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Puerto Ricans in Orlando and Central Florida

Puerto Ricans in Orlando and Central Florida. Jorge Duany University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Félix Matos-Rodríguez Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños Hunter College. Main Objectives of this Presentation. Describe the changing settlement patterns of Puerto Ricans in the United States.

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Puerto Ricans in Orlando and Central Florida

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  1. Puerto Ricans in Orlando and Central Florida Jorge Duany University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Félix Matos-Rodríguez Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños Hunter College

  2. Main Objectives of this Presentation • Describe the changing settlement patterns of Puerto Ricans in the United States. • Trace a brief historical background of Puerto Rican migration to Florida. • Analyze the main socioeconomic characteristics of Puerto Ricans in Central Florida. • Examine the political incorporation of Puerto Ricans in the Orlando area. • Assess the impact of cultural impact of the “Puerto Ricanization” of Central Florida. • Outline a social research agenda on Puerto Ricans in the region.

  3. Changing Settlement Patterns

  4. Although Puerto Ricans still concentrate in the state of New York, their proportion decreased from nearly three-fourths of the total in 1960 to less than one-third in 2000. • For the first time ever, the number of Puerto Ricans in New York declined in the 1990s. • Correspondingly, the proportion of Puerto Ricans has increased in other states, especially in Florida. • During the 1990s, Florida displaced New Jersey as the second largest concentration of Puerto Ricans in the U.S. mainland (after New York). • Florida’s Puerto Rican population grew from slightly more than 2 percent of all stateside Puerto Ricans in 1960 to more than 14 percent in the year 2000.

  5. Geographic Distribution of the Puerto Rican Population in the United States, 1960-2000

  6. Puerto Ricans in Florida

  7. The number of Puerto Rican residents in Florida rose from 482,027 in 2000 to 571,755 persons in 2003. • Within Florida, Puerto Ricans have settled in three main regions. • In 2003, more than 206,000 persons of Puerto Rican origin lived in the Central Florida, particularly in Orange, Osceola, Volusia, Seminole, and Polk counties. • A secondary concentration is found in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, with about 155,000 Puerto Ricans. • A third cluster has emerged around the Tampa Bay area, especially in Hillsborough County, with almost 68,000 Puerto Ricans.

  8. Main Areas of Puerto Rican Settlement in Florida, 2003

  9. Geographic Distribution of the Puerto Rican Population in Florida, 2000

  10. Three of the top ten metropolitan areas in the United States with Puerto Rican residents (Orlando, Tampa, and Miami) are now located in Florida. • In addition, Ft. Lauderdale has the eleventh largest number of Puerto Ricans in the mainland. • Puerto Ricans are the largest Hispanic group in Orlando and Tampa, and the second largest in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale (after Cubans). • Today, Orlando is the fourth-largest metropolitan area for Puerto Ricans in the United States. • In Orlando, Puerto Ricans closely approximate the proportion (9-10%) of all residents in New York City.

  11. Top Metropolitan Areas with Puerto Rican Residents in the United States, 2003

  12. Puerto Ricans in the Orlando Area

  13. Main Destinations of Migrants between Puerto Rico and the United States, 1995-2000

  14. The core areas of Puerto Rican settlement in the Orlando area are located in southeastern Orange and northern Osceola counties. • These geographic concentrations appear to be primarily suburban housing subdivisions with extremely high densities of Puerto Rican residents. • With 3,772 Puerto Ricans (out of 11,286 residents), Meadow Woods in Orange County is the largest Puerto Rican neighborhood in Central Florida. • Puerto Ricans are much less segregated from non-Hispanic whites in Orlando than in other metropolitan areas of the United States.

  15. Top Areas of Puerto Rican Settlement in Central Florida, 2000

  16. Historical Background

  17. The earliest recorded movement of Puerto Ricans to Florida consisted of a small number of agricultural business owners who settled in the Miami area in the 1940s. • The first large-scale movement of Puerto Ricans to Florida took place in the 1950s under the contract farm worker program sponsored by the Migration Division of Puerto Rico’s Department of Labor. • By then, the class composition of Puerto Rican migration to South Florida had shifted predominantly toward the working class. • During the 1970s, Puerto Rican government officials negotiated contracts for hundreds of seasonal workers with sugar growers in Florida.

  18. Puerto Rican Migration to Central Florida

  19. Puerto Rican migration to the Orlando area began in earnest in the late 1960s, when hundreds of islanders acquired properties in Deltona, in Volusia County. • In 1971, the opening of Walt Disney’s first theme park in Orlando spurred real estate speculation in the region. • The vast surge in Puerto Rican migration from both the Island and the mainland started in the mid-1980s. • During the 1990s, Orange and Osceola counties became the two leading destinations of Puerto Rican migrants. • Between 1990 and 2000, the city of Orlando experienced the largest increase in the number of Puerto Ricans stateside. • At the present rate of growth, by the year 2010, the Orlando metropolitan area could have more than 200,000 Puerto Rican residents.

  20. Basic Demographic Characteristics of Puerto Ricans in Central Florida • According to the 2000 census, 55.1 percent of Central Florida’s residents of Puerto Rican origin were born in Puerto Rico, while 44.9 percent were born in the U.S. mainland. • Island-born and mainland-born Puerto Rican residents of Central Florida have very similar proportions of males and females. • Nearly one-third of all Puerto Ricans in Central Florida are young adults. • Nearly two-thirds of Puerto Ricans in Central Florida said they were white.

  21. Socioeconomic Characteristics of Puerto Ricans in Central Florida

  22. Nearly three-fourths of Puerto Ricans in the Orlando area had completed a high school education. • Contrary to popular stereotypes, U.S.-born Puerto Ricans tend to be better educated than those born on the Island. • More than half of all Puerto Ricans in Central Florida were employed in administrative support, sales, professional, technical, and managerial occupations. • Puerto Ricans in Central Florida concentrate overwhelmingly in trade and services, particularly in retail trade, arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation, food services, education, health, and social services.

  23. Occupational Distribution of Puerto Ricansin Central Florida, 2000

  24. Industrial Distribution of Puerto Ricansin Central Florida, 2000

  25. In 1999, 33.3 percent of all Puerto Rican families in Central Florida earned more than $50,000 a year. • The median family income of Puerto Ricans in Central Florida ($33,500) was more than double that of residents of Puerto Rico ($16,543). • In 1997, Puerto Ricans in the Orlando metropolitan area owned 2,429 businesses, primarily in the service industry. • This economic boom has attracted many Island-based companies to the area. • Despite their achievements, Puerto Ricans have not attained socioeconomic parity with other major ethnic groups in Central Florida.

  26. Family Income of Puerto Ricansin Central Florida and Puerto Rico, 1999

  27. Selected Socioeconomic Characteristicsof Puerto Ricans, Other Hispanics, and Non-Hispanics in Central Florida, 2000

  28. Political Incorporation of Puerto Ricans in Central Florida

  29. Puerto Ricans in Central Florida have become a swing vote that could decide local, state, and even presidential elections. • Most Puerto Ricans in the United States have traditionally voted for the Democratic Party. • In 2004, Puerto Ricans in Florida supported Senator John Kerry over President George W. Bush by a margin of two to one. • The Puerto Rican population boom has not yet translated into proportional representation in state politics. • A recent poll found that 48 percent of Puerto Ricans in Central Florida favored the current Commonwealth status, while 42 percent supported statehood and 5 percent independence.

  30. Cultural Identities of Puerto Ricans in Central Florida

  31. Among other cultural consequences of the “Puerto Ricanization” of Central Florida, we would like to underline six: • With regard to popular culture, Puerto Ricans in Central Florida are counterbalancing the “Cubanization” of South Florida. • The Spanish spoken in Central and South Florida will be a mixture from several Latin American countries. • The need for bilingual education and other public services for Spanish speakers will rise as a result of continuing migration from Puerto Rico and other parts of Latin America.

  32. The growing Puerto Rican population will have a strong impact on the area’s churches, both Catholic and Protestant. • Social interaction among different Hispanic groups will largely determine whether a new, hybrid identity emerges beyond their national origins. • The increasing linguistic and cultural presence of Hispanics might fuel tensions with other established groups.

  33. Toward a New Research Agenda We would like to suggest eight key areas for further research on Puerto Rican migration to Central Florida: • The health status of Puerto Ricans in Central Florida, particularly access to health service delivery • Other practical needs (education, housing, employment, legal issues) • The development of Puerto Rican businesses in the Orlando area • The creation and consolidation of transnational networks with the Island

  34. The maintenance of Puerto Rican cultural practices in Central Florida • The relations among Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and other Hispanics • The self-definition of Puerto Ricans as Hispanics or Latinos • The relations between Island-born and mainland-born Puerto Ricans

  35. Conclusion

  36. The settlement patterns of Puerto Ricans in the United States have shifted greatly over the past few decades. • Florida became the favorite location of Puerto Rican migrants during the 1990s. • The Orlando metropolitan area has attracted the largest number of recent Puerto Rican migrants to the U.S. mainland. • Puerto Ricans are highly concentrated in certain counties in Central Florida, particularly Orange and Osceola, and certain districts, such as Kissimmee. • Their socioeconomic characteristics differ substantially from earlier migrants from the Island.

  37. Most are young adults and high school graduates, describe themselves as white, are employed as white-collar workers, and earn higher incomes than in Puerto Rico and elsewhere in the United States. • Puerto Ricans in Central Florida may follow a distinct path from other Puerto Rican communities. • Their class background is much more favorable and they are more likely to advance occupationally in the Orlando area than elsewhere. • Politically, they are poised to influence both the Democratic and Republican parties as a key electoral bloc.

  38. Puerto Ricans are the first large immigrant group to challenge the area’s relatively homogeneous culture and are increasing its ethnic diversity. • We strongly recommend establishing a local task force to develop, monitor, and implement a comprehensive research agenda on Puerto Ricans in Central Florida.

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