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Martinez column: Hola, y'all: Latino culture everywhere

Posted: Friday June 17th, 2005, 11:15 PM
Last Updated: Friday June 17th, 2005, 11:36 PM

Every time I write a column about growth in the Hispanic population, somebody calls to yell at me about illegal immigration, as if the two were synonymous. At the risk of inciting those who can't tell the difference, the Latino population in the United States is surging, and it is doing so in some unlikely places.

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By now, most of us have heard about a report released this month by the Census Bureau that found one of seven people in the U.S. -- not in California, mind you, but in the entire nation -- is Hispanic.

The bureau estimated there are 41.3 million Latinos in a nation of almost 293.7 million, accounting for half the growth in the U.S. population since 2000.

I know what your skeptical mind is thinking. We get two or three reports every year that trumpet the growth of the nation's Hispanic population. Give it a rest. And besides, why should I care?

You should care because I only write about very important things, but also because of this: The census data, considered alongside some of the latest research, suggests that when it comes to the Latino population, the nation as a whole is becoming more like Kern County.

In other words, the Hispanic influence is being felt almost everywhere, not just isolated pockets or in cities that traditionally have had huge Latino communities like Los Angeles, Chicago and New York.

We know that two of five Kern residents are Hispanic as is almost half the student population in grades kindergarten through 12. Kern has undergone this "Hispanification" for several decades, so it comes as no surprise. We also know that Kern Latinos are spread throughout the county, from Taft to Tehachapi and from Frazier Park to Delano.

But if you compare the Census data with a 2002 study by the Center for Urban and Metropolitan Policy and the Pew Hispanic Center, you'll find that Latinos are also spreading to many communities throughout the nation. Large concentrations of Hispanics are no longer confined to areas such as the southwest. Giving the phenomena the cool name of "hypergrowth," the study predicts that in coming years, the Hispanic population will have the most impact in communities that barely knew Latinos even existed a decade ago.

And that should make for some interesting cultural cross-pollination.

Could anyone have guessed that the Latino population of Atlanta, Ga., would rise by 995 percent between 1980 and 2000? How do grits taste with corn tortillas? I bet somebody has found out by now.

How about Raleigh, N.C., where the Hispanic population grew by 1,180 percent during that time? How does a southern drawl sound when combined with a Guatemalan accent? Someone out there knows.

My personal favorite is Las Vegas, whose Hispanic population rose by 753 percent between 1980 and 2000. Can you say "broke" in Spanish?

Overall, the report found that a little more than half of the largest metropolitan areas in America experienced explosive growth of small Latino communities between 1980 and 2000.

Where does Bakersfield fit in all this? The Center for Urban and Metropolitan Policy study classified the city is a "fast-growing Latino hub," which means that while it already had a large Hispanic population, that population still climbed by almost 200 percent between 1980 and 2000.

OK, if you're dying of curiosity, the Census Bureau says that the majority of recent Latino population growth came from new births, not from immigration, legal or otherwise. In fact, neither of the two studies I cited distinguished between legal and illegal immigration. So, Minutemen fans, please leave me alone.

Anyway, I'm pretty busy right now. I have to go find some grits.

Leonel Martinez is a former reporter for The Californian. His column appears every other Saturday. Readers may send comments or suggestions to lmartinez@bakersfield.com or leave a voicemail at 395-7631.