Colombian Americans (Spanish: Colomboestadounidenses), are Americans who have Colombian ancestry. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of full or partial Colombian descent or to someone who has immigrated to the United States from Colombia. Colombian Americans are the largest South Americans Hispanic group in the United States.[3]
Many communities throughout the United States have significant Colombian American populations. Florida (597,238) has the highest concentration and population of Colombian Americans in the United States, followed by New York (241,685), New Jersey (211,456), California (120,873), and Texas (114,865).[4]
History
The first Colombian immigrants who settled in the United States likely arrived in the 1800s. However, the Colombian presence in the United States would not be known with certainty since the U.S. census included all the South Americans that lived in the United States in the "other Latinos" category.
The first community of Colombian origin was formed after World War I, through the arrival of several hundred professionals (nurses, accountants, laboratory technicians, pharmacists, and bilingual secretaries) that established themselves in New York City; later on, more people were added to the community when Colombian students decided to stay in the U.S. after they finished their studies. Most immigrants settled in Manhattan for many years until the late 1970s when they started to migrate to Jackson Heights, a middle-class neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, that has good housing, schools and churches. The growth of the Colombian population was slow until 1940, when there was an increase in Colombian immigration to New York.
Post-World War II
Most Colombians who arrived after the mid-1960s wanted to stay in the United States for a specific time period. Therefore, the number of undocumented Colombian immigrants increased: from 250,000 to 350,000 people in the mid-1970s. Despite the promulgation of many laws against immigration, the number of Colombians that immigrated to the United States did not stop growing. Most of them immigrated to New York. Smaller communities formed in Los Angeles, Houston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., and in the 1970s, North Side, Chicago.[5]
Since the 1980s, many Colombians have immigrated to Miami (especially in its suburbs, such as Doral, Kendall, and Hialeah, and the Weston suburb of Fort Lauderdale). The first Colombians immigrating to the city lived in Little Havana, from where they established commercial relations between Miami and Latin America. The area also attracted wealthy Colombians, who settled there for reasons as diverse as educational, medical or economics.[5]
By the early 1990s, many Colombians left the metropolitan centers and settled in the suburbs to escape crime and high product prices in the city. This trend probably started for the first time in the coastal towns of Connecticut and New York. Colombian communities grew significantly in places such as Stamford, Union City and Englewood, New Jersey, Jacksonville, Florida (which attracted a growing number of people from Miami), and Skokie, Evanston, Arlington Heights and Park Ridge. Despite the migration to other areas, the largest communities remained in New York City, Miami, and their environs.[5]
In 1990 and 1991, 124,745 Colombians legally immigrated to the United States, surpassing immigrants from the rest of Latin America. They were for the first time the most populous group of undocumented immigrants in the United States from Latin America, excluding Mexico. Between 1992 and 1997, the intensity of the conflict in Colombia increased, so nearly 190,000 Colombians immigrated to the United States in this period, many of them going to California.[5]
Causes of migration
In Miville's "Colombians in the United States: History, Values, and Challenges," the nature of Colombian migration is described. He writes,"Colombian migration patterns have been distinguished by scholars as three distinct waves involving diverse demographic groups, reasons for migrating, and contextual factors with a mixture of push and pull factors from both the originating and host countries (Madrigal, 2013; Migration Policy Institute, 2015). Immigration to the United States was essentially minor from about 1820 to 1950 when fewer than 7000 Colombians immigrated to the United States. Indeed, the Colombian presence in the United States was not recognized officially until 1960, when the U.S. Census began to specify the country of origin for South Americans (Migration Policy Institute, 2015)." Economic problems and violence have led to an immigration of Colombians to the United States, particularly South Florida (especially in the suburbs of Miami, Florida such as Doral, Kendall, and Hialeah, and the Weston suburb of Fort Lauderdale), Central Florida, New Jersey (North Jersey), Queens County in New York City, Philadelphia, the Washington, D.C., metro area, eastern Long Island, and an expanding community in California, Texas and Georgia, mainly in the Los Angeles, Houston and Atlanta areas.[5]
First Wave: After World War I, many Colombians immigrated to the United States in order to complete their education there, studying at the universities of the country. Most of them settled in New York. Many Colombians immigrated to the United States in order to complete their education, studying in universities across the country (Madrigal, 2013; Sassen-Koob, 1989). After the civil war in 1948 and increased poverty in Colombia, many Colombians also immigrated to the United States during the 1950s. In the 1960s, the economic crisis prompted the immigration of many Colombians to the United States, obtaining U.S. citizenship Between 1960 and 1977.[5]
Second Wave (1965–1989): "The passage of several U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Act's amendments in 1965 allowed for more Colombians to migrate to the United States (Madrigal, 2013)"
Third Wave (1990–2008): "The 1980s and 1990s brought the rise in cocaine trafficking, along with the influence of the drug cartels and paramilitary groups (Carvajal, 2017; Migration Policy Institute, 2015). From the 1990s, along with the ensuing turmoil over a political assassination in 1989, the number of Colombians admitted to the United States tripled, representing the largest numbers of immigrants from a South American country (Carvajal, 2017; Migration Policy Institute, 2015)" Since the 1980s, many Colombians fled their urban cities to migrate to suburban areas in states like New Jersey and Connecticut, as their socioeconomic status improved. The conflict escalation between terrorists, paramilitaries, and narcos between 1992 and 1997 also boosted Colombian emigration during this period. As was discussed earlier, about 75,000 Colombians immigrated at that time to the United States, concentrating mostly in the state of California.[5]
Demographics
As of the 2000 Census, 278,600 Colombians were living in the New York metro area[6] and 213,200 Colombians were living in the Miami metropolitan area. The largest Colombian community lives in the South Florida area (Doral, Kendall, Weston, and Country Club) and Jackson Heights in Queens County, New York City.[5]
In New York City, a large Colombian community thrives and continues to expand in size since the wave of immigration began in the 1970s. Jackson Heights in Queens County was heavily Colombian during the 1980s, but other immigrant groups have settled in the area, notably Ecuadoreans and Mexicans. Many of the displaced Colombians have moved to adjacent areas such as Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, Corona, while wealthier Colombian Immigrants have gone further afield to College Point and Flushing. Queens County still has the largest concentration of Colombians in the United States of any county (roughly 155,000).[7]
In 2021, Pew Research Center found that, as far as gender demographics are concerned, women in the United States have made up about 55.7% of Colombian migrants, while men have made up about 44.3% of the Colombian migrant population. [8]
Ethnically, Colombian Americans are a diverse population including Colombians of European ancestry (mainly Spanish) ancestry), Mestizo (mixed Amerindian-European), Afro-Colombians, and Colombians of Indigenous ancestry. In addition, many Colombians of Middle Eastern descent, notably Lebanese Colombians, also compose the Colombian diaspora.
Until 1960, most Colombians immigrating to the United States were white or mestizos. However, between this year and 1977, a period in which more than 186,000 Colombians immigrated to the United States, are becoming more ethnically diverse, representing the ethnic diversity of the population of Colombia. So today, most Colombians consist of white, mestizo, indigenous, and Afro-Colombian ancestry.[5]
U.S. states with the largest Colombian-American populations
Colombian Americans, based on various studies and a survey, about 90% of the population adheres to Christianity, the majority of which (70.9%) are Roman Catholic, while a significant minority (16.7%) adhere to Protestantism (primarily Evangelicalism). Some 4.7% of the population is atheist or agnostic, while 3.5% claim to believe in God but do not follow a specific religion. In addition to the above statistics, 35.9% of Colombian Americans report that they did not practice their faith actively.[13][14][15]
Language
A majority (82%) of Colombian Americans ages five and older speak English proficiently. The other 18% who are Colombian natives report speaking English less than very well, compared with 32% of all Latinos.
In addition, 83% of Colombians ages five and older speak Spanish at home.
Music and pastimes
Musical styles that are enjoyed by Colombian Americans include Vallenato and Cumbia.
The main pastime of Colombians in the United States is soccer, and most Colombian Americans raised in the United States continue to follow soccer. Another popular pastime, especially among the older generation, is parqués, a Colombian board game which is very similar to Parcheesi.
A traditional Bandeja paisa meal. A staple dish assembled with several foods making necessary to use a platter. It is made of beans, rice, fried eggs, chorizo, pork rind and other ingredients depending on the location.
Colombian food is varied due to the several distinct regions of Colombia. Popular dishes include bandeja paisa, sancocho (chicken or fish soup with plantain), empanadas (meat-filled turnovers), pandebono and pan de queso (types of cheese-bread), and arepas (corncake similar to a tortilla). Colombian food is popular and well known in South Florida and in Queens County. Some of the most common ingredients are: cereals such as rice and corn; tubers such as potato and cassava; assorted legumes; meats, including beef, chicken, pork and goat; fish; and seafood.[16][17]
Colombian coffee is known for its quality and distinct flavor.
Colombian coffee is the world's most popular coffee and is renowned for its high quality and distinct flavor. Though much of the world's quality coffee beans come from Colombia, there are many Colombian Americans that drink instant coffee rather than brewed. It is popularly consumed as a "tinto", meaning black with sugar or panela on the side, or as café con leche, which is a preparation of half coffee and half heated milk.
Aguardiente is popular alcoholic drink derived from sugarcane and flavored with anise. It is widely consumed at Colombian parties, and ranges in potency from 20% to 40%. Aguardiente is a variation of the Spanish alcoholic drink.
The annual personal income for Colombian Americans is $25,000, a figure higher than many other Hispanic groups at $21,900, but lower than that of the U.S. population at $30,000.[22]
The rate of Colombian Americans homeownership is (45%) but lower than the 64% rate for the U.S. population as a whole. This takes into account the younger average Colombian American (Colombino) population.[22]
Colombian Americans who live in poverty, 16%, is the same as the rate for the general U.S. population and lower than the rate for Hispanic overall at 25%.[22]
Education
33% of Colombian Americans ages 25 and older—compared with 14% of all U.S. Hispanics and 30% among the entire U.S. population—have obtained at least a bachelor's degree.[22]
54% of U.S.-born Colombian Americans have earned a bachelor's degree or higher, as compared to 30% of foreign-born Colombians.[22]
Doral is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. One of 34 municipalities in the county, it is located 5 miles (8 km) west of Miami International Airport and 13 miles (21 km) west of Downtown Miami. Doral occupies 15 square miles (39 km2) bordered on the west by the Ronald Reagan Turnpike and the Florida Everglades, on the north by the town of Medley, on the east by the Palmetto Expressway and on the south by the Dolphin Expressway and the city of Sweetwater. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. As of the 2020 census, Doral had a population of 75,874, up from 45,704 in 2010.
Cuban Americans are Americans who immigrated from or are descended from immigrants from Cuba, regardless of racial or ethnic origin. As of 2023, Cuban Americans were the third largest Hispanic and Latino American group in the United States after Mexican Americans and Stateside Puerto Ricans.
Dominican Americans are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Dominican Republic. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Dominican descent or to someone who has migrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic. As of 2021, there were approximately 2.4 million people of Dominican descent in the United States, including both native and foreign-born. They are the second largest Hispanic group in the Northeastern region of the United States after Puerto Ricans, and the fifth-largest Hispanic/Latino group nationwide.
Brazilian Americans are Americans who are of full or partial Brazilian ancestry. The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates the Brazilian American population to be 1,905,000, the largest of any Brazilian diaspora. The largest wave of Brazilian migration to the United States occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a response to hyperinflation in Brazil. Even after inflation stabilized in 1994, Brazilian immigration continued as Brazilians left in search of higher wages in the United States.
Haitian Americans are a group of Americans of full or partial Haitian origin or descent. The largest proportion of Haitians in the United States live in Little Haiti to the South Florida area. In addition, they have settled in major Northeast cities such as New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and in Chicago and Detroit in the Midwest. Most are immigrants or their descendants from the mid-late 20th-century migrations to the United States. Haitian Americans represent the largest group within the Haitian diaspora.
Honduran Americans are Americans of full or partial Honduran descent. Hondurans are the eighth largest Hispanic group in the United States and the third largest Central American population, after Salvadorans and Guatemalans. Hondurans are concentrated in Texas, Florida and California, and are now the largest immigrant group in Louisiana.
Stateside Puerto Ricans, also ambiguously known as Puerto Rican Americans, or Puerto Ricans in the United States, are Puerto Ricans who are in the United States proper of the 50 states and the District of Columbia who were born in or trace any family ancestry to the unincorporated US territory of Puerto Rico.
Chilean Americans are Americans who have full or partial origin from Chile.
Jamaican Americans are an ethnic group of Caribbean Americans who have full or partial Jamaican ancestry. The largest proportions of Jamaican Americans live in South Florida and New York City, both of which have been home to large Jamaican communities since the 1950s and 60s. There are also communities of Jamaican Americans residing in Connecticut, Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, and California.
Caribbean Americans or West Indian Americans are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Caribbean. Caribbean Americans are a multi-ethnic and multi-racial group that trace their ancestry further in time mostly to Africa, as well as Asia, the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, and to Europe. As of 2016, about 13 million — about 4% of the total U.S. population — have Caribbean ancestry.
Argentine Americans are Americans whose full or partial origin hails from Argentina.
A Nicaraguan American is an American of Nicaraguan descent. They are also referred to as "nica" or "nicoya".
Ecuadorian Americans are Americans of full or partial Ecuadorian ancestry. Ecuadorian Americans are the 9th largest Latin American group in the United States. Ecuadorian Americans are usually of Mestizo, Amerindian or Afro-Ecuadorian background.
Venezuelan Americans are Americans who trace their heritage, or part of their heritage, to the nation of Venezuela. The word may refer to someone born in the U.S. of Venezuelan descent or to someone who has immigrated to the U.S. from Venezuela.
Bolivian Americans or Bolivia-Americans are Americans of at least partial Bolivian descent.
Cuban immigration has greatly affected Miami-Dade County since 1959, creating what is known as "Cuban Miami." However, Miami reflects global trends as well, such as the growing trends of multiculturalism and multiracialism; this reflects the way in which international politics shape local communities.
Guatemalan Americans are Americans of full or partial Guatemalan descent. The Guatemalan American population at the 2010 Census was 1,044,209. Guatemalans are the sixth 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.
Costa Rican Americans are Americans of at least partial Costa Rican descent.
Panamanian Americans are Americans of Panamanian descent.
Paraguayan Americans are Americans of Paraguayan descent.
↑ Pamela Sturner, "Colombian Americans." Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 1, Gale, 2014), pp. 519-530.
↑ Beltrán Cely; William Mauricio (2013) (2013). Del monopolio católico a la explosión pentecostal'(PDF) (in Spanish). Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, Centro de Estudios Sociales (CES), Maestría en Sociología. ISBN978-958-761-465-7. Archived from the original(PDF) on March 27, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2017.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
↑ Singh, Gitanjali M., et al. "Global, regional, and national consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, fruit juices, and milk: a systematic assessment of beverage intake in 187 countries." PLoS ONE 10.8 (2015): e0124845.
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