Welcome to my first ever blog entry. I am a Cuban-American New Orleanian who will be sharing some thoughts with you from this point on. A few months ago I presented a document to the Human Relations Commission of the City of New Orleans during the Hispanic community listening session. This document had one purpose in mind, educate the city about its own Spanish speaking past. A part of this document has been used as LatINola’s very first piece of lagniappe information. The rest of the document is presented here as my initial blog entry. Simply put, it’s an educational piece, but one I hope will help many of you learn something about the Latin American and Spanish heritage and influence that has been with New Orleans since the 1700’s.

If you read the lagniappe section, then you know that Spanish influence began in 1769. Thanks, in part, to its Spanish and French culture, by 1800 New Orleans was one of North America’s most cosmopolitan cities. The native born population was increased by natives of Spain, the Canary Islands, Cuba, Mexico, Santo Domingo, Spanish Morocco, Puerto Rico, and other areas. From 1800 to 1803, New Orleans switched from Spanish rule, to French, and for the remainder of its history, to American hands.

The end of Spanish rule did not mean the end of Spanish speaking life in New Orleans. The Spanish and Hispanic population of New Orleans continued to increase and became a significant presence in the mid-1900’s. One 20th century influx came from Cubans fleeing Castro’s assent to power in 1959. However, the largest Latino population can trace its roots directly back to Honduras giving New Orleans a larger Honduran population then most cities in that country. As a port city, New Orleans imported bananas from Central America to distribute across the U.S. and two New Orleans firms in particular, Standard Fruit Company and United Fruit Company, developed close ties with Honduras. Honduran immigrants began arriving in the Crescent City through these connections in the early 1900’s.

The 2000 Census gives us our most recent figures relative to Hispanics but these numbers represent a severe undercount. According to that census, there were over 15,000 self-identified Hispanics in Orleans Parish and almost 59,000 in the metropolitan area. That represents 3.2% of Orleans and 4.5% of the metropolitan area. However, all agree the figure pre-Katrina was up to approximately 100,000 Hispanics in the metropolitan area by 2005.

Even before the storm, New Orleans had over 30 social, fraternal or cultural organizations of a Hispanic nature. This includes social clubs for residents from Mexico, Belize, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Spain, the Isleños (from Canary Islands), El Salvador and Ecuador. Hispanic professional organizations and political organizations also thrive in the city. Spanish religious services are held throughout the city in practically every denomination.

Post-Katrina, New Orleans Hispanic character seems to be even more pronounced. Latino workers have flocked to the city from elsewhere in America seeking work in the rebuilding effort. The Latino population has surged and while some workers are just in New Orleans temporarily, others are bound to settle for good. Some estimates say the ethnic group’s numbers will more than double in the next 5-10 years. This new population will surely increase the need for broadcast Spanish radio and television stations and Spanish language publications, several of which are already present in New Orleans. Tulane University has one of the country’s most regarded Latin American studies programs and more such programs will surely arise. In a state where 2.4% of the population was of Hispanic origin according to the 2000 U.S. Census, a census which surely undercounted Hispanics, a large increase in Hispanic residents will be seen and felt. Estimates range between hundreds and thousands of Hispanics working in the New Orleans region since the hurricane. If the newcomers settle in the New Orleans area, the demographics of the labor force could shift significantly.

Some estimates are that as many as 20,000 - 50,000 Latinos were drawn to the New Orleans region in the aftermath of the storm. No one knows the real numbers, which change rapidly. In any case, the influx is noticeable and could mean that post-storm New Orleans, with less residents, will have a more distinctive Hispanic influence. If the 2000 Census found that Orleans Parish was only 3.2% Hispanic, again a severe undercount, surely real numbers will be much higher in the future. We will certainly have an influence once again, but as my small history lesson just showed, Hispanics are merely reinvigorating the historical Spanish influence that is part of New Orleans history. In fact, the numbers growth is even similar. During Spanish rule from 1762 to 1803, Louisiana grew from fewer than 7,500 people to about 50,000 people. This Spanish influence created not only the French Quarter, but influenced creole cuisine, such as the use of paprika, meat pies, red beans and other local staples that come from Spanish sources and are largely considered as components of traditional New Orleans cuisine.

As a Cuban American I’m proud of both of the worlds I belong to and am glad to see more Latinos coming to our area. We have been here a long time and have always been an important element of New Orleans life, even if some of us have forgotten. You only need to drive around New Orleans and St. Bernard to see that our surnames line the streets we drive. So my comment to any of you who don’t know this yet is that Latinos arriving in the New Orleans area aren’t going to change New Orleans in any way that it isn’t already familiar with already, because New Orleans has never lost or forgotten its Hispanic and Spanish heritage.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 21st, 2008 at 10:51 am and is filed under El NOLA Cubano. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.