
in Florida, Contigo (With You) in Los Angeles, and
Hoy (Today) in New York.
Anna Vichnevetskaia
See Also: La Opinión (Los Angeles Daily); Newspapers;
Radio.
Further Readings
impreMedia. “2013, Media Kit.” www.impremedia.net
(Accessed November 2014)
impreMedia, “2014, El Diario Media Kit.” www
.impremedia.net (Accessed November 2014).
The Gabarron. “El Diario La Prensa.” http://gabarron.org
/Awards/Awards/Awards2013/Winners/Lifetime
Achievement/Synopsis/tabid/2386/Default
.aspx (Accessed November 2014).
Dominican Americans
Dominican Americans are Americans whose origin
is in the Dominican Republic. They are the fourthlargest Hispanic American group in the United
States. It is believed that if undocumented Dominicans were included in the official count, they would
exceed Cuban Americans, who hold the third spot.
However, the major migration happened in the 19th
and 20th centuries. It is estimated that there were
around 1.4 million Dominican Americans in the
United States in 2010. They have been immigrating
in small numbers into the United States since the
20th century, though there was a sizable migration
during the oppressive reign of Generalissimo Rafael Trujillo in 1961. He restricted emigration while
he was in power and many Dominicans were unable
to leave the country. Upon his assassination in 1961,
thousands fled to Puerto Rico and the United States.
Dominicans continue to leave their homeland because of bad economic conditions, political turmoil,
and human rights abuses.
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island
of Hispaniola, part of the chain of islands called the
Great Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. The nation,
which claimed its independence in 1924, occupies
about five-eighths of the island, which it shares with
Haiti. The Dominican Republic occupies around
18,700 square miles of land space, making it the second-largest Caribbean nation; Cuba is the largest. It
has a population of around 10 million, with some 1
million of its inhabitants living in the nation’s capital of Santo Domingo.
In 1492, Christopher Columbus, a Spanish explorer, landed on the island. It became the first European settlement in the New World. The island
was governed by Haitian, French, and Spanish rulers until its independence in 1821. In the Dominican War of Independence in 1844, the Dominicans
won their independence and experienced internal troubles and brief periods of Spanish rule for
70 years. From 1916 to 1924, the island was occupied by the United States. After the departure of
the United States in 1924, the country experienced
peaceful times under the rule of Horacio Vásquez
Lajara. This lasted until 1930, when a dictator by
the name of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina took
over and ruled for the next 31 years. A civil war
broke loose in 1965, which was ended by the United
States. Joaquín Balaguer ruled after the civil war
from 1966 to 1978. This was an authoritarian rule.
The Dominican Republic has been moving toward
a representative democracy.
Immigration
Some emigrants apply for visas at the American consulate in Santo Domingo, which is the capital city of
the Dominican Republic. They form long lines on a
daily basis to apply for these visas. They may have
to return several times because the majority of the
line is turned away before they are able to get inside the consulate. Legal emigrants already living
in the United States can sponsor a family member.
This is the method that most Dominicans use. They
start with one emigrant and they sponsor a family
member in a chain consisting of usually around 80
other emigrants. The Dominican government does
not oppose the emigration because it helps relieve
some stress on the economy. There are two main
ways emigration helps the economy in the Dominican Republic. The first is that it decreases the population. The second is that many Dominican Americans send money back home to the families still
in the Dominican Republic. They receive approximately $3 million every year from remittances sent
by Dominican Americans.
Acquiring a visa without a sponsor takes a long
time and may never be granted at all. It is not easy
to get a visa because the United States does not want
to grant Dominicans “refugee” status. This is because the United States supports the Dominican
government and does not want to allow Dominicans
to claim they are seeking asylum. Most Dominicans, in response, enter the United States illegally.
Dominican Americans | 69
Andrés Ruzo is a Peruvian American businessman who has been particularly prolific during his
tenure as an entrepreneur. After immigrating to the
United States from Peru in 1980, Ruzo quickly attained a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Texas
A&M University and shortly thereafter initiated
his entrepreneurial pursuits. Within 10 years of his
graduation, he had became partial owner of the oil
company Sabwor International, Inc., costarted the
brokering company Southern Brokers International,
Inc., and alone created the Sinpar Trading, Inc. and
Houston International Real Estate Exchange companies. This would be an industrious set of achievements for any entrepreneur, but Ruzo has continued
his impressive pace. In the early 1990s, he founded
both the telephone technology company Link
America and the Internet service provider Americas Exchange, Inc. Furthermore, Ruzo started ITS
InfoCom, LLC in 2008 as way to service the exponentially growing demand for IT infrastructure services in the American and global markets. By all
accounts, Ruzo has had an industrious entrepreneurial career, and it is apparent that this career will
only continue to strengthen in the years ahead.
Arte Moreno is a Mexican American entrepreneur who has experienced resounding success in his
business ventures. Born in Tucson, Arizona, in 1946,
Moreno attended public schools in the city until his
graduation from high school. After his graduation,
Moreno was drafted into the U.S. military and deployed in military operations in Vietnam. Upon his
return to the United States, Moreno attended the
University of Arizona and received his bachelor’s degree in marketing. Within only a few years of his college graduation, Moreno was responsible for selling
the billboard company Outdoor Systems to the advertising company Infinity Broadcasting for nearly
$9 billion worth of stock. This move brought Moreno
a great deal of wealth and allowed him to pursue his
entrepreneurial endeavors in an industry he was passionate about: professional baseball. After unsuccessful attempts to buy a majority ownership in the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001, Moreno was able to buy
the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim from the Walt
Disney Company in 2003. Owning the Anaheim Angels has proven to be a lucrative venture for Moreno,
and his savvy business maneuvers have made him one
of America’s most successful Latino entrepreneurs.
8 8 | Ethnic-Specific Products
Legacy
Hispanic entrepreneurial business ventures collectively generated more than $486 billion in 2013
alone. In light of the fact that Hispanic Americans
have been opening businesses in recent years at a
rate that is currently double the American average,
the entrepreneurial success of the Latino community is set to further blossom in the decades ahead.
And as Hispanic Americans are the fastest-growing
segment of the U.S. population, it is impossible to
deny that they will play an increasingly critical role
in the nation’s economy for the foreseeable future.
William M. Peaster
See Also: Hispanic Association on Corporate
Responsibility; Hispanic-Owned Businesses; United
States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Further Readings
Geoscape. “Hispanic Businesses and Entrepreneurs Drive
Growth in the New Economy.” http://www.geoscape
.com/HBR/pdf/Geoscape_HispanicBusinessOwners_
FINAL.pdf (Accessed November 2014).
Newell, S. E., et al. “Hispanic American Entrepreneurs.”
College of Business Eastern Michigan University
(September 2008).
Starr, A. “Latino Immigrant Entrepreneurs: How to
Capitalize on Their Economical Potential.” New York:
Council on Foreign Relations, July 2012.
Ethnic-Specific Products
The United States has about 53 million people
who identify themselves as Hispanic. These people
come from many different backgrounds and originate from many different countries and ethnicities; they are not a single race or from a single place
as many people often think. There is no one specific way that a Hispanic person looks. Many have
dark skin, brown eyes, and brown hair, but others
are light-skinned with blonde hair and blue or green
eyes. In the United States, Hispanic people are commonly from El Salvador, Mexico, Cuba, or Puerto
Rico. What all of these people have in common is
their culture and their language.
Because they do have strong ties, they are often
interested in the same or very similar things, especially when language is involved. The Spanish language ties them together, and in some cases people speak only Spanish at home but speak English
when out in public. Recent immigrants, older people, and those who did not attend public school in
the United States may not speak any English at all
but only Spanish. This can make it hard for them to
assimilate into American culture, and from a marketing standpoint, they can be a unique challenge.
With so many millions of Hispanics in the country, manufacturers in the United States are discovering in increasing numbers that it is worth catering
to the needs and desires of the Hispanic community.
This benefits both the community and the manufacturer, so such efforts are being seen in increasing
numbers throughout the United States.
Educating American Companies
Hispanics are reported to be the largest group of immigrants in U.S. history to have been able to maintain their unique cultural identity rather than assimilating and becoming part of the great American
“melting pot” as so many groups have done in the
past. They assert their identity and their culture in
many ways. One such way is by buying products
they feel are relevant or that support their culture
rather than ignoring or diminishing it.
Many American companies are quite aware of the
large and ever-growing number of Hispanics in the
United States, but not all of them have yet figured
out how to tap into this market. Companies often
try to acquire Hispanic customers by targeting them
with very specific marketing efforts, but they do not
always understand the problem when these efforts
do not pay off and may even seem to backfire.
Recent studies have shown that the Hispanic
community as a whole is tired of being targeted for
their culture simply in an effort to part them from
their money. The trend now is for the Hispanic audience to look to buy only products that empower
and support their cultural relevancy and their community in general. Marketing campaigns that attempt to appeal to Hispanics but do not provide this
type of foundation are not likely to succeed in today’s more aware Hispanic market. If the people
in the community feel that they are being targeted
as Hispanics simply for the money, they are likely
to turn their backs on the company’s products and
to encourage their friends and coworkers to do the
same. The result can be disaster for an expensive
marketing campaign.
To be successful, a marketing campaign needs to
gain the trust of the Hispanic consumer. This happens by first getting the buyers’ attention and then
by being willing to consider input from the buyers
when working to sell products in that marketplace.
Companies must be willing to really listen to feedback from their target audience and to work at making sure that their products and their advertising are
giving the consumers what they want. People are
not going to buy a product simply because they are
told that they should; they must have genuine confidence in it and believe that it is right for them. Trust
is an essential component of selling anything to the
Hispanic market, and all ethnic-specific products
must gain that trust or remain unsold.
Why U.S. Companies Are Interested
At first glance, it may seem like a lot of work to develop new markets and to invest a lot of time and
money into ethnic products—until one realizes just
how big this market actually is. Saying that there are
approximately 53 million Hispanics in the United
States gives some idea of the size of the community,
but it does not say much about their buying power.
Recent research makes the reasons for advertising
and selling to Hispanics in the United States easier
to understand from the seller’s point of view. Simply
put, if the U.S. Hispanic population were suddenly
turned into its own country, it would be in the top
20 economies in the entire world. That represents a
lot of buying power and helps to explain just what it
is that American companies hope to get from their
ethnic customers.
Unfortunately, one of the problems U.S. companies have had is their failure to adequately recognize and reach the Hispanic community. This is
unfortunate for all involved, and it does not need
to be that way. Many companies who want to target Hispanics make a special effort to do so each
fall during Hispanic Heritage Month. At this time,
many companies make an extra effort to reach
this market and often do so successfully, yet when
the month is over, they return to their old, tired
Ethnic-Specific Products | 89
methods that are cheaper but do not yield results.
If they made the effort to tap into this market yearround, they could expect sales of ethnic products to
increase. Marketers looking for a strategic opportunity to step into Hispanic sales could see significant
return on their investment over time. Those looking for something that will provide them with maximum results in the short term are going to be disappointed in the end.
Some companies have begun to move in the right
direction to accomplish such goals; these are owned
by both Hispanics and non-Hispanics. They have
had notable success in several areas, especially food
products, both for home and restaurant, along with
toys and entertainment. The trends are for such successes to increase as long as the manufacturers keep
in mind that it is a matter of trust and dialogue with
these consumers rather than pushy sales and simply telling customers what they should buy. Manufacturers who view ethnic sales as more of a partnership than a dictatorship will end up in a positive
sales position.
Hispanic Foods
Even the average consumer is likely aware of the
increase in Hispanic food products in the general
marketplace. A walk through any large grocery store
will almost always lead to at least one aisle of Hispanic foods. The variety of foods available typically
depends on the store’s location, but even in areas
with small Hispanic populations, it is easy to find a
relatively large number of such foods.
Tortillas abound and come in a staggeringly
wide variety of types and sizes. In addition to traditional corn and flour tortillas, options have gone
far beyond the traditional and include green tortillas made with spinach, red ones made with tomato
sauce, low carbohydrate, low calorie, high fiber, and
many more options. These cater not only to Hispanics wishing to enjoy a traditional food but also to
mainstream buyers, and they are purchased by people of every ethnicity.
Other Hispanic food products that are commonly
available include taco shells; taco kits that contain
everything except the meat and lettuce; packets of
seasonings for enchiladas, tacos, and fajitas; bottles
of sauces; cans of refried beans; and canned or dry
peppers and other spices. In the frozen food aisle
90 | Ethnic-Specific Products
are ready-made meals featuring tacos, enchiladas,
burritos, and tamales, often made by such mainstream companies as Swanson. It is clear that Hispanic foods are popular with far more than just the
Hispanic population. This market can be expected
to continue to expand in the future as long as manufacturers are true to these ethnic foods and offer the
kinds of foods that are important within the Hispanic community. Trying to cut corners and reduce
variety to save money is likely to end up costing in
terms of consumer trust and purchases.
Hispanic Restaurants and Specialty Foods
Hispanic restaurants abound in most of the United
States, though they are decidedly more prevalent in
areas that have large Hispanic populations. They
range in type from those that feature very Americanized versions of popular Hispanic foods to those
that offer authentic dishes cooked by a chef who
may have immigrated to the United States after
growing up on native dishes in another country.
Many of these are concentrated in areas with large
populations from a certain country or a specific
culture, such as Mexican restaurants in the Southwest, Cuban restaurants in Florida, and Salvadoran
restaurants in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
While these cater to the Hispanic population in the
area, non-Hispanics enjoy them as well, and from
the food and the people in a restaurant often learn
more about the people and their culture.
Even restaurants that feature fairly typical American foods such as hamburgers, steaks, and pancakes often include Hispanic-influenced choices
such as tacos, burritos, and Spanish omelets. Such
offerings may be specialized to appeal to the population of a certain area, but often they are fairly generic in nature. This is especially true in large chain
restaurants such as Sizzler, which offers patrons tortilla bowls in which they can create a taco salad, or
offer taco shells, taco meat, refried beans, grated
cheese, and a variety of toppings and add-ons with
which diners can whip up a custom-made version of
their favorite Mexican foods.
Hispanic Toys
Toymakers have caught on to the fact that the Hispanic population represents a significant share of
the market and have created many toys to appeal to
Hispanic children and their parents. Such toys help
children of different ethnicities to develop pride in
their culture and to better relate to their own ethnic
group. Examples of these toys include the Hispanic
Barbie entrepreneur doll, the Hispanic Snowflake
baker, Hispanic rag dolls, and similar dolls that have
a Latino appearance and are typically marketed in
bilingual boxes. A few sets of six to 10 Hispanic
dolls are sold that are actually collections of Hispanic characters from varying ethnic backgrounds,
so that almost any Hispanic child can identify with
at least one of them.
Fewer Hispanic toys are targeted at boys than at
girls, as many of the toys that boys commonly play
with are the same for every ethnicity; trucks, planes,
building sets, and trains are some examples of these.
No real effort is made to target Hispanic boys with
these products, though many are sold in bilingual
boxes for those uncomfortable with reading English.
The use of bilingual packaging and Hispanic toys
serves not only the Hispanic market but also helps
to spread understanding of that community to the
rest of the United States. Non-Hispanic children get
these toys and many are curious about the Spanish
text on the outside of the boxes; for some it is the first
time they realize that the same thing can be said in
more than one language. Many of the Hispanic ethnic dolls also have darker skin, dark eyes, and dark
hair; for children who are not used to seeing people
with these features, it helps to increase familiarity
and to decrease concerns about people who may look
different than the people they are used to.
Entertainment
The entertainment sector abounds with products
targeted at the Hispanic audience. These are frequently in Spanish and include Hispanic American singers and actors as well as non-American entertainers. Videos are available with English movies
dubbed or with subtitles in Spanish in addition to
movies made specifically for the Hispanic, Spanish-speaking audience. There are also collections of
shorter offerings such as soap operas or “stories” that
have a large following in the Hispanic community.
Many music products such as CDs are also created for the Hispanic market, featuring singers singing their own songs in Spanish or singing their own
Spanish versions of popular mainstream American
songs. These are enormously popular in areas where
a high percentage of the Hispanic population does
not speak English or where there are concentrations
of people who prefer Spanish to English. These can
be found in specialty stores but are also increasingly
available in large discount stores such as Walmart
and Kroger.
Why Buy Ethnic-Specific Products?
Ethnic-specific products typically appeal to Hispanics because they are part of what keeps them connected to one another and to their community.
While it is true that the Hispanic population is made
up of many different ethnic groups, they are also
highly unified by culture and experiences. Products
that appeal to one ethnic group will often appeal to
others as well, as many of the groups have much in
common, especially within the United States.
One of the major factors that is present in all
items intended to appeal to the Hispanic community is language. This is a connection that cannot
be ignored and whose importance must not be overlooked. Language is one of the greatest factors that
ties all of the different Hispanic groups together. It
is also the easiest one for outsiders to see and to recognize and use when creating products for the Hispanic community. However, as pointed out earlier,
simply aiming a product or an ad campaign at the
Hispanic market and then printing the boxes and
instructions in Spanish in no way guarantees that
the community will embrace the product. More and
more Hispanics are insisting that products also be
culturally relevant, or at least support the culture,
before they will buy them.
What Has Cultural Relevance?
For an item to be culturally relevant, it must go beyond simply using the right language to appeal to
Hispanics; the product must have some value that
connects the buyer to his or her culture in order to
make the purchase happen. For most products, it is
going to be up to the company and the consumer to
take the time to work out just what is relevant and
what is not. Using the entertainment products as
an example, these have relevance because both the
entertainment and the entertainers are part of the
Hispanic culture and as such have cultural value
built in. Value such as this is what will decide which
Ethnic-Specific Products | 9 1
ethnic-specific products sell and which ones do not
in the future.
Cynthia J. Nichols
See Also: Advertising to Hispanics; Economic
Development; Social Mobility.
Further Readings
Koyen, Jeff. “The Truth About Hispanic Consumers:
Myth vs. Reality.” AdWeek Online. http://www.adweek
.com/sa-article/truth-about-hispanic-consumers
-138828 (Accessed November 2014).
Lloips, Glenn. “Capturing the Hispanic Market Will
Require More Than a Total Market Strategy.” Forbes
Magazine Online. http://www.forbes.com/sites/
glennllopis/2013/05/13/capturing-the-hispanic
-market-will-require-more-than-a-total-market
-strategy (Accessed November 2014).
92 | Ethnic Specific Products
Lloips, Glenn. “Don’t Sell to Me! Hispanics Buy Brands
That Empower Their Cultural Relevancy.” Forbes
Magazine Online. http://www.forbes.com/sites/
glennllopis/2012/05/14/dont-sell-to-me-hispanics
-buy-brands-that-empower-their-cultural-relevancy
(Accessed November 2014).
The Shelby Staff. “Growing Store Brand Loyalty:
Hispanic-Americans as a Target Market.” The Shelby
Report Online. http://www.theshelbyreport.com/
2011/07/12/growing-store-brand-loyalty-hispanic
-americans-as-a-target-market (Accessed November
2014).
U.S. Census Bureau. “Race and Hispanic or Latino
Origin” (2012). http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/
tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF
(Accessed November 2014).
are currently getting ahead in the nation’s most elite
schools, many more Hispanic Americans will never
be afforded the same opportunities and thus will
never have access to the same quality of education.
The exact reasons for the significant underrepresentation of Hispanic Americans in the nation’s top
high schools and universities continues to be a matter of great debate among contemporary scholars,
as there is currently no strong consensus as to why
this phenomenon is occurring. But in light of the
fact that Hispanic Americans are underrepresented
in all 465 of the nation’s top colleges and overrepresented in the vast majority of the nation’s more affordable community colleges, it is safe to say that socioeconomic realities play a significant role in the
marked underrepresentation of Latinos in America’s top schools. And unless robust and extensive institutional actions are taken across the country to
mitigate such a phenomenon, the underrepresentation of Hispanics in the nation’s best schools is likely
to persist in the decades ahead.
William M. Peaster
See Also: Affirmative Action; Bilingual Education;
Education for Leadership; Latino Educational
Attainment Initiative Program.
Further Readings
Card, D. and A. B. Krueger. “Would the Elimination of
Affirmative Action Affect Highly Qualified Minority
Applicants?” Industrial & Labor Relations Review,
v.58/3 (April 2005).
Reardon, S. F., R. Baker, and D. Klasik. “Race, Income,
and Enrollment Patterns in Highly Selective Colleges,
1982 to 2004.” Center for Education Policy Analysis
(August 2012). http://cepa.stanford.edu/content/race
-income-and-enrollment-patterns-highly-selective
-colleges-1982-2004 (Accessed February 2015).
Sander, R. H. “A Systemic Analysis of Affirmative Action
in American Law Schools.” Stanford Law Review,
v.67/367 (November 2004).
U.S. Department of Education. “Achievement Gaps:
How Hispanic and White Students in Public Schools
Perform in Mathematics and Reading on the National
Assessment of Educational Progress.” http://nces.ed
.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/studies/2011485.pdf
(Accessed November 2014).
Hispanic Association on
Corporate Responsibility
Established in 1986, the Hispanic Association on
Corporate Responsibility (HACR) is one of the most
influential advocacy organizations in the United
States, representing 16 national Hispanic organizations in the United States and Puerto Rico. HACR
is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization with headquarters in Washington, D.C. According to the organization’s Web site, its mission is “to advance the inclusion of Hispanics in Corporate America at a level
commensurate with our economic contributions.”
HACR’s agenda focuses on four areas of corporate
responsibility and market reciprocity: employment,
procurement, philanthropy, and governance.
HACR is governed by a 16-member board of directors who have held leadership positions in 16 national Hispanic organizations in the United States
and Puerto Rico, and the association has corporate
members and benefactors. The coalition of 16 national Hispanic organizations maintain working relationships with over 50 Fortune 500 companies and
their executives and more than 1,500 affiliate community-based organizations serving the Hispanic
community in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, including more than 450 institutions of higher learning.
In July 2014, Cid Wilson was named HACR’s president and chief executive officer. The organization
employs a staff of seven individuals.
Annual Conference and Programs
HACR hosts a two-day annual symposium each
April and brings together the most influential Hispanic community and corporate leaders to discuss
best practices and solutions for Hispanic inclusion at Fortune 500 companies. The event consists
of an opening business session, a C-suite roundtable with senior-level corporate executives, panels,
and networking opportunities. The 22nd Annual
HACR Symposium, “The Power of Hispanic Inclusion,” took place in San Diego, California in 2014.
The opening business session was led by Luke Visconti, chief executive officer of Diversity Inc. Attendees participated in a C-suite roundtable with
senior-level corporate executives, including Jose
M. Barra, senior vice president of health care and
Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility | 105
beauty merchandising at Target; Michael Dominguez, senior vice president for MGM Resorts International; and Graciela Montgomery, chief human
resources officer for Deckers Outdoor Corporation.
In addition to the annual symposium, the organization puts on four programs to foster Hispanic
inclusion and diversity in corporate America: Young
Hispanic Corporate Achievers (YHCA), Corporate
Achievers Summit (CAS), Corporate Executives
Forum (CEF), and Corporate Directors Summit
(CDS). The YHCA program was launched in 2007
with the purpose of recognizing the achievements
of young Latino professionals in corporate America and increasing the number of Hispanics on corporate boards. More than 200 candidates between
the age of 25 and 40 working at Fortune 500 and/
or corporate member companies have been selected
as YHCAers. To participate in this program, candidates must be nominated by their companies and
must attend an intensive three-day leadership development and training program where they participate in team-building exercises, group presentations
and panel discussions, and sessions that include topics on corporate diversity, personal branding, and
organizational services to improve collaboration,
inclusion, and leadership.
The Corporate Achievers Summit program, the
HACR’s newest program, was launched in 2011
at the request of the Young Hispanic Corporate
Achievers to reconnect and motivate past YHCA
participants. The program provides a support network and leadership development and educational
training sessions as well as the opportunity to learn
about the careers of C-suite executives who have
made it to the top. Launched in June 2008, the Corporate Executives Forum (CEF) is a Hispanic senior corporate executives’ forum to discuss business challenges, issues, and solutions, as well as an
opportunity to network with peers from Fortune
500 and HACR corporate member company boards.
The CEF was created following the model of the
highly successful and influential Executive Leadership Council comprised of the most senior African
American corporate executives in Fortune 500 companies. More than 30 corporate executives participated in a three-day annual meeting that included
several business sessions ranging in topics from corporate governance and executive leadership to the
changing landscape of the Hispanic community in
the United States. The HACR’s Corporate Directors
Summit was created in 2007 by the Corporate Directors Council to increase the numbers of Hispanics serving on corporate boards.
HACR Research Institute
The HACR Research Institute is the research unit
of HACR and is dedicated to research, analysis, and
publication of Hispanic-related issues in corporate
America. The institute’s goal is “to assess current
trends and stimulate discussion on Hispanic inclusion in Corporate America.” The organization publishes annual studies on corporate best practices in
employment, procurement, philanthropy, and governance and the Hispanic community. The institute’s annual studies are the Corporate Inclusion
Index, Corporate Governance Study (Latinos on corporate boards), Corporate Governance Study Appendix, and Employee Resource Group Study. The
institute has recently initiated a special project focusing on the challenges, opportunities, and best
practices for increasing supplier diversity. The Corporate Inclusion Index ranks Fortune 100 companies and corporate member companies in the United
States relative to their total Hispanic inclusion practices. The Corporate Governance Study evaluates
and measures Hispanic inclusion in the C-suite and
boardrooms in Fortune 500 companies. The Corporate Governance Study Appendix identifies the companies that have Hispanic directors and those with
multiple directors. The first Employee Resource
Group Study was launched in late 2012 with funds
provided by AARP and was created to capture insights from human resources departments. Employee Resource Group study members and leaders
identify their growth, highlight best practices, and
identify current and future challenges.
Legacy
HACR released the first corporate governance study
in 1993. Prior to the governance study, research on
this matter was limited. As a result of this important study, HACR established its credibility as a subject matter expert on Hispanic inclusion in corporate America. The organization continues to be the
go-to organization for this kind of research as a result of long-lasting partnerships with Fortune 500
106 | Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility
corporate directors, C-suite executives, young executives, and strategic alliances.
Mary Ann Dávila Rodríguez
See Also: Cultural Diversity and Leadership;
Entrepreneurs; Hispanic National Bar Association;
Hispanic-Owned Businesses.
Further Readings
Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility.
“About.” http://www.hacr.org/about (Accessed
November 2014).
Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility.
“Research Institute.” http://www.hacr.org/research
_institute (Accessed November 2014).
Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility. “2013
HARC Corporate Inclusion Index” http://www.hacr
.org/research_institute/2013_HACR_Corporate
_Inclusion_Index.pdf (Accessed November 2014).
Hispanic National
Bar Association
The Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) is
a nonprofit organization that represents Hispanics
who have committed themselves to the legal profession. The represented Hispanics include legal assistants, paralegals, judges, attorneys, and law professors. The organization was founded in 1972 in
California as the La Raza National Lawyers Association; its first president was Mario G. Obledo. The organization changed its name in 1984 to the Hispanic
National Bar Association.
Currently, the national president and chief executive officer of the HNBA is Cynthia D. Mares. Prior
to Mares, Miguel Alexander Pozo served as president. Other notable past presidents of the organization include Mari Carmen Aponte (Washington,
D.C.), Roman Hernandez, Diane Sen (New York),
and Ramona Emilia Romero (Delaware), among others. The organization represents the interests of more
than 100,000 Hispanic law students, law professors,
judges, attorneys, and paralegals in the United States,
the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.
The HNBA is comprised primarily of individuals, but the membership also includes local Hispanic bar associations that affiliate their mission
with the Hispanic National Bar Association. In fact,
it is estimated that the HNBA works and collaborates with more than 100 local Hispanic bar associations across the United States. It also collaborates
with the American Bar Association and other specialty bar associations.
Activities and Mission
The Hispanic National Bar Association sponsors
many conferences throughout the year. Some of
the more popular ones include the Annual International Conference (which is open to any and all
affiliates and attorneys from around the United
States), the Annual Mid-Year Conference, the Annual Convention, and the Moot Court Competition, among others. Each year, the HNBA organizes
various types of events designed for law students
and lawyers, all of which take place across 19 regions. This ultimately encourages education initiatives and community outreach.
The Hispanic National Bar Association’s mission
is to promote diversity in the legal professions and
the judiciary by improving promotion, retention,
and recruitment of Latinos. The HNBA also may actively seek Latino candidates who are highly qualified for a specific role. It aims to provide professional
networking opportunities and business development to members of the organization by sponsoring regional conferences, receptions, and seminars.
The HNBA helps strengthen educational pipelines by generating opportunities for Latino students
through various partnerships with the public sector, nonprofit organizations, and corporate America. Finally, it aims to empower the Latino community through educational literacy, as well as literacy
in financial and legal topics. The Hispanic National
Bar Association is an advocate for solutions that deal
with the issues affecting the Latino community.
The HNBA regularly advocates on Capitol Hill
for issues that relate to Latinos within the legal profession as well as the Latino community who are not
associated with legal positions or educational backgrounds in legal studies. Its network extends through
more than 19 regions and over 40 affiliate bar organizations. Its community involvement, national
Hispanic National Bar Association | 107
and Re-Envision Their Roles in Society.” Ph.D.
dissertation, University of New Mexico, 2007.
Sladkova, Jana. Journeys of Undocumented Honduran
Migrants to the United States. El Paso, TX: LFB
Scholarly Publishing, 2010.
Housing Issues
During the early and mid-20th century, the United
States welcomed an influx of immigrants from all
over the world. The path through Ellis Island led
newcomers directly to enclave neighborhoods,
which had formed due to the natural desire people
have to live with others from the same culture. The
stratified nature of highly definable ethnic communities combined with the economic reality that most
immigrants arrived poor meant that immigrants in
that era lived in neighborhoods riddled with substandard housing.
Over time, life for these immigrants and their
descendants slowly changed. They became “Americans.” Their children went to school. Congress
passed laws recognizing and attempting to combat discrimination. Attitudes, however resistant,
also slowly evolved. Language barriers dissolved as
children born in the new country grew up speaking English. People moved from crowded East Coast
cities to communities across the country. Public
schools received increased funding and improved
the quality of education in many regions, for a time.
The metropolitan districts that had contained immigrants also had no diversity. They faded and old
housing was replaced by newer developments. Slums
were razed, policies such as affirmative action went
into effect, and scholarships grew in availability.
There were, of course, notable exceptions and reversals along the way but, in general, patterns of advancement could be identified.
Progress, Not Universal Progress
However, the progress made by earlier immigrant
communities has not spread evenly; it has occurred
in a different time for different reasons that have
not reached forward for the benefit of the Hispanic
community in the United States today. While immigration from so many regions of the world has
tapered off compared to the Ellis Island days, millions of Hispanic noncitizens are relatively recent
arrivals or have lived here without legal status for
some time. Millions more Hispanic people live and
work in the country legally, including families who
have been here for as many generations as those
whose ancestors arrived at Plymouth Rock.
Therefore, there is a massive population of Hispanic people living in the United States who are
facing the same challenges that once confronted a
wider range of ethnicities and nationalities, while
confronted with the reality and stigma of illegal or
at least perceived illegal status.
Further complexities in analysis arise when looking at the different regions in the United States and
the different regions from which Hispanic people
are arriving. For example, the Cuban population in
Florida is, economically speaking, generally doing
far better than the Puerto Rican population in New
York. The Mexican population in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas is substantial and
mixed with naturalized or U.S.-born citizens of Mexican heritage, including families who have lived in the
country for generations, legal immigrants, illegal immigrants, migrant workers, children born to parents
who arrived in the country just prior to their birth,
and more, all adding up to communities that dwarf
the ethnically stratified districts of old. While millions have learned to speak fluent English, millions
are also able to spend the vast majority of their hours
with their own people, speaking their own language.
All of these facts and factors are understandable,
even if many are considered regrettable for various
reasons, such as cultural separation, social and economic immobility, and, often, racial tensions. And
even if the results might have been utterly unavoidable given the history and geography of the United
States and surrounding regions, they lead to complex issues, including the critically important issue
of housing in the Hispanic community.
Discrimination as Differentiated
From Poor Neighborhoods
A simple drive through a typical city in the United
States can take an individual from downtown to
wealthy neighborhoods, to middle-class blocks,
poor areas, and slums. A drive in the border state
of California follows a pattern: a beautiful affluent
Housing Issues | 117
coastal tourist area hands off to a working-class district, which contains harder-to-spot tracts of slumlike conditions, and then to undeveloped stretches.
Although there are a great many individual exceptions, for the most part Hispanic neighborhoods are unmistakable: working-class ethnic markets, stores catering to families living on extremely
tight budgets, and a minority populace who live
and work in neighborhoods with older houses and
apartments, built of relatively inexpensive materials, closely zoned, and sharing all the characteristics
a reasonable person might expect from neighborhoods either on the edge of poverty or all the way
in. Within these neighborhoods are the inevitable
blocks and lots that contain housing that is essentially in shack-like condition: old rusted trailers and
apartment buildings that at a glance appear to not
possibly be within distant view of being up to code.
However, these conditions alone do not fit the
legal standard of discrimination. Discrimination requires multiple groups of people in similar circumstances being treated differently.
This presents a challenge in terms of law and of
social science. Both require standards of proof that
go beyond basic reasonable deduction. Just because
something is visible and obvious to the casual observer does not mean a court accepts it as proof, or
that policy decisions in the legislative branch will
rise to the level of becoming new law.
Further adding to the challenge, it is reasonable
to conclude that, in general, landlords prefer tenants they deem will not complain about anything.
Hispanic people often fear the threat of deportation,
even when they are legal residents. People who do
not speak English, or possess the economic muscle
of a local property owner, may live in fear of retaliation by a landlord, believing there would be no recourse to fair and impartial authorities. Language
barriers, ignorance of housing laws, fear of further
discrimination from authorities if their case goes
beyond the police and into the courtroom—all
could dissuade someone of Hispanic heritage from
making even a minor complaint to a landlord. On
top of all that, living as so many in the community
do—on the edge of poverty—presents a life filled
with bigger concerns.
When there are gaping holes in the roof letting in
rain and cold but all able adults are working multiple
118 | Housing Issues
jobs or caring for children who need healthy, hot,
full meals in order to grow strong, it can be easier
for a family to try to patch it with an old tarp rather
than call a landlord who might be inclined to end
their rental agreement. Asking the same landlord
to call a plumber when a pipe bursts means risking
conflict, scheduling maintenance, inviting strangers into the home who may not speak Spanish—the
pressures add up for a family that is just trying to get
through each day.
Court systems are crowded and underfunded.
The vast majority of free assistance in courts is given
to those affected by domestic violence. While there
are free resources offering Spanish-speaking help to
anyone who knows how to find them, the steps can
often become too overwhelming to begin the effort.
Overworked legal aid providers often have their offices in out-of-the-way places. Volunteers and pro
bono workers may show up only one day per week
before having to shift to another nearby town. Hispanic individuals have to first find the right contact
information on lists that provide little guidance,
and then if they do take the next step to sit down for
a meeting, they can be confronted with overwhelming, intimidating, and confusing forms.
Applications for fee waivers so that families do
not have to pay hundreds of dollars in court fees
simply to defend themselves from aggressive landlords ask questions that could, one might imagine,
lead immigration officials directly to the front door.
Charts asking for annual income and itemized expenses are footnoted with warnings that proof could
be required, even from a migrant worker getting
paid in cash.
Signing such forms risks committing perjury.
And that is just the fee waiver. Forms to file responses, answers, motions, and declarations must
be filled out with great precision, and every word
must be weighed with a legal eye. All of this complexity occurs for every single individual who has
any given reason to attempt to tell his or her side
of a story to a court, every time. The first filing in
an action is often the easiest, substantially so, and
then more pile up, with greater complexity; the understaffed courts daily see overwhelmed defendants
who cannot afford attorneys. Even with policies in
place that attempt to help poverty-stricken defendants who do not speak English through each step,
the courts can do only so much before judgment is
made and the next case is heard.
It all adds up to making it easier to live under unlawful conditions, or to simply accepting an unfair
eviction and uprooting the family once more. Landlords know this, as do their attorneys. Full-time careers are built on knowing every nuance of landlord/tenant housing and discrimination law. Even
the kindest, most considerate of landlords are running a business. And just as in all walks of life, some
tend to be harsher and less fair than others.
Therefore, the plain evidence of discrimination is clear. Housing conditions in many Hispanic
neighborhoods include broken plumbing, missing
kitchen fixtures, dangerous electrical wiring, leaks,
mold, and other defects or hazards. But the ability
to actually do something about it requires more.
The Fair Housing Act is the legal code that specifically confronts housing discrimination. Interestingly,
proving that discrimination occurred under this act
is easier than under general discrimination laws, in
which plaintiffs must both establish that discrimination occurred and that it was deliberate. Examples of
the general discrimination, requiring evidence of deliberate action, could include the following:
• Treating Hispanics differently by altering
contracts and leases from those used with
non-Hispanics
• Barring the use of facilities such as community centers or parking spaces to Hispanics
while allowing others to use them
• Delivering lower-quality maintenance and
repair than that which others receive
• Demanding higher damage deposits
from Hispanics and/or refusing to refund
deposits according to standards applied to
non-Hispanics
• Proceeding with evictions against Hispanics,
but not others for the same cause
However, under the Fair Housing Act, only the
effect of discrimination need be proved, whether
deliberate or not. Some practices could be against
the law if it can be shown that they disproportionately affect Hispanics, whether intentionally or not.
Examples might include either (1) being more restrictive on occupancy numbers than required by
law or (2) denying unrelated people the opportunity to rent together. But the fact remains that a single day’s drive in practically any populated region
in the United States can take one through Hispanic
neighborhoods that bear all the hallmarks of housing discrimination. And because so many of these
neighborhoods are, for all practical effect, exclusively Hispanic, comparison of treatment of whites
or other ethnic groups is difficult, if not impossible.
Combined with low rates of reporting problems, the
evidence is clear, but proof sufficient enough to warrant mandated remedies can remain scant.
Housing determines where children go to school,
the safety of a family’s neighborhood, and quality
of life in general. What becomes most apparent in
a modern analysis of the issues is that unlike times
past, a pattern of improvement is not discernible.
While some individuals attain greater economic results than their peers, and some neighborhoods and
properties occasionally are renovated, the general
housing standards for Hispanic communities have
stagnated and no evidence of broad, categorical improvement is apparent. Many solutions have been
proposed, from new laws and new methods of auditing and gathering data to requiring English language
usage and providing new kinds of aid and subsidies.
Many believe that systemic housing issues cannot be
resolved until national policy dealing with immigration, legal status, and border security is settled.
The Flip Side of Discrimination
Landlords and even tenants of substandard housing
might claim that all proposed solutions that involve
easier levels of proof, harsher enforcement of discrimination laws and housing codes, and new regulations that require better quality would lead to only
one thing: an even harder life for all involved.
For example, one common complaint is that
some landlords who own property in poor neighborhoods have engaged in unlawful rental arrangements, such as charging a daily price per person for
a housing unit consisting of nothing more than a
rundown trailer in a corner of an empty lot. Such
practices clearly violate the law. Yet, such a living
arrangement might be the best temporary, if regrettable, opportunity a family has to get that one
brief stretch of breathing room they need to pull
themselves out of poverty. Perhaps they escaped a
Housing Issues | 119
situation in their homeland that would have led to
death, one could argue. If the landlord is punished
and the trailer is sent to the junkyard, this family
may be left without a dwelling.
Without a doubt, there are landowners who qualify as slumlords. But there are also landlords who
are struggling in their own right. Rent control laws,
regulations that make any renovation time consuming and expensive—requiring multiple trips to city
agencies and the risk of mandated, expensive environmental studies—property taxes, general maintenance, and a host of other requirements mean
that being a landlord is not without its own complex challenges. More and more, professional property managers and businesses that specialize in lowincome rentals are taking over from the property
owner who thought an income property would be a
good investment for retirement. These professionals
know the ins and outs of the system better than anyone, and they use that knowledge to their advantage.
Putting them out of business or altering their calculations by reducing their profit margins and income
begs the question: who will replace them if they go?
Information Remains the Challenge
The truth is that the government and authorities,
whether local or federal, simply do not have the data
they need. And granting them the ability to gather
such data in new ways could lead to massive violations of privacy that risk making problems worse instead of better. Which houses have faulty wiring?
Nobody is even close to having the answer unless
inspectors are granted the authority to go into anyone’s home at will.
Which landlords are writing different contracts
for whites than for Hispanics? Nobody is close to
having the answer unless authorities are granted the
right to examine private documents at will. When
is a landlord being reasonable in refusing to allow
five unrelated people to rent her house, as opposed
to discriminating against some migrant farm workers who need to share expenses so that they can send
more money home to their wives and children? If
the only way to get the answers leads directly to violations of fundamental individual rights, can it be
considered a reasonable option?
But if there were ways to deliver this information
to the right hands, voluntarily, from tenants who
120 | Housing Organizations
feel secure that they will not be exposed to vindictive landlords and their agents, then existing laws
would already contain the solution.
As understanding of the challenges involved in
Hispanic housing in the United States continues to
pound against the brick wall of public perception,
information technology continues to evolve. Purely
from a business perspective, the Hispanic market is
enormous—and lucrative. New avenues of getting
information from trustworthy sources directly into
the Hispanic community are being widened and
modernized with each business cycle. From Univision to Spanish-speaking radio stations, to inexpensive smartphones with properly translated software
and apps, if the tenants and residents of Hispanic
neighborhoods begin to realize that there are people who will help, that judges will be fair when cases
are presented properly, that someone with experience can make sure the forms are filled out without a nightmare of hassle and missed work, this may
help build pressure to improve the quality of life in
these neighborhoods.
David Gonzalez
See Also: Color Discrimination; Housing Organizations;
Minority Rights; Racial and Ethnic Discrimination.
Further Readings
Bender, Steven W. Tierra y Libertad: Land, Liberty, and
Latino Housing. New York: New York University Press,
2010.
Globerman, S. The Immigration Dilemma. Vancouver,
BC: Fraser Institute, 1992.
Krivo, L. The Hispanic Immigrant Context and Housing
Market Conditions: A Comparison of Anglo and
Hispanic Populations. Austin: IUP/SSRC Committee
for Public Policy Research on Contemporary Hispanic
Issues, Center for Mexican American Studies,
University of Texas at Austin, 1990.
Housing Organizations
With the appearance of serious displacement issues
in the Hispanic community in the 1970s and 1980s,
concerned citizens’ groups like the Latin United
the newspaper. In 1990, 50 percent of La Opiniòn’s
shares were sold to the Times Mirror Company,
but in 2004 the Lozano family bought them back.
Both the newspaper and impreMedia LLC have been
managed by Josè Lozano and his younger brother
and sister Francisco Lozano and Mònica Cecilia Lozano. The family in 2004 merged La Opiniòn with
New York City-based El Diario-La Prensa, the oldest
Spanish-language newspaper in United States.
Mònica Cecilia Lozano is also a member of the
board of the National Council of La Raza and served
on former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Commission on the 21st Century Economy. Due to economic difficulties, in 2012, impre­
Media LLC was bought by Buenos Aires-based
investors from La Naciòn, the largest newspaper in
Argentina, who retained most of La Opiniòn’s staff
and managers. Since 2014, the newspaper has become a tabloid and extended itself on social media
sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
The Golden Age
Since its early days when it was primarily geared to
a Mexican audience, La Opiniòn has evolved to provide much wider coverage of all Hispanic minorities such as South American, Cuban, Central American, and Puerto Rican readers. Today it aims not
only to be a Hispanic newspaper but also to be a
complete American periodical written in Spanish
to make it more accessible to its readers. Although
the staff has vastly increased since the 1980s, and
new bureaus were opened in places such as Mexico
City and Washington, D.C., since 2008 La Opiniòn’s
management has become weaker, its circulation has
declined, and some staffers have left the journal, accusing the chief executive officer’s leadership of mismanagement and ineptitude.
During the 1990s, La Opiniòn increased its readership fivefold in ten years, becoming the fastestgrowing Spanish-language newspaper in America,
thanks mostly to the increase in non-English-speaking readers, especially those in Los Angeles. The period from 1999 to 2007 was La Opinión’s golden
age, with circulation reaching its highest peak to attain first place in net daily paid circulation growth
among the 200 largest U.S. newspapers in the United
States in 2007.The newspaper also won numerous awards and honors. Among these, in 1999 and
140 | Labor Organizing
2000 the periodical was named Outstanding Spanish Language Daily Newspaper of the Year by the
National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and
in 2006 it received the José Ortega y Gasset Award
from the Spanish newspaper El País, which is widely
regarded as the highest form of recognition in Spanish-language journalism.
Claudio Butticè
See Also: Diario-La Prensa (New York); Mexican
Americans; Newspapers; Radio; Social Media; SpanishLanguage Television.
Further Readings
Allied Media Corp. “Hispanic Media Placement – La
Opinion, Los Angeles.” http://www.allied-media.com/
hispanic%20market/la-opinion-los-angeles.html
(Accessed October 2014).
Kelly, Keith J. “Don’t cry for me, El Diario.” New York
Post (January 27, 2012).
Norville, Deborah. “La Opinion: Spreading the News” En
Transcript of broadcast on NBC Today Show (March
30, 1990). NBC Learn. https://nbclearn.com/files/nbc
archives/site/pdf/45378.pdf (Accessed October 2014).
Rosales, F. Arturo. Chicano! The History of the Mexican
American Civil Rights Movement. Houston, TX: Arte
Publico Press, 1996.
Ruiz, Vicki L., and Virginia Sánchez Korrol. Latinas in the
United States:. Bloomington: Indiana University Press,
2006.
“Times Mirror Buys 50% of La Opinion.” Los Angeles
Times (August 30, 1990).
Who Needs Newspapers Project. “Backgrounder: La
Opinion (Los Angeles, CA): Interviewed: March 16,
2011.” http://www.whoneedsnewspapers.org/pdfs/
calo_backgrounder.pdf (Accessed October 2014).
Labor Organizing
Hispanic Americans have endured discrimination
and injustice over the decades, fighting back against
a lack of sufficient representation and opportunities for leadership. This struggle led to the emergence of labor organizations that work to provide
better wages and conditions for overworked and
underpaid Hispanic American laborers. Propelled
by strong leadership, labor organizations were able
to make a profound difference in the way migrant
workers were treated and to bring about legitimate
legislative change that has permanently shaped conditions for labor union members.
Immigration and the Development
of Organizations
More than 2 million immigrants made their way
to America in each decade from the 1850s through
the 1870s, and by the 1880s, the tide of immigration
had swelled to 5 million each decade. The increasing number of immigrants settling in the United
States, combined with the growing number of people moving to the cities, adversely affected urban life
in the 19th century. Crowded city slums quickly developed in the cities, with people living in rat-infested tenements in which little light could penetrate. Often, multiple families would be squeezed
together on each floor, forced to share toilets. Flophouses emerged where the unemployed were able
to sleep for just a few cents per night on mattresses
infested with vermin. The previous flood of immigrants to the United States had come primarily from
the British Isles and other areas of western Europe.
This changed in the 1880s, when more immigrants
began to emigrate from South America and Central
America, as well as from southern and eastern Europe. Although prior generations of immigrants had
largely been educated, many of the newer waves of
immigrants were impoverished and illiterate, seeking low-paying industrial work after they arrived
in America. As a result of this tide of immigration,
southern Europe was left completely uprooted.
Coming from drastically different cultures, these
new immigrants found that the federal government
offered almost nothing to help them assimilate
into American society. State and city governments
were often overwhelmed by the sheer size of urban
growth and were also unable able to offer much assistance. It was only when the social conscience of
the country was awakened that the plight of the immigrant masses and the cities came to light.
As a result of these immigrant arrivals, a mood
of antiforeignism, often labeled as nativism, began
to sweep through the country. Nativists viewed immigrants in a negative light, frequently due to a
concern that a high immigrant birthrate would result in immigrants eventually overtaking the number and political power of white Anglo-Saxons.
Many nativists were also concerned about the degradation of government in urban areas, a problem
for which the immigrants were blamed. Nativists
established numerous antiforeign organizations, including the American Protective Association.
Organized labor initially supported the move to
put an end to the rising number of foreigners migrating to the United States. In 1882, the first law
restricting immigration was passed. Under this law,
convicts, paupers, and criminals were banned from
entering the country. Three years later, Congress
prohibited the importation of foreign workers under
contract. A host of other federal laws aimed at banning “undesirables” from entering the country were
passed, barring entrance to such groups as polygamists, the insane, anarchists, alcoholics, and anyone
bearing a disease.
But as an increasing number of immigrants
worked for miserable wages in squalid conditions,
many believed labor organizations could create a
forum for immigrants to join together to improve
their working conditions. Hispanic American leaders throughout the decades have been active in labor
union movements, with many providing leadership
and attaining tangible results for employees.
Leadership Qualities
A leader must know what must be done to attain
specific goals and also know what it takes to persuade others to work toward these goals. In addition, an effective leader must possess knowledge of
how the public will respond to demands for change.
Effective leaders must also have (1) a clear vision
of their goals and how these goals can be achieved,
(2) the confidence to pursue vision goals and to
make the decisions needed to attain their goals, (3)
the ability to think quickly and make the most of
a situation, (4) the knowledge of the developments
taking place within their organizations, (5) the ability to communicate their plans of action, (6) the
discipline to pursue an organized approach to accomplishing their goals, (7) the courage to take the
necessary risks, (8) the humility to be approachable
to and to listen to others, and (9) the character to
lead by the example of their own behavior.
Labor Organizing | 141
Some Hispanic American labor leaders embody these characteristics. Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, for example, showed the world that
they could represent the members of their union
with vision, confidence, knowledge, quick thinking,
good communication, discipline, and appropriate
risk-taking.
Minority Groups
What are some of the actions taken by minorities in
order to obtain their economic and political rights?
Generally, they will organize around their particular “cause” and work to gain the rights they require.
This can be seen in the labor union organization
of César Chávez who cofounded the National Farm
Workers Association, now the United Farm Workers. It can also be seen in the American civil rights
movement that was a massive undertaking that used
many different groups to obtain voting rights, better
education, and an end to segregation. There is also
the example of the women’s suffrage movement,
which spread out into the greater Women’s Rights
movement that includes antidiscrimination, birth
control, and social reform.
The United Farm Workers of America is a labor
union that was originally the result of two workers’ organizations merging. The first was the Agriculture Workers Organizing Committee under the
leadership of Larry Itliong and the second was the
National Farm Workers Association under the leadership of Chávez. The two groups formed a union
and started a series of strikes in 1965.
It was Dolores Huerta who opened the Community Service Organization’s Stockton chapter in an
effort to aid many of her students, who at the time
were the children of farmers and lacked basic necessities and basic food. This organization worked
to improve the economic conditions and the social
conditions for farm workers and worked to end discrimination. By 1959, Chávez had cultivated a professional relationship with many of the local organizations, encouraging them to be more actively
involved. He worked with Fred Ross, a community
organizer affiliated with the Community Service
Organization, and Saul Alinsky, who was affiliated
with the Industrial Areas Foundation.
In 1960 the Agricultural Workers Association
was formed by Huerta workers and the association
142 | Labor Organizing
César Chávez was a labor leader, American farm worker, and
civil rights activist who cofounded the National Farm Workers
Association. His birthday, March 31, is a state holiday in
California, Colorado, and Texas, and is known as César Chávez
Day. (U.S. Department of Labor)
lobbied politicians about issues of concern to migrant workers. She petitioned for more public assistance, Spanish voting ballets, Spanish driver’s
tests, and pensions. With Chávez she cofounded
the United Farm Workers in 1962 which led many
successful strikes throughout California during the
1960s and the 1970s. In order to gain increased recruits, Chávez utilized efforts including door-todoor tactics, house meetings, and grassroots efforts.
These efforts were effective in bringing a larger following to the labor movement. Twenty-two new
chapters were opened throughout Mexican American neighborhoods in the city of San Jose alone because of these efforts. The ultimate goal was to organize the farmers and to help improve migrant
workers’ economic and social conditions. In 1966,
a strike was launched in Texas by the organization
demanding a higher minimum wage for farm
workers. Strikers and members of the labor organizing set out to Austin to demand a higher minimum wage and enjoyed a great deal of press coverage as they did so. As they moved north to Texas
in the middle of the summer heat, the press coverage grew. The protesters were soon accompanies by
members of other nonprofit organizations, church
members, and politicians. The group finally arrived just in time for a Labor Day rally. The strikes
were continued throughout the Rio Grande from
1966 until 1967. Violence began to spring up as the
melon crop was ready for picking, but labor workers
were still on strike. When two strikers were beaten
by Texas Rangers, the tension between the groups
grew. As a result, local hearings were held and a new
Supreme Court ruling was put forth, limiting the
jurisdiction that the Texas Rangers had with regard
to labor disputes.
But the hard work and the long efforts put forth
by Chávez did not stop there. The 1970s brought
with it a series of additional strikes leveled against
farms that did not offer adequate compensation to
the migrant workers brought into the fields. During
the 1970s, the group launched a campaign against
the lettuce fields in the Salinas Valley. They conducted strikes, boycotts, and secondary boycotts
and filed lawsuits. Some of the battles became violent, but this violence was ended in 1975 when the
state enacted the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act that resolved issues such as unfair labor
practices and discrimination against activists.
During this time, other groups sprang up in support of the cause of Hispanic Americans. The Labor
Council for Latin American Advancement was
founded in 1973 as a means of providing a nonpartisan and nonprofit Latino organization. It provided
Latino trade union workers within the United States
a more effective platform from which to voice their
concerns. The organization also encouraged Latinos
to participate in the democratic process and organize into labor unions. This organization is considered the official “voice” or representative of Latinos
and represents over 1.7 million Latino unionists.
Using Civil Disobedience
Civil disobedience is the act of refusing to obey
governmental laws and demands. It is normally a
nonviolent form or protest. Dolores Huerta, the cofounder of the United Farm Workers of America,
has worked very determinedly as an organizer for
farm workers and immigrants. Her pol­itical actions
have led to the creation of many laws that ensure the
rights of immigrants and immigrant workers. She
has been arrested more than 20 times for her nonviolent protests and acts of civil disobedience.
Huerta’s efforts have allowed for people in California to take their driver’s examination in the
Spanish language when necessary, to allow for to
be government-backed aid to the dependent children of farm workers and other minorities. She has
worked to obtain equal rights for minority laborers
while also seeking to shift perspectives about immigrant workers.
Overall, Hispanic Americans have endured serious plights over the last few decades, fighting for
better rights both socially and economically. They
have dealt with insufficient representation, but from
that, some of the greatest labor organizing leaders
have emerged. These leaders were able to effectively
communicate with other organizations, put forth a
coherent vision, remain confident, and disciplined,
and take risks to help further their causes. In doing
so, these leaders influenced great legislative change
and have permanently improved the conditions of
migrant workers and labor unions.
Lacey Jackson-Matsushima
See Also: Boycotts; Chicano Movement; Economic
Development; Employment and Unemployment;
Southwest Workers Union (San Antonio).
Further Readings
Bardacke, Frank. Trampling out the Vintage: Cesar Chavez
and the two Souls of the United Farm Workers. New
York: Verso, 2011.
De Mort, Veronique. “Five Hispanic Activists and Leaders
who Paved the Way.” Huffington Post (October 15,
2013). http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/15/
hispanic-activists_n_4100373.html (Accessed
February 2015).
Grob, Gerald N. Workers and Utopia: A Study of
Ideological Conflict in the American Labor Movement,
1865–1900. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University
Press, 1961.
Labor Organizing | 143
and Leadership; Leadership, Definitions of: Leadership
in International Organizations; Leadership in Religious
Organizations; Leadership in Sports Organizations;
Political Leadership.
Roman Catholics. Some of the remaining 45 percent
are Muslims, Jews, or Evangelicals, and others are not
affiliated with any religion. Catholicism, Judaism,
Islam, and Evangelicalism all have hierarchical structures, with senior church leaders making decisions
that affect the entire congregation. These church officials are widely respected, and when a Latino becomes a church official this achievement is bound to
affect the leader’s status not only in their congregation but also in the entire Latino community.
Of the nation’s estimated 35.4 million Latino
adults, 19.6 million identify themselves as Roman
Catholics. Twenty-two percent are Protestant, including 16 percent Evangelical or “born-again.”
Eighteen percent define themselves as religiously
unaffiliated. A sizeable number of Evangelicals selfidentify as charismatic and are highly engaged in
church activities, attend church regularly, and immerse themselves in scriptural study more frequently than their Catholic counterparts.
Further Readings
Hispanics Leaving the Catholic Church
ANONG stands for the National Association of
Non-Governmental Oriented Development. It was
formed in 1992 and is a nonprofit organization
that works with 90 nongovernmental organizations
worldwide. It mainly focuses on the activities like,
human rights, development, communication, agriculture, women’s issues, labor, environment, youth,
and many more. The leadership in ANONG is based
on intelligence, charisma, flexibility and vision orientation. Leaders motivate employees through their
charisma and give them a clear direction to achieve
the vision of the association.
Tayaba Khan
See Also: Cultural Diversity and Leadership; Culture
Bass, B. M. “From Transactional to Transformational
Leadership: Learning to Share the Vision.”
Organizational Dynamics, v.18/3 (1990).
Bass, B. M., and R. Stodgill. Stodgill’s Handbook of
Leadership. New York: The Free Press, 1981.
Bryson, J. M. Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit
Organizations. 4th ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004.
Hull, G. H., Jr., and K. K. Kirst-Ashman. Generalist
Practice With Organizations and Communities. 6th ed.
Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole, 2014.
Yukl, Gary. Leadership in Organizations. 8th ed. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2013.
Leadership in Religious
Organizations
Social scientists have long pointed to the fact that religion is of the utmost importance to Hispanics in the
United States. In fact, a recent contention expressed
in the faith-based community is that religion in this
country is being shaped by Hispanics. According to
the Pew Research Center’s 2013 National Survey of
Latinos and Religion, 55 percent of Hispanics are
16 4 | Leadership in Religious Organizations
The most significant finding in the Pew survey was
that 24 percent of Hispanics, or roughly one in
four people, are former Catholics, and the Catholic
Church has consistently lost Hispanic congregants
since 2010. Some of those who have left have become
Evangelicals, while others are unaffiliated with any
religion. Most Latinos said they had either switched
religions or were not affiliated with any religion because they no longer believed in the teachings of
the church to which they formerly belonged. Additionally and importantly, 49 percent of respondents
mentioned that they had found a new congregation
that “helped” people more. Another 9 percent said
they had married into a different faith.
When the respondents were encouraged to provide
more in-depth reasons in an open-ended questionand-answer format, their answers revealed insights
into how a large segment of the Latino community
views religion. Overall, the majority of respondents
explained they had switched religions or become unaffiliated not because they were dismissing God or religion per se but because they were becoming more
selective. Some stated they had found God on their
own, had thought it over and realized they believed
differently from the specific teachings of their former
church, had decided that the Bible holds different
meanings for them, or had changed their personal
spiritual practices. To a lesser extent, some people
had become disaffected with all religious institutions
It is important to note that of those who switched
denominations, a large percentage retained vestiges
of their Catholic practices and rituals, such as praying the rosary or praying to the Mother of Christ.
Those who identified with being unaffiliated with
Catholicism were still wont to display religious artifacts, such as crucifixes and images of Mother Mary,
Jesus, angels, the Holy Family, or saints.
Makeup of Congregants
About half of Hispanic adults were born outside the
United States; this first generation of immigrant
Catholics had a net loss of 19 percentage points due
to religion switching, according to the Pew survey.
While the Catholic religion suffered, Protestantism and nonaffiliation were the beneficiaries of religion switching, with a net gain of 8 percentage
points for those who switched to Protestantism and
10 percentage points for those who switched to no
religious affiliation. About 50 percent of the people who changed their religions made the switch before they left their native country, while the remaining 50 percent switched after they had migrated to
the United States. The Pew survey also concluded
that, “Even though the percentage of Hispanics who
identify as Catholic has been declining, Hispanics
continue to make up an increasingly large share of
U.S. Catholics,” accounting for 33 percent of the nation’s total Catholic population. Even though some
Hispanics are leaving the Catholic Church, the nation’s Hispanic population has increased from 12.5
percent of the U.S. population in 2000 to 16.9 in
2012. “If both trends continue,” the survey stated,
“a day could come when a majority of Catholics in
the United States will be Hispanic, even though the
majority of Hispanics might no longer be Catholic.”
The survey also found that the decline in Catholic affiliation is more pronounced among Hispanics
under age 30 than those aged 50 or older.
Hispanic Views of the Catholic Church
Overall, survey respondents had an overwhelmingly positive concept of many facets of their church
in particular and of the Vatican in general. For instance, there was a high level of satisfaction with
Pope Francis. Forty-five percent held “very favorable” opinions of the pope and of his public works,
and 38 percent expressed “mostly favorable” opinions of him. Similarly, the Catholic mass was rated
as “lively and exciting” by 64 percent of Hispanic
Catholics. Around 62 percent found the Catholic
Church to be “welcoming to new immigrants,” with
both native- and foreign-born Hispanics expressing
this belief; the rating was slightly lower among apostate Hispanics. One topic that unified almost all respondents was their feelings about the recent abuse
and scandals in the Catholic Church. Across the
board, people felt that “more action” was the prescription for the problems related to these scandals.
In addition, 74 percent said “a lot more” needs to be
done. Four more arenas that are currently being reexamined by questioning congregants are divorce,
contraception, priests being allowed to marry, and
women becoming priests.
The Appeal of Pentecostalism
Among Hispanics that left the Catholic Church and
now identify as Protestants, 28 percent are Pentecostal. The related charismatic segment is also expanding in the United States, not unlike the spiritfilled religious movements that have been on the
rise in South America for the past century. Pentecostals believe in God’s direct role in everyday
life and in divine healing. Among Hispanic Protestants, two-thirds say they belong to either a traditional Protestant denomination or identify as
charismatic or as Pentecostal Christians. The charismatic appeal is even prevalent among Hispanic
Catholics, with 52 percent describing themselves as
charismatic Christians. A Pentecostal Christian, or
one who identifies as charismatic, is more likely to
reveal that he or she has experienced a divine healing (64 percent) or a direct revelation from God (64
percent). Pentecostals believe in Spirit-infused experiences. A look at the culture of origin sometimes
offers a context for these beliefs, as Pentecostals, or
“Renewalists” as they are sometimes called, often
come from Afro-Caribbean regions, where spiritual
experiences are often a part of indigenous faith.
Gender Roles per Hispanic Believers
Traditional views of marriage, in which the husband
is the sole breadwinner and the wife stays home with
Leadership in Religious Organizations | 165
the children and the household chores, is outmoded,
according to the majority of Hispanics of all religious
affiliations. This opinion was resoundingly voiced, as
78 percent of Hispanics of faith expressed the view
that both husband and wife should work and take
care of the children. Additionally, and somewhat at
odds with traditional church teaching in some denominations, the idea that a man should have the
final say in the home and in marriage was rejected
by 63 percent, or more than six in 10 Hispanics. Onethird, or 34 percent, believed husbands should have
the final say. These views did not differ from the opinions of the general public in an earlier survey. There
are, however, exceptions to these views, and they occur
most prevalently among Hispanics who identify as
Protestant—either mainline or evangelical. This segment is more likely than Latino Catholics or the unaffiliated to espouse traditional gender roles.
Touted Leaders in the Community
Leaders in the Hispanic religious community stand
poised to shape the cultural terrain. A new group of
evangelical and nondenominational Hispanic leaders is being developed in the community, with the
majority of them male. Women, however, are being
hailed as worthy of leadership as they assume roles
(and in the case of the United Methodist Church,
don robes) formerly allotted only to men. These
men and women of God preach the gospel or the
“Good News” and give fiery exhortations and motivational speeches mainly targeted at believers. Many
of them have risen above troubled pasts and are now
heading halfway houses or meeting centers that
offer hands-on help for their congregants.
Wilfred De Jesus, affectionately dubbed “Pastor “Chaco,” is a leader of the Chicago-based New
Life Covenant Church. The founder of 130 ministries, De Jesus heads one of the largest Assemblies
of God churches in the nation. New Life sponsors a
myriad of social assistance programs, such as Gangs
to Grace, which seeks to lure gang members from a
life of crime to a life of God; New Life for Women, a
rehabilitation center for former prostitutes and addicts located on a farm; and River of Life, a homeless
shelter for women and their children. The church
boasts 17,000 attendants weekly on a global basis.
Gian Paul Gonzalez, a high school teacher, spoke
at chapel services for the New York Giants football
16 6 | Leadership in Religious Organizations
team the night before they attained a deciding win
on Christmas Eve. His phrase “all in,” which is what
he urged the New York Giants to be when playing
the next day, became the team’s motto. Since then,
Gonzalez has founded organizations that rely heavily on his penchant for athletics. Two of his groups
are 4-One and Hope + Future, both providing help
for at-risk youth.
Samuel Rodriguez is president of the National
Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, the largest Hispanic Christian organization in the country.
Based in Los Angeles, this organization blends social activism and Evangelicalism. Rodriguez has
been described as one of the most well-known Latino Evangelical ministers. One of the programs he
has created is Free Indeed, which mobilizes “born
again” Christians to help end human trafficking.
Rubén Austria’s Community Connections for
Youth (CCFY) is based on the philosophy that a
community’s youth can become well adjusted and
safe without being jailed for misbehavior. He used a
$1.1 million grant from the New York State Division
of Criminal Justice Services to launch South Bronx
Community Connections, in which CCFY creates a
community intervention program that pairs youthful offenders with mentors in specially selected civic
engagement projects.
Minerva G. Carcaño in 2004 became the first Hispanic woman elected to the episcopacy of the United
Methodist Church. Her signature cause is humane
consideration and reform of immigration. Carcaño
has led the movement to create a U.S.-Mexican ministry for the purpose of addressing human hardship
along the border. Once she learned of the existence
of desert migrant routes, she worked with Humane
Borders, Inc., a faith-based social justice organization, to build water stations along these routes.
Josue Urrutia, the youngest pastor in the lineup
of Hispanic leaders, has said that the vision to start
his church and ministry was revealed to him at the
age of 13. Now in his mid-20s, he founded Ministerio Mizpa in Alexandria, Virginia, at the age of 20.
The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference elected Urrutia to its board in 2012. As a
member of the millennial age group, he appeals to
the disenfranchised youth of his generation as well
as to young Hispanic Christians. Urrutia’s congregation worships in both English and Spanish.
J. L. Escobar works out of the Bronx in New York
City, where “Brother Jay,” as he is known, founded
TrueVoices in 2012 as a jumping-off point for poetry and performing arts with an inspirational and/
or Christian theme. Escobar’s vision has since spread
across the nation, with new TrueVoices chapters
emerging in Chicago, New Jersey, Washington, D.C.,
Philadelphia, and Cincinnati. One of TrueVoices’
long-running programs is a monthly poetry reading for poets aged 16 through 24. Another successful program is TrueVoices Outdoors, which seeks to
teach people about God through artistic endeavors.
Albert Cutié is the author of Dilemma: A Priest’s
Struggle With Faith and Love, a New York Times bestselling book, and his radio and television broadcasts
are heard and viewed in millions of homes. Cutié
also makes time to write a newspaper advice column. This former Catholic priest has turned his
own life story into a point of reference in his books
and programs. (He is now married and an Episcopalian priest in southeast Florida.) He was the first
priest to host a talk show on national television and
has penned several self-help books. The Spanishlanguage edition of one of these books, Real Life,
Real Love, became a best seller.
Gabriel Salguero, the senior pastor of the multicultural Lamb’s Church of the Nazarene in New
York City, is the president of the National Latino
Evangelical Coalition and a member of the Latino
Leadership Circle. Salguero’s work for social justice and indigenous leadership has made him one of
the most influential Latino leaders. In order to get
young Latinos motivated to vote, Salguero founded
Nuestro Futuro prior to the 2012 election. Salguero
has been invited to deliver invocations at the inaugural prayer service at the National Cathedral and
the Democratic National Convention.
Rigoberto Emmanuel “Manny” Viñas is the rabbi
of the Lincoln Park Jewish Center in Yonkers, New
York. Viñas founded a Spanish-language spirituality
and educational center, El Centro de Estudios Judíos
Torat Emet, where Jews from Latin America can
gather and pray together. The center also serves to
help Hispanics identify their Jewish heritage. Viñas
seeks to engender a better understanding between
Anglo and Hispanic Jews.
Mujahid Fletcher, based in Houston, Texas, uses
his experiences as a former gang member to speak
to gangs about Islam. (Only 6 percent of Hispanics
identify as Muslims.) He has produced recordings
in Spanish under the umbrella of IslamInSpanish,
an organization that releases educational multimedia, including 200 cable-access TV shows, a radio
program, CDs, and DVDs.
Eva Rodriguez-Marienchild
See Also: Cultural Diversity and Leadership; Gender and
Leadership; Religious Organizations.
Further Readings
Ortiz, Manuel. The Hispanic Challenge: Opportunities
Confronting the Church. Downers Grove, IL: Inter
Varsity Press, 1993.
Recinos, H. J. and H. Magallanes. Jesus in the Hispanic
Community. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox
Press, 2010
Rodriguez, D. A. A Future for the Latino Church. Downers
Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2011.
Leadership in Sports
Organizations
Hispanic Americans have played prominent roles in
many different athletic pursuits, both on and off of
the field. In some cases, Hispanic Americans have
taken on leadership roles by virtue of their own outstanding performances, becoming heroes to youth
and inspiring greater participation in their sport
of choice as children seek to emulate those whom
they look up to. In other cases, the leadership role
has been one of advocacy rather than direct participation in sports; a Hispanic American may demonstrate leadership by encouraging others’ participation in sports rather than by his or her own example
of participation. Finally, some individuals combine
both of these approaches by first coming to prominence through their own athletic achievement, and
at the conclusion of their careers taking a new tack
either through coaching or youth mentoring to encourage the next generation of athletes.
As is true of most cultural groups, Hispanic
Americans have traditionally had higher levels of
Leadership in Sports Organizations | 167
practices, and providing Latinos access to a quality education.
MALDEF has a history of working to protect
the rights of all voters and advocates at all levels
of government to ensure that U.S. citizens are able
to vote, regardless of their national origin or language proficiency. In the 21st century, the organization achieved two victories in the reauthorization of
the federal Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Supreme
Court’s rejection of gerrymandered Texas districts
that diluted the votes of hundreds of thousands of
Latinos. MALDEF’s Employment Litigation and
Public Policy Program promotes fair employment
practices, and the organization has filed a class-action lawsuit seeking to recover millions of dollars in
wages owed to construction workers under California wage and hour laws. MALDEF’s Education and
Litigation Public Policy Program has been involved
in litigation related to discrimination, equal opportunity and resources for a quality education, desegregation in public schools, and the effects of overcrowded schools.
Special Events
The organization hosts the annual Latino State of
the Union policy roundtable and five annual regional Awards Galas in Los Angeles; San Antonio;
Tucson, Arizona; Chicago; and Washington, D.C.
The awards galas emphasize the organization’s commitment and service to the community and recognize individuals, corporations, and law firms that
have advanced justice for Latinos.
Mary Ann Dávila Rodríguez
See Also: Employment and Unemployment;
Hispanic National Bar Association; Immigration Law;
Immigration Rights; LatinoJustice PRLDEF; League
of United Latin American Citizens; Racial and Ethnic
Discrimination.
Further Readings
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
http://www.maldef.org (Accessed November 2014).
Palomo Acosta, Teresa. “Mexican American Legal Defense
and Educational Fund.” Handbook of Texas Online.
http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/
jom01 (Accessed November 2014).
180 | Mexican Americans
Mexican Americans
Mexican Americans are Americans who are of
Mexican descent. As of 2013, it was estimated that
11 percent of the U.S population was composed of
Mexican Americans, with about 35 million Americans of full or partial Mexican ancestry. The United
States has the second-largest community of Mexicans in the world, second only to Mexico. In 2008,
there were close to 7 million undocumented Mexicans residing in the United States.
U.S.–Mexican History
About 10 percent of the current Mexican American
population can trace their family history to early
white colonial settlers. In the early 1800s, Tejanos
(people of Mexican descent who settled in Texas)
not only colonized Texas but also established a government within the state that would attempt to gain
independence from Mexico. By 1900, there were a
little more than half a million Hispanics residing in
New Mexico, Texas, and California, with the majority of these people of Mexican descent.
The concept of “Mexican” was relatively unknown in the 19th century and certainly did not
have the same meaning as it does today. Around
1831, Anglo settlers began to outnumber the Tejanos; at one point there were about 10 Anglo settlers
for every one Tejano in Texas. The Mexican government found this alarming and so it restricted
the number of Anglo settlers who were able to enter
the state and reside there. The Mexican government also banned slavery in Texas, an action that
angered many people who had moved there so they
could own slaves. As a result, many Anglo settlers,
along with male Tejanos, staged a rebellion, eventually leading to independence for Texas. Californios,
a term used to describe Spanish-speaking people
in California regardless of their race or where they
were born, developed promising relationships with
Anglo settlers. These relations remained good until
John C. Fremont, a military officer, arrived in California with 60 men on an exploratory expedition.
An agreement was made so that he and his men
would stay in the San Joaquin Valley throughout
the winter and then leave for Oregon. However, Fremont remained in the valley and eventually headed
toward Monterey.
A California military officer demanded that Fremont and his men leave California. But instead of
leaving, Fremont raised a U.S. flag at Gavilan Peak
and made a promise that he would fight to his dying
breath to defend it. For three days there was a lot of
tension between Fremont and the Californios. Eventually, without being shot at or attacked, Fremont
retreated to Oregon. This incident soured the relationship between the Anglos and the Californios.
Fremont later rode back to Alta California, where he
encouraged other American settlers to capture Californio soldiers and their horses.
On September 30, 1846, the Californios defeated
a relatively large Anglo force in Los Angeles. The
Anglos, however, would go on to reinforce their
army and return to southern California to confront the Californios once again. The Californios’
ranching lifestyle quickly came to an end when tens
of thousands of people migrated to California during the 1849 gold rush. Many Anglos illegally moved
onto the Californios’ lands, which were granted by
the former Mexican government.
In the 1830s, large numbers of Anglos, called
Tejas, also settled in Texas. In 1846, the United
States annexed Texas, which Mexico considered
part of its territory. Annexation triggered the Mexican-American War, which ended in a decisive
American victory with the signing of the Treaty of
Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. Under the terms of the
treaty, Texas became part of the United States. The
Gadsden Purchase in 1853 furthered U.S. control of
the southwest, with the United States taking over
parts of California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.
While the majority of Mexican Americans were
once concentrated in states like Texas, California,
Arizona, and New Mexico, Mexican American communities are now located in Detroit, Chicago, St.
Louis, and many other places in the United States.
Mexican illegal aliens have become an important
supply of labor for some U.S. industries. Many of
these aliens work in the midwest meatpacking industry and others in the southeastern agricultural
industry. In almost every part of the United States
there are undocumented Mexicans working in hotels, restaurants, construction, and landscaping.
Mexican American workers have formed their
own unions. One of the more significant of these
unions is the United Farm Workers of America,
which by the mid-1970s had gained major victories
in its fight to organize farm laborers as a result of its
strikes and boycotts of grapes and lettuce in California’s San Joaquin and Coachella Valleys. Mexican
American identity has also gone through dramatic
changes over the years. During the past century, for
example, Mexican Americans have campaigned for
fairer voting rights, have fought to obtain better educational opportunities, and have worked to eliminate employment discrimination. At the same time,
many Mexican American communities have struggled to maintain their identities.
Diversity of Mexican American Ethnicity
A Dorothea Lange portrait of a migratory Mexican field worker in
1937. The worker holds an infant in front of his home on the edge of
a pea field in Imperial Valley, California. A young girl peers out of
the doorway. (Library of Congress)
Mexican Americans are considered a relatively diverse population. For example, there are Mexican
lineages that can be traced back to European ancestry (primarily in Spain) and other lineages that
can be traced back to Lebanon. However, the majority of Mexican Americans are Mestizos—people of
mixed indigenous and European or Middle Eastern
backgrounds. According to the 2010 U.S. Census,
more than 50 percent of Mexican Americans identified themselves as being white, while only 5 percent
identified themselves as being of two or more races.
As the borders of the United States have expanded, the U.S. Census has undergone changes
Mexican Americans | 181
regarding how it classifies Mexican Americans. In
the earliest censuses beginning in 1790, respondents
could identify as only two races—white or black.
Mexican Americans were forced to identify as white,
except in 1930, when for the first and only time the
term Mexican American was listed as a race. The
1970 Census was the first to acknowledge the ethnic
status of Hispanics, asking persons if their origin or
descent was Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central
or South American, other Spanish, or none of these.
By the 2000 Census, the U.S. government had mandated that the federal agencies collecting data must
include at least two ethnicities—“Hispanic or Latino” and “Not Hispanic or Latino.” The ethnicity
classification was changed in 2010 to “Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin.”
Economic Issues
Illegal Mexican immigrants perform a large amount
of low-paid labor within the United States. Many
Mexican aliens accept this work for fear of deportation, and these workers often are extremely vulnerable to being exploited by their employers. A lot
of employers have developed a mind-set of “Don’t
ask, don’t tell” in their treatment of Mexican immigrants. On May 1, 2006, hundreds of thousands of
undocumented immigrants and others boycotted
work and school in support of immigration reform.
A survey released in June 2007 concluded that 63
percent of Americans supported policies to help illegal immigrants acquire citizenship, but the majority of Americans were opposed to granting amnesty.
During the 21st century there has been a steady
increase in average household income for Mexican
American families. Mexican Americans are earning
more money, especially when compared to Mexican
immigrants recently arriving in the United States.
The majority of immigrants from Mexico come from
families that are not employed in professional careers.
As a result, Mexicans migrants generally are unable
to work in many white-collar professions. A few professionals from Mexican have migrated in search of
better opportunities, although they generally need to
obtain professional licenses before they can be hired.
According to one think-tank study, Mexican immigrants earn about 50 percent less than
whites. However, second-generation Mexican
Americans earn close to 80 percent of whites’
182 | Mexican Americans
income, and third-generation Mexican Americans are earning about the same amount of income as Anglos. The differentials in Mexican
Americans’ income occur because of discrimination by employers and the lack of formal education
and/or training among newly arrived Mexicans.
Many people in the United States maintain that
Mexican immigration is a detriment to the American economy. Some argue this immigration is diluting the dominance of the English language, while
others believe it is weakening the country’s economy and cultural values. However, a survey by the
U.S. Census Bureau in 2007 concluded that the majority of Mexican Americans quickly learn English,
and by the second and third generations most families no longer use the Spanish language. The results
also demonstrated that Mexican Americans do not
appear to be any more or less committed to their careers than Anglos.
The Immigration Battle
Immigration to the United States is arguably quite
difficult for Mexicans. The process is long, tedious,
and requires that Mexican applicants possess a large
number of prerequisites. Mexican migrants also face
discrimination based on poverty, culture, race, and
ethnicity; some Americans have even attempted to
prevent Mexicans and Mexican Americans from
speaking Spanish. Mexican Americans have frequently been associated with a variety of negative
stereotypes, many of which circulate in pop culture
and the media. People from Mexico have also been
the targets of deportation and of raids in search of
illegal aliens.In the Great Depression of the 1930s,
the U.S. government created a Mexican repatriation
program with the intention of encouraging citizens
to voluntarily move to Mexico. However, thousands
of Mexican Americans were deported despite not
wanting to leave. It is estimated that around 500,000
were deported, 60 percent of whom were U.S. citizens. During World War II, around 300,000 Mexican Americans served in the U.S. Armed Forces,
although many of these servicemen were discriminated against and in some cases were denied medical
services by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
In 1949, Hector P. Garcia, a Mexican American
veteran, established the American GI Forum, which
sought to end discrimination against Mexican
American who had served in the military. In its
early years the forum advocated on behalf of Felix
Longoria, a Mexican American who was killed in
the Philippines while serving in the military. When
his body was returned to his hometown in Texas, he
was denied funeral services due to his ethnicity.
Time magazine in 2006 reported that the number of hate groups in the United States had increased
by 33 percent since 2000, with some of these groups
targeting illegal immigrants. According to a Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) survey conducted in
2011, about 60 percent of hate crimes were directed
toward individuals of Hispanic descent. California,
the state with the highest concentration of Mexican American communities, has been the site of numerous hate crimes, with a 40 percent increase between 2003 and 2011. Hate crimes against Hispanics
throughout the United States increased by 50 percent between 2003 and 2007, but had declined significantly by 2011.
Intermarriage, Segregation,
and Education Issues
Based on data from the 2000 U.S. Census, Mexican
Americans have a relatively high rate of intermarriage with non-Hispanic whites. About 50 percent
of men and about 45 percent of women of Mexican
descent who were born in the United States married descendants of Mexicans who were born in the
United States; about 27 percent of Mexican American men and about 28 of Mexican American women
married non-Hispanic whites. Less than 20 percent
of Mexican American men and women born in the
United States married a Mexican born in Mexico.
Studies have suggested that the amount of segregation experienced by both Mexican immigrants
and Mexican Americans is declining. A study from
1984 asked both Mexican Americans and Anglos to
provide credit check scores, income, proof of employment, and other documents needed to obtain
housing; the information was essentially the same
for both groups. However, the study showed that
Mexican Americans were more likely than their
Anglo counterparts to be asked to pay a deposit and
more likely to be placed on a waiting list.
Segregation is different for Latinos than it is for
African Americans. Many experts maintain that
Mexican American segregation is far less severe, as
well as fundamentally different in regard to mindsets, than black segregation. This suggests that Mexican Americans are more likely to encounter segregation because of the issues surrounding immigration,
while African Americans experience segregation
arising from the U.S. history of racism and slavery.
For example, even though Mexican Americans
are discriminated against, many have held elected
offices and were able to vote. However, it is important to note that it was not until the creation
of prominent organizations like the American G.I.
Forum that Mexican Americans were really able to
establish a significant influence in U.S. politics. Edward Roybal exemplifies the political movement of
Mexican Americans. Roybal was elected to the Los
Angeles City Council in 1947 and the U.S. House of
Representatives in 1962.
At certain periods in U.S. history, Mexican
American children were required to register at a
“Mexican school,” where the school year was shortened, the buildings were unsafe, resources such as
books and equipment were inadequate, and educational quality was substandard. The Texas Education Survey Commission, for example, discovered
in 1923 that the average school year for Mexican
American children was about two months shorter
than that of a white children.
In 1968, Mexican American students in Los Angeles walked out of their classrooms to protest unequal conditions in the Los Angeles Unified School
District. This demonstration expressed the growing
Chicano movement, in which Mexican Americans
demanded an end to discrimination. The movement eventually helped to increase Chicanos’ political power.
David Gonzalez
See Also: Assimilation and Acculturation; Bilingual
Education; Chicano Movement; Color Discrimination;
Deportation; Employment and Unemployment;
Immigration Law; Immigration Rights; Labor Organizing;
Minority Rights; Political Leadership; Racial and Ethnic
Discrimination; Stereotypes about Hispanic Americans.
Further Readings
Binns, T. Mexican Americans. Chicago: Heinemann
Library, 2003.
Mexican Americans | 183
Puerto Rico Independence
Movement
The Puerto Rican Independence Movement refers to
a series of unsuccessful attempts by Puerto Ricans
to gain independence for the island. Initially, these
attempts were directed at Spain, but since 1898,
when Spain handed over control of Puerto Rico to
the United States, proponents of independence have
directed their efforts at the United States. These initiatives involved dozens of different organizations,
political parties, movements, and groups and have
spanned several centuries. One of the earlier attempts at independence was the Taíno revolt waged
by the native people of Puerto Rico, who were forced
to defend their land against Spanish invaders. The
Taíno rebellion took place in 1511, when leader
Agüeybaná II organized an attack against the Spanish on the western and southern sides of the island.
One of the areas attacked was the Spanish village of
Sotomayor, where about 80 Spanish colonists were
killed. Juan Ponce de León then launched a series of
counterattacks against the natives. The Taíno, who
were equipped with only arrows, bows, and spears,
were no match for Spanish guns. Agüeybaná II was
later shot and killed during a battle.
Grito de Lares
El Grito de Lares, or the Cry of Lares, was one of the
first major rebellions against Spanish rule in Puerto
Rico. The revolt was spearheaded by Segundo Ruiz
Belvis and Ramon Emeterio Betances, who on January 6, 1868, founded the Revolutionary Committee of Puerto Rico. Grito de Lares took place on September 23, 1868, in the town of Lares. Once started,
it spread rapidly throughout the island. Although
the rebels failed to attain independence, Grito de
Lares was the seed of future revolutions. The incident also led the Spanish government to provide
Puerto Ricans with a greater amount of political
power. About 500 rebels were sent to prison after
Grito de Lares. They were often humiliated and tortured for their actions. On November 17, 1868, a
military court charged the rebels with sedition and
treason and sentenced them to death. In order to
ease the tension on the island, the incoming governor, José Laureano Sanz y Posse, granted each of the
2 24 | Puerto Rico Independence Movement
rebels amnesty and they were released from prison.
However, many of them went into exile.
Puerto Ricans initially celebrated September
23, the day of Grito de Lares, as a national holiday. However, this commemoration was later outlawed by both the Spanish and U.S. governments.
Even today, the Puerto Rican government does not
view Grito de Lares as an official holiday. However,
in 1969, Luis A. Ferré, governor of Puerto Rico, declared Lares a historical landmark based on the rebellion, and the city is still considered a foundational landmark for Puerto Rican nationalism.
Other Nineteenth-Century Revolts
Subsequent revolts took place in 1896 and 1897. In
1896, a group of Puerto Ricans known as the Yauco
provided support for the independence movement
and planned to overthrow the Spanish government.
Their movement was led by Mateo Mercado and Antonio Mattei Lluberas, a well-known and rich coffee
plantation owner. However, a Spanish guard learned
of the rebels’ plans, and the rebels were all arrested;
soon after, they were all released and sent home.
In 1897, Lluberas traveled to New York City to
meet with the Puerto Rican Revolutionary Committee. It was here that they constructed plans for another coup in Puerto Rico. Lluberas returned to the
island with a Puerto Rican flag, which he would fly
during the coup. However, a Spanish official heard
about the planned rebellion and notified the Spanish
governor. When one of the separatist leaders, Fidel
Velez, realized the planned coup was no longer a secret, he had no choice but to assemble all of the revolutionary groups and immediately launch an attack.
On March 24, 1897, Velez and his army made
their way to the barracks of the Spanish Civil Guard.
Their goal was to acquire as many guns and other
ammunition as possible, as they would need it during the revolt. However, once they were at the barracks, they were immediately ambushed by Spanish
forces. When a gunfight broke out, the rebels had
no choice but to retreat. On March 26, another rebel
group led by Ramon Torres and Jose Nicolas Quinones Torres engaged the Spanish in battle. The rebels were quickly overcome, and more than 150 rebels were arrested, charged with crimes against the
state, and sent to prison. These attacks would later
be called the Attempted Coup of Yauco. This coup is
historically significant because it was one of the first
times the Puerto Rican flag had been flown on the
island since Spanish rulers took control.
After almost 400 years of Spanish rule, Puerto
Rico finally gained its sovereignty in 1897. However,
a few months later the United States took ownership
of the island under the terms of the Treaty of Paris
of 1898, which was signed at the end of the SpanishAmerican War.
Twentieth-Century Independence Attempts
The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party was founded on
September 17, 1922, with José Coll y Cuchi as its first
president. Coll y Cuchi’s goal was to achieve dramatic changes in Puerto Rican social welfare and
the economy. In 1924, Pedro Albizu Campos became vice president of the party. Campos was a lawyer and the first Puerto Rican to graduate from Harvard Law School; he also served in the U.S. Army
during World War I. Albizu Campos was an ardent
proponent of Puerto Rican independence.
After a few disagreements with Campos, Coll y
Cuchi left the party. As a result, Campos became
president and represented the Nationalist Party.
President Theodore Roosevelt is shown in this editorial cartoon
wielding his “big stick” in the Caribbean. After Puerto Rico was
invaded during the Spanish-American War, the island proposed
independence for Puerto Rico. The idea was rejected by the U.S.
government and the island was organized as a U.S. territory.
(Wikimedia Commons/Granger Collection )
Starting in the early 1930s, the government instituted strict repressive measures against the party. In
1936, Campos and other party leaders were sent to
prison in San Juan and later transferred to a prison
in Atlanta, Georgia. The Ponce Massacre occurred
on March 21, 1937, when police shot at a crowd attending a Nationalist Party parade, killing 17 unarmed Puerto Ricans and two police officers. The
fatalities included an 8-year-old girl, who was shot
in the back by police. Although the police were responsible for the killings, Campos was arrested after
the massacre and sentenced to 10 years in prison,
which he served at a federal prison in the United
States. On December 15, 1947, Campos returned to
Puerto Rico after serving his entire sentence.
The Puerto Rican Senate on May 21, 1948, adopted
Law 53, which was essentially designed to restrain
the rights of the Nationalists and others who advocated independence. The president of the Senate, Luis
Munoz Marin, was a staunch supporter of the legislation. Law 53 was commonly known as the “Gag Law,”
or “Ley de la Mordaza” in Spanish. The law made it a
crime to exhibit, publish, or sell any material that was
intended to criticize or oppose the government in any
way. Individuals, groups, and parties who were convicted of this crime could be imprisoned for a maximum of 10 years or assessed a fine that could exceed
$10,000; in more extreme cases, convicted criminals
would be both imprisoned and fined.
On June 21, 1948, Campus delivered a speech in
which he argued that the Gag Law violated constitutional rights, specifically the First Amendment. Nationalists from all parts of Puerto Rico gathered to
hear him speak and to prevent police from taking
him to jail. The passage of the Gag Law prompted
Campos and other Nationalists to plan an armed rebellion that would take place in 1952.
Campos decided the town of Jayuya would be
the initial location of the revolt, and weapons were
stored and ready for use. While holding a meeting
on October 26, 1950, in Fajardo, Campos received
word that police officers were at his home in San
Juan and were ready to arrest him. He was also told
that the police had taken into custody many other
Nationalists, including many prominent leaders in
the party. After escaping Fajardo, Campos knew
there was no time to spare, and so he launched
the attack. After police killed four Nationalists on
Puerto Rico Independence Movement | 2 2 5
October 27, 1950, Nationalists counterattacked in
Ponce, San Juan, and other areas of Puerto Rico
during the Utado Uprising on October 30.
The United States responded to these attacks by
declaring martial law on the island. U.S. air bombers, backed by air-based artillery, attacked several
towns in Puerto Rico. When a group of 32 Nationalists battled with police, its number was reduced
to 12 individuals. After retreating into a nearby
home, three of the men were killed by a combination of aerial and machine gunfire; following this attack, the National Guard ordered the remaining nine
men to surrender. The men who surrendered were
made to walk down Dr. Cueto Street, where they
were stripped of all their belongings. They were then
taken to a local police station, where five Nationalists
died after being shot at by police. Four of the Nationalists survived but were seriously wounded.
U.S. Capitol Shooting Incident
Following the Utado Uprising, a great deal of hostility and unresolved tension existed between the Nationalists and the United States. As a result, on March
1, 1954, a group of four Nationalists, wielding semiautomatic pistols, unrolled a Puerto Rican flag and
then fired 30 rounds of gunshot into the visitor’s gallery of the U.S. Capitol. The shooting was intended
to demonstrate the Nationalists’ desire for independence. The four Nationalists were later identified as
Andres Figueroa Cordero, Dolores “Lolita” Lebron,
Irving Flores Rodriguez, and Rafael Cancel Miranda.
The shooter’s targeted members of the House of Representatives, who on March 1 were debating an immigration bill. Five representatives were wounded, one
of them seriously, but they all recovered. The four assailants were tried, convicted, and sentenced to life in
prison. President Jimmy Carter pardoned the prisoners in 1979, allowing them to return to Puerto Rico.
The shooting began on the morning of March 1,
1954, when Lebron made her way to a subway terminal in Manhattan. She met the other three assailants, and the four traveled by train to Washington,
D.C. Miranda had suggested they conduct the attack
on another day because the weather on March 1 was
not bright and sunny as they had expected. Lebron
responded by saying “I am alone,” and started walking toward the Capitol Building. The others in the
group choose to follow her.
2 26 | Puerto Rico Independence Movement
After reaching their target destination, they entered a visitor’s gallery that put them in plain sight
of the representatives. As the representatives left the
chamber where they were discussing the immigration bill, Lebron gave the order to attack. After reciting a quick prayer, Lebron got to her feet and yelled,
“Viva Puerto Rico Libre!” (Long live a free Puerto
Rico). After unveiling the Puerto Rican flag, the
four began firing at the representatives.
Among the five injured representatives, Alvin
Bentley was hit in the chest with a bullet; Clifford
Davis was hit in the leg; and bullets struck the backs
of Ben Jensen, Kenneth Roberts, and George Fallon. While she and the other shooters were being arrested at the Capitol, Lebron yelled “I didn’t come to
kill anyone. I came to die for Puerto Rico!”
The police attacked Campos, the president of the
Nationalist Party, at his home the next day, using
tear gas and guns to subdue him. When taken
from his home, he was half asphyxiated and unconscious. The chief of police later admitted that
the attack did not make any sense because Campos
was under constant surveillance by the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. All of his phones had been wired and he
was being watched 24 hours per day, seven days a
week. No evidence was ever found to link Campos
to the attack.
Campos was sent to prison, where after two years
he suffered a stroke and an embolism that left him
mute and half paralyzed. However, he remained in
prison for another nine years and was not released
until shortly before his death on April 21, 1965.
David Gonzalez
See Also: National Puerto Rican Day Parade; Pedro
Albizu Campos High School; Puerto Ricans.
Further Readings
Acosta-Belen, Edna. Puerto Ricans in the United States:
A Contemporary Portrait. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner
Publishers, 2006.
Lidin, H. History of the Puerto Rican Independence
Movement. Unknown publisher, 1981.
Zavala, I. The Intellectual Roots of Independence: An
Anthology of Puerto Rican Political Essays. New York:
Monthly Review Press, 1980.
S
Salvadoran Americans
Salvadoran Americans are American citizens who
derive from Salvadoran origins. As of 2013, there
were an estimated 2 million Salvadoran Americans residing within the United States. Salvadorans
make up the fourth-largest Hispanic population in
the United States and are predicted to become the
third-largest. Salvadoran Americans typically refer
to themselves as Salvis.
Several terms are used for people of El Salvadoran
ancestry: Salvadoran, Salvadorean, and Salvadorian.
These words sound phonetically similar but differ
slightly in their spelling. Salvadorean and Salvadorian are the most commonly used terms in everyday conversation. Salvadorans can also go by several
prominent nicknames, each of which has heavy historical significance. The one that is most commonly
used is Guanaco, which literally means brother and
is derived from the Poton Lenca language. Poton
Lenca is an indigenous language that has historical
significance in northern and eastern El Salvador.
Salvadorans and many Salvadoran Americans
speak Spanish. Salvadoran Spanish is one of the more
widely used forms of Spanish in the United States. In
Washington, D.C., for example, Salvadoran Spanish is the most commonly spoken form of Spanish.
In Los Angeles, Salvadoran Spanish is the secondmost commonly spoken form of Spanish. Salvadoran
American youth usually use a form of Salvadoran
slang known as Salvadoran caliche, which provides
them a sense of virility and identity. Salvadoran
caliche also helps create better relationships with
other groups of Central Americans, primarily Hondurans, who are the closest to Salvadorans in their
Spanish speech patterns and pronunciations.
The majority of Salvadorans are Christians, and
as of 2012, the overwhelming majority of the Salvadoran American population classified themselves
as Christian. The most important religious-based
symbol for Salvadoran Americans and native Salvadorans is the image of Jesus Christ as he stands
atop a terra. The two major Christian denominations for the Salvadoran people are Roman Catholic and Evangelical. A small subset of the Salvadoran
population consists of Jews, Muslims, and Jehovah’s
Witnesses.
Before the Salvadoran Civil War began in 1979, the
first group of Salvadorans arrived in San Francisco,
and Salvadoran Americans are now the second-largest Hispanic population in the city. Other Salvadorans settled in Washington, D.C., which has the largest population of Salvadorans in the United States. It
is common for Salvadoran American citizens to keep
a close relationship with the city of San Salvador.
One of the more prominent characteristics about
El Salvador is the dramatic difference between the
upper and lower class. Salvadorans who are rich
are considered extremely rich, while Salvadorans
who are poor are considered extremely poor, and
there generally is not a middle ground. As a result,
El Salvador has developed many ultrawealthy citizens. However, a large majority of the population
in El Salvador is poor, which is one of the major
Salvadoran Americans | 241
contributing factors that leads to their immigration
to the United States.
El Salvador is run by a handful of about 14 families. In virtually every part of the world this fact is
well known. But for the people of El Salvador, the
identity of these families remains a state secret. By
the late 1970s, the country’s social structure had divided into two classes of people—the very rich and
the very poor. The wealthy resided in luxurious
homes situated in beautiful suburban areas of the
country. Tyrannical leaders who were also very rich
generally dictated the lives of the poor.
At the bottom of the nation’s social ladder was
the Salvadoran underclass, a large portion of which
was composed of individuals who had returned
from fighting a war in Honduras. Upon their return,
these people did not receive financial or other support from the El Salvadoran government. The rich
elite, known as The 14 Families, was actually composed of several hundred families who maintained
control of the country. The Salvadoran military
changed focus from protecting the nation to protecting the rich elite. The Salvadoran workers split
into two distinct classes: One class worked in urban
centers while others worked in the countryside. Salvadoran soldiers were extremely aggressive toward
civilians, often terrorizing them. Later on, the military would be transformed into death squads that
the rich elite used to kill poor people.
In 1980, Archbishop Óscar Romero took on a
mission aimed at establishing peace between the
two vastly different socioeconomic worlds. That
same year, Romero was murdered, and most historians agree that his murder widened the already existing Salvadoran Civil War between the militarybacked government and Farabundo Martí National
Liberation Front (NFLM), a coalition of left-wing
guerrilla groups.
Prior to the civil war-related influx, the United
States had less than 10,000 Salvadorans among its
population. The massive immigration of Salvadorans during and after the war changed the relationship between El Salvador and the United States.
Before the war ended in 1992, the United States intervened in Salvadoran affairs, attempting to not
only bring an end to the civil war but also to reduce
the massive number of Salvadoran migrants.
Because many Salvadorian immigrants to the
United States during this period were refugees, a disproportionate number of them became activist leaders, attempting to mobilize support for the NFLM,
a group of left-wing factions in the Salvadoran Civil
War that became one of the country’s progressive
political parties in 1992. The largest Salvadoran
American activist organization is the Committee in
Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES),
founded in 1980 by Salvadoran Americans opposing
the U.S. government’s support (political and financial) of the Salvadoran military and the right-wing
Nationalist Republican Alliance during the Salvadoran Civil War. CISPES was vilified at the time;
the Cold War would not end for another decade, and
the United States was in the business of supporting
right-wing regimes in Latin America in order to prevent communist regimes from taking power and assumably becoming allies of and hosting missile bases
for the Soviet Union. Salvadorian immigrants were
Migration to the United States
The civil war led between 500,000 and 1 million Salvadorans—close to 30 percent of the nation’s population—to flee the country and immigrate to the
United States. Salvadoran migrants generally seek
assistance from smugglers called coyotes. Coyotes
help migrants come to the United States and are basically the Salvadorans’ only chance to escape the
poor quality of their lives in their home country.
242 | Salvadoran Americans
Lieutenant Governor of Maryland Anthony G. Brown (standing,
left) meeting constituents at a Salvadoran American festival in
Wheaton, Maryland, in 2013. Brown is the son of immigrant
parents from Cuba and Jamaica. (Flickr/Maryland Government)
likewise viewed with special concern, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation maintained a continual
investigation of the Salvadoran American community throughout the 1980s.
Salvadorans also received help from, and in turn
became part of, the Sanctuary Movement, an alliance of roughly 500 American churches that worked
to provide safe havens for refugees from the Salvadoran Civil War and other Central American conflicts. The Sanctuary Movement was politically bipartisan and multidenominational, including
Catholics, numerous Protestant denominations,
Jews, and Unitarian Universalists. The Sanctuary
Movement was notable for the number of active and
former military members who were involved as well.
Salvador American Culture
Folk music in El Salvador consists of several different styles of music including canciones, marcha,
passilo, danza, and Xuc. One of the more iconic instruments in the Salvadoran American culture is
the xylophone, which is used in virtually all types
of folk music. The music of El Salvadoran people
can be traced back to the indigenous populations of
the Pipil and Lenca. These groups were located near
the Mayan region in Central America and are believed to have had the most influence on present-day
El Salvadoran music. After the civil war in El Salvador, an indigenous musical group known as the Talticpac rose to become quite popular in the country.
Marching bands tend to be another popular staple in the Salvadoran American culture and
are an important part of the youth culture in cities and towns. A Salvadoran marching band is typically present at all kinds of events and activities, including celebrations and festivals. These marching
bands are important because they represent the traditions and customs of Salvadoran culture.
During the civil war, marching bands were
called war bands, but after the war their name was
changed to peace bands to exemplify the nation’s
peace movement. Popular Salvadoran American
marching bands have gained international attention, often appearing in U.S. parades, such as the
2008 and 2013 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California.
Salvadoran Civil War songs are also a prominent
part of Salvadoran American culture. These songs
have remained relatively popular since the 1970s
and were often broadcast on the radio due to their
immense popularity among the people of El Salvador. One of the more popular songs in this genre is
“El Salvador Ta Venciando” performed by the musical group Yolocamba I Ta. There have also been
songs dedicated to U.S. involvement in El Salvadoran economic issues.
Salvadoran cumbia, another popular Salvadoran
music genre, is performed by many well-known
groups including Orquesta San Vicente and the
Hermanos Flores Group. The first group recorded
a popular song known as “Soy Salvadoreno,” which
literally translates to I am Salvadoran, and serves as
a source of pride among Salvadoran Americans and
residents of El Salvador.
Sports have remained a popular pastime in the
Salvadoran culture. One of the most commonly
played sports is football, also called soccer. Some El
Salvadorans are talented soccer players and the nation has one of the largest soccer stadiums in Central America, capable of holding close to 50,000 people. The stadium is the playing ground for national
football leagues, which consists of 24 teams. Many
Salvadoran Americans closely follow these games.
Prominent Salvadoran Americans
One prominent Salvadoran American leader is J.
R. Martinez, the Louisiana-born son of Salvadoran
immigrant Maria Zavala. An Iraq War veteran,
Martinez was struck by an improvised explosive device (IED) two months after deployment and suffered severe burns to a third of his body. He spent
nearly three years at the Burn Center at Brooke
Army Medical Center before a lengthy series of surgeries and skin grafts were complete. He became a
motivational speaker, and for both this and his portrayal of a combat-injured veteran on the daytime
soap All My Children received the Veterans Leadership Award from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans
of America. Martinez continues to work with the
burn survivor community in addition to occasional
acting roles, and he was the winner on the 13th season of Dancing with the Stars.
Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, better known by his
military nickname “Kos,” is a significant leader in
modern political journalism. An Army veteran
whose enlistment ended just before the Gulf War,
Zuniga majored in journalism and political science
Salvadoran Americans | 243
after serving in the military, and soon founded the
Web site Daily Kos in 2002. Daily Kos has since become one of the most important political blogs, not
only for its coverage itself—which results in hundreds of thousands of unique daily visitors—but
its fellowship program, founded in 2007, to provide
funds to progressive political activists.
David Gonzalez
See Also: Costa Rican Americans; Guatemalan
Americans; Honduran Americans; Nicaraguan
Americans; Panamanian Americans.
Further Readings
Bordas, Juana. Salsa, Soul, and Spirit: Leadership for a
Multicultural Age. 2nd ed. San Francisco: BerrettKoehler Publishers, 2012.
Cordova, C. The Salvadoran Americans. Westport, CT:
Greenwood Press, 2005.
Var, C. Fragmented Ties: Salvadoran Immigrant Networks
in America. Berkeley: University of California Press,
2000.
Short-Term and Long-Term
Orientations
Short-term and long-term orientations are attempts
to describe the different ways people think about
time and how their thinking affects their behavior
and interactions with others, on both a personal level
and in professional contexts. The distinction between time orientations is especially important when
one is studying situations in which persons from different cultural backgrounds are interacting with one
another. This is due to the fact that these situations
have the greatest potential for conflicts involving
time orientations. Usually this type of conflict arises
because one person has a long-term orientation to
time and thus has a certain expectation about how
others will behave toward time. When people have
insufficient information to make an informed judgment about what may happen, their most likely response will be to attribute their own behaviors and
beliefs to others. So, a person with a long-term time
24 4 | Short-Term and Long-Term Orientations
orientation who is expecting to meet someone he or
she has never met will probably assume that the person they are going to meet also has a long-term time
orientation. Many times, however, these expectations are not in accord with reality, which can cause
people to become surprised or even angry when others do not behave the way they were expected.
Furthermore, while each person is in some ways a
unique individual due to his or her particular experiences, to some extent cultures tend to have shared
agreement among their members as to the most appropriate orientation to time. That is, one culture will
usually have a short-term orientation, while another
culture will have a long-term orientation. When
members of cultural groups that have different orientations to time interact with one another, it can
cause not only personal misunderstandings but can
also reinforce cultural stereotypes. A common example of this can be seen when a white person from
the United States, a long-term time orientation society, makes an appointment with a person from Mexico, a short-term time orientation society. The American will likely think of time more rigidly while the
Mexican will be likely to think of it more flexibly. If
the Mexican arrives five minutes after the scheduled
starting time, a common saying in the United States
might be “Oh, s/he is running on Mexican time,” that
is, always late. The reality is more complex than one
party being late and another being punctual; what is
really happening is that time means different things
to different people and different cultures.
Long Versus Short Term
It is helpful to have a complete picture of what is
meant by long-term and short-term orientations to
time; these phrases have a great many hidden meanings beneath their surfaces. Naturally these terms
are somewhat stereotypical in nature, but they do
give a clearer idea of what is meant or what may be
meant when one labels oneself or another as having
a short- or long-term orientation.
Those with a long-term time orientation most
often keep in mind that everything they do now has
consequences that may arise years later. People with
this view have developed a talent for persevering in
the face of adversity because they understand that a
small amount of discomfort in the present is worth
some sacrifice if it will produce a reward later on.