Hispanic Communities:Norcal vs Socal (Hispanics, race, Latino)

[Bonez765]

Originally Posted by kttam186290

I've noticed that L.A.'s Hispanic community, of which I am a part of along with the Filipino community, tend to be more integrated and warmer than in the Bay Area.

L.A. jives more with Hispanic culture. There's more Hispanic synergy here and we are free to be colorful and warm. Southern California was settled by Hispanics and Southern Okies -- two very colorful cultures! Northern California was settled by New England aristocrats primarily during the Gold Rush era. Southern California, as a whole, doesn't look down on people without advanced education the way Northern California does. In Northern Cal, where you went to school is everything and dictates your station in life and who you'll marry. In So Cal, it's way less of an issue and you'll see more people who are married where one spouse is educated and the other isn't.

The Hispanic communities in the Bay Area (Bay Point, Redwood City, Gilroy, Watsonville, Salinas, etc.) tend to be more isolated, insular and clannish. They work to serve the wealthy Jewish/white/Asian communities in places like Orinda, Hillsborough, the Marina, Sausalito and Tiburon. So you get a lot more resentment and a lot more militant ethnic activism up in Nor Cal.

Contrast that with the So Cal cities and suburbs where Latinos are integrated into the middle class and interact heavily with their Anglo and Asian peers. Younger Hispanics in Northern California seem to be lost culturally and looking for respite in the ghetto culture of Oakland and Richmond because they can't identify with whites and Asians due to class differences. Hispanics in Southern California are more middle-class, more mainstream, a lot happier and seem to be better off than those in Nor Cal.

As I read this, I laughed to myself because half the stuff you wrote is not even true. If anything, the Spanish Speakers of LA ARE the ones who lack fluidity in dealing with outsiders. How do I know this? My father lived in LA for his first years in the U.S and encountered A LOT more hostility there than he ever has experienced here in Northern California. You cherry picked the worst communities of Northern California and said as if that represents all of us. Even your fellow Southern Californians have agreed with me that the LA raised Spanish speakers are WAY more militant than the ones from OC, SD, and Northern California.

And btw, Gilroy is not a ****hole as you claim it is. That town is very safe actually.

[kttam186290]

Well, I am part of L.A.'s Hispanic community and I have cousins who live in three different cities in Nor Cal. So, I'm supposed to take your anecdotal evidence and tell myself that everything I have lived through, experienced and known was just a figment of my imagination?

[Bunjee]

Originally Posted by kttam186290

Well, I am part of L.A.'s Hispanic community and I have cousins who live in three different cities in Nor Cal. So, I'm supposed to take your anecdotal evidence and tell myself that everything I have lived through, experienced and known was just a figment of my imagination?

I think this thread shows that these communities are so large and varied in themselves that one can have entirely different anecdotal experiences from another, even living in a place (wherever that is in such a varied region) for years. Wouldn't that be fair to say, everyone?

[Count David]

Originally Posted by Bunjee

I think this thread shows that these communities are so large and varied in themselves that one can have entirely different anecdotal experiences from another, even living in a place (wherever that is in such a varied region) for years. Wouldn't that be fair to say, everyone?

Absolutely. Here are my anecdotes:

I grew up in the Inland Empire. My father's father came to the U.S. from Mexico when he was 6, and my mother's grandmother was from Mexico (all of my mother's other ancestors were White Americans).

The Hispanic community in the IE is divided. You have newly arrived immigrants, and plenty of them. You have the second-generation, whose parents were the immigrants. And thirdly, you have the fully assimilated group.

The fully assimilated group are mainstream Americans, there is no "community" to speak of. They are usually middle-class and above, most often do not speak Spanish, and aside from their surnames and maybe a darker skin hue, are completely indistinguishable from most other Americans.

The newly arrived immigrants are still deep within their culture, while also trying to learn a new one. Most often they speak Spanish, or at the very least, speak Spanish first. I worked with dozens of folks in this group, and had all kinds of good times with them, and kept many as friends (most from Mexico, some from Guatemala or El Salvador). They work hard, stack their money, send some of it home, and are generally apolitical even if they are informed. This IMO is the real Hispanic community, one that can be found in dozens of enclaves across the Inland Empire.

I always had the hardest time with the second generation. I never felt like I could connect with many of them. They're not immigrants, but they're not always mainstream either. In general, they clique together, and don't have much to do with others that aren't just like them. Don't speak Spanish? Out. Simple as that. IMO this is the group that has the most potential to be militant (and also is generally the group most likely to be involved with gangs), as described in the other posts.

[MarciaMarshaMarcia]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

Absolutely. Here are my anecdotes:

I grew up in the Inland Empire. My father's father came to the U.S. from Mexico when he was 6, and my mother's grandmother was from Mexico (all of my mother's other ancestors were White Americans).

The Hispanic community in the IE is divided. You have newly arrived immigrants, and plenty of them. You have the second-generation, whose parents were the immigrants. And thirdly, you have the fully assimilated group.

The fully assimilated group are mainstream Americans, there is no "community" to speak of. They are usually middle-class and above, most often do not speak Spanish, and aside from their surnames and maybe a darker skin hue, are completely indistinguishable from most other Americans.

The newly arrived immigrants are still deep within their culture, while also trying to learn a new one. Most often they speak Spanish, or at the very least, speak Spanish first. I worked with dozens of folks in this group, and had all kinds of good times with them, and kept many as friends (most from Mexico, some from Guatemala or El Salvador). They work hard, stack their money, send some of it home, and are generally apolitical even if they are informed. This IMO is the real Hispanic community, one that can be found in dozens of enclaves across the Inland Empire.

I always had the hardest time with the second generation. I never felt like I could connect with many of them. They're not immigrants, but they're not always mainstream either. In general, they clique together, and don't have much to do with others that aren't just like them. Don't speak Spanish? Out. Simple as that. IMO this is the group that has the most potential to be militant (and also is generally the group most likely to be involved with gangs), as described in the other posts.

^^^Very accurate. I also survived (ooops, grew up in) the IE, & did my time in LA. Above is correct.

[ccm123]

Really?

Originally Posted by kttam186290

Not at all. Quite the opposite, actually.

[mateo45]

Originally Posted by kttam186290

I've noticed that L.A.'s Hispanic community, of which I am a part of along with the Filipino community, tend to be more integrated and warmer than in the Bay Area. …..Hispanics in Southern California are more middle-class, more mainstream, a lot happier and seem to be better off than those in Nor Cal.

Dunno about the 'happier' part, but otherwise would tend to agree with that. Even aside from the 'cooler' and more reserved emotional culture of NorCal in general, the lack of integration seems a lot more apparent the further north into the 'true' NorCal you go. Especially since white populations are often the majority and much more conservative here, and where hispanic folks understandably tend to keep more to themselves and their own culture.

BTW, you're right, per one thousand residents, Gilroy has one of the higher crime rates in America.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by ccm123

Really?

I have to agree that's it's seems like the opposite as well. Hispanics have had a significant prescense in SoCal a lot longer than Northern CA and you will come across more Hispanics whose families have been there for generations and more that are fully assimilated.

[aboveordinary]

Some of you are forgetting that there are many white Hispanics. These are people who look mostly white but still have some hispanic blood. If one of their parents is hispanic and the other is white the result is a white hispanic. They may or may not know Spanish but still identify as Hispanic. I know this because I am a white Hispanic. One parent is white and the other is Mexican. Southern California definitely has more of a Hispanic influence than Northern California.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by aboveordinary

Some of you are forgetting that there are many white Hispanics. These are people who look mostly white but still have some hispanic blood. If one of their parents is hispanic and the other is white the result is a white hispanic. They may or may not know Spanish but still identify as Hispanic. I know this because I am a white Hispanic. One parent is white and the other is Mexican. Southern California definitely has more of a Hispanic influence than Northern California.

Interesting: our grandson in law is 1/2 Hispanic and 1/2 white. He has never referred to himself as white Hispanic?