Guatemalan Americans

Guatemalan Americans
Total population

(1,241,560[1]
0.40% of the U.S. population (2012)[1]

)
Regions with significant populations
Southern California, South Florida, Houston, San Francisco Bay Area
Languages
American English, Spanish, Mayan languages
Religion
Evangelical Protestant, Roman Catholic

Guatemalan Americans (Spanish: guatemalo-americanos, norteamericanos de origen guatemalteco or estadounidenses de origen guatemalteco) are Americans of full or partial Guatemalan descent. The Guatemalan population at the 2010 Census was 1,044,209. Guatemalans are the fifth largest Hispanic group in the United States and the second largest Central American population, after Salvadorans. Half of the Guatemalan population is situated in two parts of the country, the Northeast and Southern California.

History of Guatemalans in the USA

Guatemalans have emigrated to the USA since the 1930s and 1940s. Along with other Central Americans such as Costa Ricans, they first arrived by way of Mexico and settled in urban areas like Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Houston, New York City and San Francisco.

Guatemalan Civil War (1970s-1980s)

The intensification of the Guatemalan Civil War during the 1970s and 1980s led to an influx of tens of thousands of Guatemalan refugees into the United States via Mexico, via both legal and illegal means. Guatemalan refugees became an important political and economic influence on seeking an end to the civil war, which finally came about in 1996. They also organized to change policies of the Mexican government in dealing with Guatemalan immigrants' legal status, their experience in Mexico, and difficulties of Guatemalans in Mexico immigrating to the US.

During the Guatemalan civil war, there was massive destruction of rural villages and farmlands. In the 1996 peace accords, there was a free exchange of civilian land to favor the rise of corporate agribusinesses with the drop of prices of local agricultural products. This heavily affected farm workers and inhabitants of the countryside and they had to immigrate into the US through Mexican territory.

After September 11, 2001, Mexican officials made new laws through an initiative limiting immigration visas and other repressive measures on the southern Mexican border through Plan Sur, a binational treaty with the Guatemalan government.

Cultural

Guatemalan Americans are a very culturally diverse group of people, included about 23 distinct ethnic groups, whose languages are different, although maintain unique cultural traditions. The groups are, in majority, Mayan. The Ladino are a different group that speak Spanish language and have the Spanish culture. So, Guatemalan Americans are a multicultural community. This reason is why the assimilation processes, traditional beliefs, and customs vary differently between groups.

Immigrant Mayan American communities have preserved their ethnic customs. The Guatemalans of European descent (most of Spanish ancestries) often mixed with other U.S. Hispanic groups. However, it is unknown the transmission of cultural traditions Guatemalans of immigrants to their descendants by lack of studies, not knowing anything about their descendants.

Some traditions have remained in most neighborhoods of Guatemalan immigrants, especially in Los Angeles, Houston, and southern Florida, sections in that the Guatemalan traditions are being transformed, and lost due to American acculturation. Some Guatemalan traditions are the celebration of Quinceñeros, the formation of soccer leagues, and the Organization de las Fiestas de la Patronal (Organization of Patronal Parties).[2]

Religion

The difference with Guatemalans in the US from other Latinos is that a large percentage of Guatemalans are Evangelical Protestants. Guatemala had seen a rise of Protestant and Evangelist churches in the late 20th century, although the majority of Guatemalans are Roman Catholics.

According to the national census in 2006, Protestants constituted about 30% of the population in Guatemala, the majority are from rural indigenous communities. Guatemalan-Americans are a contributor to the rise of Hispanic Protestants in the USA during the 2000s.

Demographics

Half of the Guatemalan population is situated in two parts of the country, the Northeast and Southern California. A combined population of 267,335 resides in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties.

The Northeast megalopolis, extending from Northern Virginia to north of Boston is home to a population of 257,729 Guatemalans. Cities such as Langley Park, Maryland, Trenton, New Jersey, Stamford, Connecticut, Providence, Rhode Island, and Lynn, Massachusetts have significant concentrations of Guatemalans along the corridor.

Distribution by State

State/Territory Guatemalan Population[3] Percent
 Alabama 14,282 0.3%
 Alaska 508 0.1%
 Arizona 13,426 0.2%
 Arkansas 4,533 0.2%
 California 332,737 0.9%
 Colorado 7,488 0.1%
 Connecticut 16,715 0.5%
 Delaware 5,202 0.6%
 District of Columbia 2,635 0.4%
 Florida 83,882 0.4%
Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia 36,874 0.4%
 Hawaii 565 0.0%
 Idaho 1,168 0.1%
 Illinois 35,321 0.3%
 Indiana 5,933 0.1%
 Iowa 4,917 0.2%
 Kansas 5,538 0.2%
 Kentucky 5,231 0.1%
 Louisiana 6,660 0.1%
 Maine 457 0.0%
 Maryland 34,491 0.6%
 Massachusetts 32,812 0.5%
 Michigan 8,428 0.1%
 Minnesota 6,754 0.1%
 Mississippi 2,978 0.1%
 Missouri 6,610 0.1%
 Montana 200 0.0%
 Nebraska 8,616 0.5%
 Nevada 13,407 0.5%
 New Hampshire 743 0.1%
 New Jersey 48,869 0.6%
 New Mexico 2,386 0.1%
 New York 73,806 0.4%
 North Carolina 20,206 0.2%
  North Dakota 134 0.0%
 Ohio 8,680 0.1%
 Oklahoma 7,960 0.2%
 Oregon 7,703 0.2%
 Pennsylvania 11,462 0.1%
 Rhode Island 18,852 1.8%
 South Carolina 8,883 0.2%
 South Dakota 1,620 0.2%
 Tennessee 14,323 0.2%
 Texas 66,244 0.3%
 Utah 6,877 0.2%
 Vermont 215 0.0%
 Virginia 33,556 0.4%
 Washington 9,520 0.1%
 West Virginia 347 0.0%
 Wisconsin 3,037 0.1%
 Wyoming 418 0.1%
Total US Guatemalan Population 1,044,209 0.3%

Cities with largest Guatemalan population

The largest population of Guatemalans are situated in the following areas (Source: Census 2010):

  1. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA MSA - 231,304
  2. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA MSA - 101,257
  3. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA - 52,421
  4. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL MSA - 47,699
  5. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX MSA - 38,147
  6. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA MSA - 37,700
  7. Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI MSA - 33,573
  8. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA - 28,726
  9. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH MSA - 27,571
  10. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA MSA - 22,241
  11. Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA MSA - 21,540
  12. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA - 14,978
  13. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT MSA - 12,754
  14. Trenton-Ewing, NJ MSA - 12,548
  15. Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ MSA - 11,702
  16. Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA - 10,460
  17. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA - 8,114
  18. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA MSA - 7,305
  19. Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA - 6,512
  20. Port St. Lucie, FL MSA - 6,269

US communities with largest population of people of Guatemalan ancestry

The top 25 US communities with the highest populations of Guatemalans (Source: Census 2010)

  1. Los Angeles, CA - 138,139
  2. New York, NY - 30,420
  3. Houston, TX - 25,205
  4. Chicago, IL - 17,973
  5. Providence, RI - 11,930
  6. Trenton, NJ - 8,691
  7. Stamford, CT - 7,707
  8. Phoenix, AZ - 6,722
  9. San Francisco, CA - 6,154
  10. San Rafael, CA - 5,895
  11. Lynn, MA - 5,715
  12. Oakland, CA - 5,223
  13. Long Beach, CA - 5,134
  14. Langley Park, MD - 5,029
  15. Boston, MA - 4,451
  16. Lake Worth, FL - 4,432
  17. Plainfield, NJ - 4,302
  18. Oklahoma City, OK - 4,256
  19. Dallas, TX - 4,238
  20. Miami, FL - 4,135
  21. West Palm Beach, FL - 3,897
  22. Hawthorne, CA - 3,669
  23. Palmdale, CA - 3,618
  24. Inglewood, CA - 3,593
  25. Las Vegas, NV - 3,592

US communities with high percentages of people of Guatemalan ancestry

The top 25 US communities with the highest percentages of Guatemalans as a percent of total population (Source: Census 2010)

  1. Marydel, MD - 42.55%
  2. Brewster, NY - 38.16%
  3. Indiantown, FL - 37.15%
  4. Templeville, MD - 31.88%
  5. Georgetown, DE - 31.86%
  6. Chamblee, GA - 30.89%
  7. Henderson, MD - 29.45%
  8. Langley Park, MD - 26.81%
  9. Ellijay, GA - 19.39%
  10. Tice, FL - 18.66%
  11. Collinsville, AL - 18.51%
  12. East Ellijay, GA - 18.31%
  13. Mount Kisco, NY - 16.38%
  14. Fairview, NJ - 15.84%
  15. Schuyler, NE - 13.99%
  16. Saluda, SC - 13.74%
  17. Central Falls, RI - 13.28%
  18. Greenport, NY - 13.06%
  19. Carthage, MO - 12.80%
  20. Lake Worth, FL - 12.70%
  21. Quioque, NY - 12.62%
  22. Stacy Street, FL - 12.59%
  23. Modest Town, VA - 11.41%
  24. Trion, GA - 10.84%
  25. Monterey, TN - 10.77%

List of Guatemalan Americans

References

  1. 1 2 US Census Bureau 2012 American Community Survey B03001 1-Year Estimates HISPANIC OR LATINO ORIGIN BY SPECIFIC ORIGIN retrieved September 20, 2013
  2. ↑ Guatemalan Americans Posted by Maria Hong. Retrieved Agoust 11, 2012, to 3:09 pm.
  3. ↑ "QT-P10 - Hispanic or Latino by Type: 2010". Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  4. ↑ Jaggi, Maya (February 2, 2008). "A life in writing: Francisco Goldman". The Guardian (London).
  5. ↑ Madeleine Marr: Miami actor Oscar Isaac rule 'Robin Hood'. The Miami Herald, May 16, 2010, retrieved April 16, 2011
  6. ↑ Language of Lopez
  7. ↑ Daley, Dan. "Manny Marroquin". Sound on Sound. May 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2007
  8. ↑ "For Rubio Rubin, It's All About the Red, White & Blue". Brian Sciaretta. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  9. ↑ "Getting to Know: U.S. U-17 MNT Forward Rubio Rubin". ussoccer.com. Retrieved 28 January 2015.<
  10. ↑ "AraabMUZIK". Schedule.sxsw.com. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
  11. ↑ "Pam Rodriguez interview". Open Your Eyes Magazine. 2008-06-11. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  12. ↑ "Daphne Zuniga displays snob appeal in 'Spaceballs'". Chicago Sun-Times. June 28, 1987.
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