http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/ ... 194905.htm

Posted on Fri, Aug. 04, 2006

Rapid Latino rise shaping region
Area sees double-digit growth in Hispanics
CLEVE R. WOOTSON JR.
cwootson@charlotteobserver.com

The Charlotte area's Hispanic population shot up dramatically over the past five years, with double-digit percentage increases in every county, according to Census estimates released today -- a trend that continues to change the face of North Carolina.

Mecklenburg County saw a jump of almost 60 percent -- or about 26,600 people -- and the Hispanic population in several surrounding counties grew even more quickly.

Most of that increase is due to immigration from other countries, though some people are moving here from other states. North Carolina has gained about 33,000 Hispanics every year since 2000, according to the state demographer's office. About 26,000 of them are from other countries.

More people are coming now than ever, though the growth rate peaked in the 1990s. The most recent Census estimate puts the total number of Hispanics statewide at 553,113, up from 378,962 in the 2000 Census.

Hispanic advocates say the Latino population in North Carolina is certainly higher, buoyed by illegal immigration and other people who don't fill out census forms. The Census did not take into account undocumented residents. Immigration officials have previously estimated the total number of Hispanics in Mecklenburg at around 100,000.

Researchers who study migration patterns say Hispanics are coming to the Charlotte area for the same reasons others do -- jobs. Construction work, landscaping and service industry jobs are drawing Spanish-speaking employees, said Angeles Ortega-Moore, executive director of the Latin American Coalition in Charlotte.

Latino leaders and advocates say other contributing factors are the perception of Mecklenburg as safer and more family-friendly than other cities and the presence of Hispanic enclaves around Charlotte.

"When Charlotte started seeing Latinos coming ... it was a lot of men by themselves," said Ortega-Moore. "You would see women but not to the numbers that you see now. Now, difficulties with 9-11 and all of the scrutiny that comes with that and people's legal status, it makes it difficult for people to go back and forth ... so they're sending for their families."

Businesses note growth

The Spanish-language Christian bookstore Kay Ramos runs with her mother and siblings wouldn't have had enough customers to succeed two decades ago. . El Oasis Libreria Cristiana sits in a shopping center near The Landmark restaurant. It caters almost entirely to a cluster of Spanish-speaking residents on that stretch of Central Avenue near Eastland Mall and the nearby churches that serve them."We thought there was a need," Ramos said. "Now there are two more stores like this" in the city.

On South Boulevard, Food Bazaar sells food products manufactured in Latin America to mostly Spanish-speaking customers who live nearby. "Every day, more people come here," manager Elizabeth Botello said through an interpreter. "Not only from other countries, but from other states."

In the 1990s, the Hispanic population in North Carolina increased by close to 400 percent. That growth rate has decreased but the overall numbers are bigger.

North Carolina is following the migration patterns of states such as Texas and California, said Rakesh Kochhar, associate director for research for the Washington, D.C.-based Pew Hispanic Center.

"We're probably still in the early stages of this. ...Right now, you have a supply of young male workers, and tomorrow you'll be looking at educating their children. It is still a very rapidly growing population."

Latest Census Estimates

As of June 2005

N.C. Population: 8,683,242

Males: 4,271,569

Females: 4,411,673

White: 5,928,770

Black: 1,861,554

Hispanic: 553,113

Asian: 152,801