Latino Minnesota

by Leigh Roethke

Latino Minnesota is a vibrant, diverse community whose contributions to the history of the North Star State have been many. Migrants, immigrants, and their U.S.-born children have added to the economic, cultural, and social fabric of Minnesota for nearly a century. Like every immigrant group, Latinos have come to Minne­sota in search of opportunities to better their lives. Since the 1910s, Latino workers have provided the backbone for Minnesota’s agricultural, food processing, manufacturing, and service industries. Today, Latino Minnesota includes a variety of people from many nations contributing in every sector of society. Latino Minnesota traces the journey made by generations from the earliest settler, Luis Garzón, to the Mexican colonia that grew up in St. Paul after World War I, through the recently arrived immigrants from Central and South America whose customs and traditions continue to enrich Minnesota’s cultural mix. It highlights individual and collective achievements, a tradition of mutual aid, and the struggle to retain cultural heritage while adjusting to life in el norte. Through lively prose, Latino Minnesota tells of the challenges of work, settlement, injustice, and finding strength through community. The result is a warm and fascinating history of a population who today are changing the face of Minnesota.

Genres: History

128 pages, Hardcover

First published October 25, 2006

Reviews

[CTEP]

April Book Club Latino Minnesota by Leigh Roethke Latino Minnesota is an excellent book, explaining the state of Minnesota’s Latino people in a clear and historically-accurate way. The book begins by explaining a bit of the terminology, for example what the terms Hispanic, Latino, and Chicano refer to, as many people use them interchangeably. The first chapter explains the history of Mexican migrant workers coming to Minnesota, followed by immigrants of all Latin America. The book explains how the Latino culture has been affected by sinking in roots in Minnesota, including cultural elements such as the importance of family ties, religiosity (Catholicism and the Virgin of Guadalupe specifically), and how acculturation has affected their traditions and language. The book explains how the demographics of Minneapolis and St. Paul have changed over the recent decades, and how the settling of Latinos started more on the Lower West Side of St. Paul, but worked its way over to Minneapolis. The book highlighted the Cinco de Mayo celebration in St. Paul, as well as other established holidays, such as Pan-American Day, the Festival of Nations, Aquatennial festivities, the Mexican Independence Day Fiesta, and other festivals with Hispanic representation. Some Hispanic personalities were featured, as well, such as Chicana activist, Irene Gomez-Bethke, and Latino Civil Rights activist, César Chávez, and prominent places of worship, such as St. Paul’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. This book is very pertinent to my work at La Escuelita because, as I am not Latina, I benefit greatly by reading and learning anything I can about how Latinos function within our culture and country. I think it is important to understand the history of their presence here and see that being Minnesotan does not automatically mean being white and English-speaking. In fact, I am sure that some of my students’ family roots go back further in Minnesota than my own do. Many of our students are second or third generation Mexican-Americans. Even though I am sure that my students do not even know most of this information about their heritage and the roots of their existence in the Twin Cities, it is enlightening for me to read to understand them better, their culture, and the things that are important to their identities as Mexican-American, Ecuadorian-American, Salvadorian-American, etc. The culture of Latinos in Minnesota is very distinct even from the culture of Latinos in their homeland, so it is important to understand these immigrants or children of immigrants in their present context. Though I have traveled to Spanish-speaking countries and have absorbed some of what Latino culture is by those standards, the Americanized version is distinct and worth getting to know for the sake of the students I work with.

For April I read Latino Minnesota by Leigh Roethke. Will read it and I wanted to read it to compare and contrast the differences in what brought the Latino community to Minnesota and to Los Angeles. In Los Angeles there is a large population of Latinos, particularly since Mexico is only 3 hours out from Los Angeles. Adding to what Will said, Neighborhood House is another CTEP site that mentioned in the book. Anyone who is looking for more information about how communities were built up by the Latinos who immigrated here will find those origins in this book.

It was informative to learn about the specific communities Latinos that enclave around the Twin Cities and the events that take place in the community (Cinco de Mayo, Dia de Los Muertos, Festival of Nations, etc.) Many of these celebrations also take place among the Latinos back in Los Angeles. The only difference is the Twin Cities is a lot smaller and thus easier to make your way to these events if you choose; back home, communities are so spread out that you need to really plan ahead if partaking in events. The murals around town distinctly mark the presence of Latino communities. As I get to explore the Twin Cities, I will recognize the neighborhoods around town since I became more aware of the histories of Latinos in the area.

Latinos came here as migrant workers and worked in sugar beet fields, manufacturing, meat packing industries, or service work. Brief histories of important events are outlined in the book as are the important players in the Latino community in Minnesota. In time, Latinos became the fastest growing ethnic group across the United States. Latinos in Minnesota have recently began moving to areas outside of the Twin Cities since they have been able to make an impact in their community and move past migrant labor work into different occupations and positions.

CTEP members will find this information helpful in understanding what brought different Latinos to the Twin Cities area and learn different aspects of their culture. Most CTEP members have probably had Latino clients, particularly those serving in CLUES and Neighborhood House. These sites serve a large population of Latino members, especially since it is in the heart of the communities Latinos reside in. Understanding what brought Latinos here and what their impact is in the community can help CTEP members connect with their clients. I serve mainly female Latino clients and items I learned from reading the book can definitely be a talking point next time I see them. When you ask clients about their stories nd when I can interject something they feel outsiders might not know about their ethnic group, it helps them feel comfortable to work with you in the long run.

For June, I read Latino Minnesota by Leigh Roethke. I’ve seen some good reviews on the member site and wanted to check it out for myself. Like Sabrina, I have some familiarity with Latino communities in California – although she is from LA and I know more about Northern Cali – and wanted to see how the history of Latinos in Minnesota compares to what I know about there. Latinos, predominately Mexicans, came to Minnesota around the early 1900’s as migrant farm workers. During that same time period, many Mexicans also migrated to Northern California to work on vineyards in Napa and Sonoma counties. They went wherever they could find work, and left when there was none. They faced abysmal working conditions and the public school system did not welcome their children, often putting them in remedial classes because they could not speak English.

Because the Latino community initially came here as migrant farmers, many Minnesotans believed that they were not putting down roots and had no connection to the area. However, this was far from true, and many began to stay and found other jobs during the winter. Originally on the West Side of St. Paul, they built up churches, grocery stores, and other resources that reflected the unique wants and needs of the community.

It was interesting to see mention of CTEP sites like Neighborhood House and CLUES in the book. It was also interesting to take what I already know about Latino (specifically, Mexican and Chicano) communities from other parts of the countries and compare them to the Twin Cities. I know I’m one of many members to read this book this year, and I’m glad that the reviews on the member site led me to it!

Like a few other CTEPs have done this year, I chose to take the month of July to read "Latino Minnesota," by Leigh Roethke. I've been wanting to read this book for a while, as the former president of CLUES contributed greatly to it, and I've seen multiple copies around the office. Somehow, I haven't gotten to it until now.

As the title indicates, the book details the history of Latinos in Minnesota. The book starts their recorded history from the late 19th century, when Mexican immigrants were the primary source of labor in sugar beet farms. From then, they also became a huge labor source as the Twin Cities became more industrialized, and factories, warehouses, and the like boomed throughout the area. Many immigrants came to Minnesota looking for work, and the cheap labor proved ideal for employers. As a result, the Latino population boomed in Minnesota. Due to this population increase, the Latino culture also became more prominent throughout the Cities. This can be seen even today. The book details examples of how the culture can be seen today.

I found myself smiling a lot when I read this book, mostly due to how much Lake Street is mentioned. And CLUES. But mostly Lake Street. There were pictures of murals that I recognized from my daily commute and mentions of places that I see every day. Roethke states that Lake Street is a testament to the active Latino culture in the Twin Cities today, and I could not agree more. It's been fascinating this year to see the physical transformation as I drive down Lake Street. Once I pass Hiawatha, there are more signs in Spanish than English. There are community centers geared toward the Latino population, ie. Mercado Central, Plaza Verde. It's common to see signs in the doors of stores stating "se habla español."

Personally, I enjoyed this book, as this is the population I have been working with through the entirety of my CTEP year. Clients come to CLUES because the organization is known for their cultural sensitivity and their ability to offer services bilingually. The book provided some great insight into the population I serve.

[Rock · Rating 2 out of 5]

What can I say about a coffee table book? The pictures were fascinating and compelling, the writing less so. But how often do you hear the story of an ethnic group that most people assume wouldn't get within a thousand miles of Minnesota? And it's not surprising that Ms. Roethke focuses on the West Side community in St. Paul, but I commend her for taking the time to detour to less-permanent or large Latino communities in Minnesota when she had a chance (if only the photos reflected those side trips).