2006 OAH Convention Supplement

Many Americas in the Shadow of the Capitol: Latinos in Washington, D.C.

Olivia Cadaval

When we think of Washington, D.C., images of the White House, Capitol, and perhaps the Smithsonian Castle flash into our minds. But Washington is also a city of diverse and historic neighborhoods where people from all over the world jostle for space. Immigrants from Latin America constitute an increasing portion of the capital city's population.

Washington's Latino community first emerged soon after World War II when a small, Spanish-speaking, multiethnic group moved into D.C. to run the newly established embassies and international organizations from Latin America. These newcomers to Washington signified the city's emergence as a world as well as a national capital. Many of the professional staff and domestic workers of the Spanish-speaking embassies and world organizations took up residence in Adams Morgan and Mt. Pleasant, areas north of the White House and midway between the Mall and the Maryland border. These neighborhoods were convenient to the many embassies situated around 16th Street and Massachusetts Avenue.

Adams Morgan and Mt. Pleasant eventually became known as the "barrio" as many domestic workers settled in those areas after their host employers left the city. These original immigrants persuaded family and friends from home to join them, thus originating the Latino community-building process in the city. Occasionally, individuals returned home for a while and then reimmigrated. They kept contact with the home country and encouraged new family members to come to Washington. Latin American students in area universities added another significant segment to the growing Spanish-speaking population.

What has always been very striking to me is that, probably because Latinos came to D.C. from many different countries but not in large numbers from any one country, we created and identified with a single Latino community. Early community leader Carlos Rosario, originally from Puerto Rico, describes how everyone related to each other at the dances he sponsored: "People got to meet each other . . .  and they got married—Ecuadoran girls with Peruvians, Salvadoran girls with Hondurans."

Immigrants nonetheless came from different Latin American countries at different times. Puerto Rican and Mexican American white-collar workers came to the area in great numbers for the federal jobs generated by the New Deal and World War II. For the most part, students and the professional Mexican Americans kept themselves separate and aloof from the working-class Latino community. Cubans joined this mix in the late 1950s and early 1960s, during and at the end of the Cuban revolution. In the 1960s the Spanish-speaking population began to grow more rapidly. The economic hardship and political turmoil in Latin America, combined with the alluring image of the United States, "where the streets were paved in gold," created a flow of legal and illegal immigration to this country. In the 1960s and 1970s, South Americans came in large numbers, and major immigrations of Central Americans followed in the 1980s and continue through the present. Of these, the leading country of origin has been El Salvador. The 1970s census estimated that 15,671 Latinos lived in D.C.; in the 1980s, 17,679; in the 1990s, 32,710; in 2000, 44,954. Latinos constitute the fastest growing ethnic minority in the city and in the country. The majority of Latinos in the city are immigrants. However, the 1.5 generation (born outside but growing up in the United States) and the growing number of Latinos born here are having significant impact on the social character of the local community and on U.S. society in general.

These young people benefit from the cultural and social organizations established by earlier immigrant generations, a process started in the late 1960s. In 1969, community leaders pressured the City to establish what eventually became the Office of Latino Affairs. To commemorate its first anniversary and in response to the perceived undercount of the 1970 census, Latino leaders took the community to the streets with a festival parade. Their goal was to demonstrate the community's strength and justify their share of the benefits from Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty. In more than one way, the festival, which continued for thirty years, served as a catalyst for many of social, cultural, and economic organizations for Latinos that developed later. Many of these are still around, such as the Carlos Rosario International Career Center (an outgrowth of the earliest organization, whose name now honors one of its founders), the Latin American Youth Center, EOFULA Senior Center, Andromeda (mental health agency), and Adelante (legal assistance organization). As the community grew, new organizations emerged addressing health, immigration, economic, social, and educational needs. Currently, the Council of Latino Agencies lists thirty-nine member agencies. As Krishna Roy has explained, Latinos' population growth and the development of community infrastructure contributed to the stability of central city neighborhoods at a time when suburban flight, governmental neglect of the inner city, and financial mismanagement otherwise threatened stability.

At present, the barrio, or oldest core of the Latino community, remains located in the Mt. Pleasant, Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights neighborhoods. However, affordable housing has become increasingly rare, posing a problem for Latinos in these neighborhoods. Increasingly high housing prices have forced them to move outside the city into the surrounding metropolitan area­—the suburbs of Maryland and Virginia. Indeed, this internal migration has been an ongoing story recorded as early as 1977: a mural called "a people without murals is a demuralized people" features developers playing monopoly with the neighborhood. The mural, located in the alley off Adams Mill Road, almost on the corner with 18th Street in Adams Morgan, was originally designed by South American artists and recently revitalized by Salvadoran graffiti artist, Juan Pineda, under the auspices of the cultural activist organization Sol & Soul. Even as people move away, many regularly return to the barrio to shop at the local grocery stores. The barrio is now home to many immigrant communities from other countries and regions, including Vietnam, Africa, the Carribbean, and Eastern Europe. The barrio is also known for its many Latino restaurants and music and dance clubs. Among these, my favorites are Habana Village, the Mambo Room, and the Latin Jazz Alley on Columbia Road, and the Rumba Café on 18th Street. On 14th Street NW between U and V, you can dance to the traditional Salvadoran band of Eliseo y su Chanchona Melódica Oriental at Judy's Restaurant. Many restaurants and clubs have opened in other city neighborhoods. Even as Latino business entrepreneurship has rapidly grown, though, most Latino workers have remained in lower-paying occupations often working part-time with no employee benefits or job security.

For those interested in learning more about the barrio in D.C., historian Laura Kamoie will lead a tour of Adams Morgan during the convention. Other opportunities to think through the meaning of immigration for American history include a plenary on Thursday evening and an off-site session at the Library of Congress on Thursday afternoon. The convention program has full details. 

Olivia Cadaval is a folklorist with the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

Bibliography

Cadaval, Olivia. Creating a Latino Identity in the Nation's Capital: The Latino Festival. New York: Garland Press, 1998.

Roy, Krishna. "Sociodemographic Profile." In The State of Latinos in the District of Columbia: Trends, Consequences, and Recommendations. Washington, D.C.: Council of Latino Agencies, 2002. (http://www.consejo.org/Sol/ CLA.Ch.1- Sociodemographic9620Profile.pdf.)