Chilean American

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Chilean American
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Total population
80,810
Source: 2010 Census

Location of Chile
Regions with significant populations
New York Metro Area, Metropolitan Miami, Greater Los Angeles, Washington Metro Area
Languages

Spanish, American English
Religion

Roman Catholicism (predominantly), Protestantism, Evangelicalism, Judaism,
Related ethnic groups

other Hispanic and Latino Americans, Spaniards, other Europeans, others
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A Chilean American is an American of Chilean descent.

The Chilean population at the 2010 US Census was 126,810. In the United States, Chileans are the fourth smallest Hispanic group from South America and the fifth smallest overall amongst all Hispanic groups. Chilean Americans live mainly in South Florida, Los Angeles County, and in the New York Metropolitan Area, with populations found mainly in Queens, Nassau County, NY, and Northern New Jersey. A smaller population of Chilean Americans can also be found in the Washington Metropolitan Area, mostly in Montgomery County, MD.

Most Chileans who come to the United States settle in or around cities. They came to look for a better chance and search for big opportunities looking for the called "American Dream" escaping from the poverty . and economic hardships. According the nations most prestigious journals like Chile Hoy things might be changing since 2006 refer to page below They especially gravitate toward California, New York, and Florida because of the large Spanish-speaking population in these areas. Other states with larger number of Chileans include New Jersey and Texas. Many Chileans have also settled in North American neighbor Canada, especially in the cosmopolitan centers of Toronto and French speaking Montreal. During the Pinochet regime the Canadian government allowed them special entry visas for humanitarian reasons.[1] In recent history, it is for economic or academic rather than political reasons that Chileans emigrate.[2]

Contents

Chilean American history [edit]

Chileans and other South Americans had long been present in the state of California since the 1850s gold rush. Not all Chileans made it to the gold fields. Some remained in San Francisco, Sacramento and Stockton where they frequently worked as bricklayers, bakers, or seamen. Some with capital established themselves in various businesses, particularly the importation of flour and mining equipment from Chile. In the cities most tended to congregate and live in specific areas in the poorer sections of town. In the gold fields they lived in separate camp sites. In the summer of 1849 Chileans constituted the major element in the population of Sonora. Chileans frequently worked their mines as group efforts. When the placer gold ran out around Sonora the Chileans were some of the first miners in California to extract gold from quartz.[3]

The descendants of these Chileno Forty-Niners can not only be proud of the achievements of their forefathers but of their own: Entrepreneurs, judges, congressmen and other people who have left their tracks in the History of the State. Many of the San Francisco Streets carry names of former residents of Chile: Atherton, Ellis, Lick, Larkin and others. Chilean women also left their names: Mina and Clementina. Manuel Briseño, an early journalist in the mines was one of the founders of the San Diego Union. Juan Evangelista Reyes was a Sacramento pioneer as were the Luco brothers. Luis Felipe Ramírez was one of the City Fathers in Marysville. The Leiva family owned at one time, much of the land in Marin County, including Fort Ross. Chileans integrated quickly and like their "Little Chiles," they were soon absorbed by the ever-growing State of California, becoming part of the mainstream of the present population of the Golden State.[4]

Every mining town had its own Chilecito or little Chile. Historical remnants of those settlements influenced the names of locations such as Chileno Valley in Marin County, Chili Gulch in Calaveras and Chili Bar in Placer which was named after Chilean road builders. Names of Chilean towns and places are often found in the names of streets in Northern California: Valparaiso, Santiago, and Calera.[5][6]

It is disputed that famous Californio or Spanish/Mexican Californian bandit Joaquin Murrieta may have been born in Chile, and his mother was of Cherokee Indian ancestry whose family settled in Chile in the late 18th century.[7] Chilean poet Pablo Neruda published the play Fulgor y Muerte de Joaquin Murieta and used literary license to expand on the lack of unanimity about Murieta's origins to create a martyred Chilean Robin Hood.[8] Another source claims that Murieta's national origin was changed from Mexican to Chilean after various transcontinental and translated reprints.[9]

Because of their geographic location pertaining to the settlements associated with the California Gold Rush Chileans played an integral part in the foundation of cities such as Belmont, San Carlos, and Menlo Park (San Mateo County) in the 1800s. San Francisco's landmark North Beach neighborhood was previously the "Little Santiago" neighborhood.[citation needed]Other cities like Beverly Hills, Long Beach, Palm Desert (Coachella Valley), Sacramento, San Diego and Santa Ana, California (Orange County) have small but prevalent Chilean-American communities.

In 1975 Chilean exiles of the Agusto Pinochet dictatorship established La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley, California, which is to this day the largest Chilean cultural center in the United States.

Motives of immigration [edit]

Most Chilean immigration to the U.S. has occurred largely within the last 25 years.[1] For the most part, Chileans left as either political asylees and refugees during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, or for economic reasons. Also, there have been others that have emigrated to seek higher education and career development opportunities.

Many of Pinochet-era immigrants were of middle or upper class origin. A significant proportion of them arrived with advanced educations and well-developed skills. They had contacts with other Chilean exiles and a sense of identity from their shared commitment to a democratic Chile. After a period of adjustment, many of them were able to pursue skilled jobs or professions. Unfortunately, others, who lacked skills or whose professional certifications were not recognized in the United States, were forced to take low-level jobs in which they were unable to use their skills. Some had been politically active students or union leaders in Chile who did not enter the United States with easily transferable skills.[1]

The second major arrival into the United States was mainly for economic or academic opportunities. Yet, in general, acquiring a U.S. Visa requires the applicant to have a stable economic background, so most Chileans emigrating to the United States since 1990 have done so mostly for study purposes or to further their academic backgrounds.[1]

Population by state [edit]

The 10 US states with the largest population of Chilean Americans are:

  1. California - 24,006
  2. Florida - 23,549
  3. New York - 15,050
  4. New Jersey - 8,100
  5. Texas - 6,282
  6. Virginia - 4,195
  7. Maryland - 4,146
  8. Utah - 3,364
  9. Massachusetts - 3,045
  10. Illinois - 2,753

Population by urban agglomeration [edit]

The largest populations of Chilean Americans are situated in the following urban areas:

  1. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA MSA - 20,688
  2. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL MSA - 17,161
  3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA MSA - 10,471
  4. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA - 6,963
  5. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA MSA - 4,000
  6. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH MSA - 2,622
  7. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX MSA - 2,570
  8. Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI MSA - 2,454
  9. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA - 2,066
  10. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL MSA - 1,884
  11. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA MSA - 1,779
  12. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA MSA - 1,776
  13. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA MSA - 1,730
  14. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA - 1,686
  15. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA - 1,505
  16. Salt Lake City, UT MSA - 1,463
  17. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA MSA - 1,397
  18. Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA - 1,376
  19. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA - 1,215
  20. Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ MSA - 1,211

Population by city proper [edit]

  1. New York, NY - 7,026
  2. Los Angeles, CA - 4,112
  3. Miami, FL - 1,427
  4. Houston, TX - 934
  5. San Diego, CA and Chicago, IL - 876
  6. San Francisco, CA - 754
  7. Miami Beach, FL - 739
  8. Washington, DC - 697
  9. San Jose, CA - 632
  10. Doral, FL - 622
  11. Kendall, FL - 613
  12. Hialeah, FL - 602
  13. The Hammocks, FL - 564
  14. Pembroke Pines, FL - 558
  15. Fountainbleau, FL - 549
  16. Hollywood, FL - 542
  17. Kendale Lakes, FL - 469
  18. Las Vegas, NV - 467
  19. Boston, MA - 405
  20. San Antonio, TX - 374
  21. Union City, NJ - 372
  22. Charlotte, NC - 368
  23. Philadelphia, PA - 357
  24. Coral Springs, FL - 342
  25. Miramar, FL and Austin, TX - 340

Population by percentage [edit]

US communities with the highest percentages of Chileans as a percent of total population: (Source: Census 2010)

  1. Brookeville, MD - 3.73%
  2. Manorhaven, NY - 3.57%
  3. Oyster Bay, NY - 2.67%
  4. Warm Springs, VA - 1.63%
  5. Dover, NJ - 1.55%
  6. Key Biscayne, FL - 1.50%
  7. Sleepy Hollow, NY - 1.48%
  8. Forest Home, NY - 1.40%
  9. Doral, FL - 1.36%
  10. Victory Gardens, NJ - 1.32%
  11. Wharton, NJ - 1.27%
  12. The Crossings, FL - 1.18%
  13. The Hammocks, FL - 1.11%
  14. Inwood, NY - 1.10%
  15. North Lynbrook, NY - 1.01%

Chileans are more than 1% of the entire population in only fifteen communities in the US. These communities are mostly located in Miami-Dade County, Morris County, NJ, and Nassau County, NY.

Notable Chilean Americans [edit]

Actor Santiago Cabrera
Actress and model Leonor Varela
Laser physicist Frank Duarte
Nobel laureate Gabriela Mistral
Singer and songwriter Francisca Valenzuela

Chileans abroad [edit]

Of the 857,781 Chilean expatriates around the globe, 13.3% (114,084) live in the United States, 50.1% reside in Argentina, 8.8% in Brazil, 4.9% in Sweden, and around 2% in Australia, with the remaining 20% being scattered in smaller numbers across the globe, particularly the countries of the European Union.[10][11][12]

See also [edit]

Notes [edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Chilean Americans
  2. ^ Origins: History of immigration from Chile - Immigration Museum, Melbourne Australia
  3. ^ Chileans in California
  4. ^ Articles: Chilenos in the California Gold Rush, 1848-49 - Historical Text Archive
  5. ^ Consulado de Chile, San Francisco, California, EEUU
  6. ^ American River Rafting - Information, Descriptions, Resources and Conservation W.E.T. River Trips
  7. ^ Joaquin Murrieta, Robin Hood or Just Plain Hood
  8. ^ Kipen, David (2004-07-15). "Gold Rush drama is poet Pablo Neruda's overlooked effort as a playwright". The San Francisco Chronicle. 
  9. ^ www.cocohistory.com
  10. ^ (Spanish) http://www.gobiernodechile.cl/chilenos_exterior/registro_chilenos_exterior.pdf
  11. ^ Chile.com.Radiografía a los Chilenos en el Mundo
  12. ^ (Spanish) http://www.lanacion.cl/prontus_noticias/site/artic/20050816/pags/20050816125322.html

References [edit]

External links [edit]
Central American / Caribbean
North American
South American
Western European
Racial groups
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