A
Cuban American is a
United States citizenArticle I, section 8, clause 4 of the United States Constitution expressly gives the United States Congress the power to establish a uniform rule of naturalization. The Immigration and Naturalization Act sets forth the legal requirements for the acquisition of, and divestiture from, citizenship of...
who traces his or her "national origin" to
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. Cuban Americans are also considered native born Americans with Cuban parents or Cuban-born persons who were raised and educated in US. Cuban Americans form the third-largest Hispanic group in the United States and also the largest group of Hispanics of European ancestry (predominantly Spanish) as a percentage but not in numbers.
Many communities throughout the United States have significant Cuban American populations. However Miami, Florida, with a Cuban American population of 856,007 in its environs, stands out as the most prominent Cuban American community, in part because of its proximity to Cuba. It is followed by the
Tampa Bay AreaThe Tampa Bay Area is the region of west central Florida adjacent to Tampa Bay. Definitions of the region vary. It is often considered equivalent to the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area defined by the United States Census Bureau. The Census Bureau currently...
and
North JerseyNorth Jersey is a colloquial term, with no precise consensus definition, for the northern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. A straightforward, noncolloquial term for the region is northern New Jersey.- Two-portion approaches :...
, particularly
Union CityUnion City is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. According to the 2010 United States Census the city had a total population of 66,455. All of the city is on land, an area of...
and
West New YorkWest New York is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, situated upon the New Jersey Palisades. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 49,708.-Geography:...
. With a population of 141,250, the New York metropolitan area is the largest Cuban community outside of Florida.
Early migrations
Prior to the
Louisiana PurchaseThe Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
and the
Adams-Onís TreatyThe Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819, also known as the Transcontinental Treaty or the Purchase of Florida, was a treaty between the United States and Spain in 1819 that gave Florida to the U.S. and set out a boundary between the U.S. and New Spain . It settled a standing border dispute between the two...
of 1819, all of
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and
LouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
were provinces of the
Captaincy General of CubaThe Captaincy General of Cuba was an administrative district of the Spanish Empire created in 1607 as part of Habsburg Spain's attempt better to defend the Caribbean against foreign powers, which also involved creating captaincies general in Puerto Rico, Guatemala and Yucatán. The restructuring of...
(Captain General being the Spanish title equivalent to the British colonial Governor). Consequently, Cuban immigration to the U.S. has a long history, beginning in the
Spanish colonial periodColonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...
in 1565 when
St. Augustine, FloridaSt. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
was established by
Pedro Menéndez de AvilésPedro Menéndez de Avilés was a Spanish admiral and explorer, best remembered for founding St. Augustine, Florida in 1565. This was the first successful Spanish foothold in La Florida and remained the most significant city in the region for several hundred years. St...
, and hundreds of Spanish-Cuban soldiers and their families moved from Cuba to St. Augustine to establish a new life. Thousands of Cuban settlers also immigrated to Louisiana between 1778 and 1802 and
TexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
during the period of Spanish rule.
Key West and Tampa, Florida
In the mid-to late 19th century, several cigar manufacturers moved their operations to
Key WestKey West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
to get away from growing disruptions as Cubans sought independence from Spanish colonial rule. Many Cuban cigar workers followed. The Cuban government had even established a grammar school in Key West to help preserve Cuban culture. There, children learned folk songs and patriotic hymns such as "
La BayamesaEl Himno de Bayamo is the national anthem of Cuba. It was first performed during the Battle of Bayamo in 1868. Perucho Figueredo, who took part in the battle, wrote and composed the song. The melody, also called La Bayamesa, was composed by Figueredo in 1867...
", the Cuban national anthem.
In 1885,
Vicente Martinez YborVicente Martinez Ybor was a Spanish American industrialist and cigar manufacturer, best known for founding the cigar-manufacturing town of Ybor City near Tampa, Florida in 1886.-Cuba:...
moved his cigar operations from Key West to the town of
Tampa, FloridaTampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
to escape labor strife.
Ybor CityYbor City is a historic neighborhood in Tampa, Florida, located just northeast of downtown. It was founded as an independent town in 1885 by a group of cigar manufacturers led by Vicente Martinez-Ybor and was annexed by Tampa in 1887...
was designed as a modified
company townA company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
, and it quickly attracted thousands of Cuban workers from Key West and Cuba. West Tampa, another new cigar manufacturing community, was founded nearby in 1892 and also grew quickly. Between these communities, the
Tampa Bay areaThe Tampa Bay Area is the region of west central Florida adjacent to Tampa Bay. Definitions of the region vary. It is often considered equivalent to the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area defined by the United States Census Bureau. The Census Bureau currently...
's Cuban population grew from almost nothing to the largest in Florida in just over a decade, and the city as a whole grew from a village of approximately 1000 residents in 1885 to over 16,000 by 1900.
Both Ybor City and West Tampa were instrumental in Cuba's eventual independence. Inspired by revolutionaries such as
Jose MartíJosé Julián Martí Pérez was a Cuban national hero and an important figure in Latin American literature. In his short life he was a poet, an essayist, a journalist, a revolutionary philosopher, a translator, a professor, a publisher, and a political theorist. He was also a part of the Cuban...
, who visited Florida several times, Tampa-area Cubans and their sympathetic neighbors donated money, equipment, and sometimes their lives to the cause of
Cuba Libre. After the
Spanish-American WarThe Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, some Cubans returned to their native land, but many chose to stay in the U.S. due to the physical and economic devastation caused by years of fighting on the island.
Other early waves
Several other small waves of Cuban emigration to the U.S. occurred in the early 20th century (1900–1959). Most settled in Florida and the northeast U.S. The majority of an estimated 100,000 Cubans arriving in that time period usually came for economic reasons (the Great Depression of 1929, volatile sugar prices and migrant farm labor contracts), but included anti-Batista refugees fleeing the military dictatorship, which had pro-U.S. diplomatic ties.
Post-Castro Revolution
Political upheaval in Cuba created new waves of Cuban immigrants to the U.S. In 1959, after the
Cuban revolutionThe Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
led by
Fidel CastroFidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
, a large Cuban exodus began as the new government allied itself with the Soviet Union and began to introduce communism. From 1960 to 1979, hundreds of thousands of Cubans left Cuba and began a new life in the United States. Most Cuban Americans that arrived in the United States initially came from Cuba's educated upper and middle classes. Between December 1960 and October 1962 more than 14,000 Cuban children arrived alone in the U.S. Their parents were afraid that their children were going to be sent to some Soviet bloc countries to be educated and they decided to send them to the States as soon as possible. This program was called Operation Peter Pan (Operacion Pedro Pan). When the children arrived in Miami they were met by representatives of Catholic Charities and they were sent to live with relatives if they had any or were sent to foster homes, orphanages or boarding schools until their parents could leave Cuba. In order to provide aid to recently arrived Cuban immigrants, the
United States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
passed the Cuban Adjustment Act in 1966. The Cuban Refugee Program provided more than $1.3 billion of direct financial assistance. They also were eligible for public assistance,
MedicareMedicare is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over; to those who are under 65 and are permanently physically disabled or who have a congenital physical disability; or to those who meet other...
, free English courses,
scholarshipA scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
s, and low-interest college
loanA loan is a type of debt. Like all debt instruments, a loan entails the redistribution of financial assets over time, between the lender and the borrower....
s. Some banks even pioneered loans for exiles who did not have collateral or credit but received help in getting a business loan. These loans enabled many Cuban Americans to secure funds and start up their own businesses. With their Cuban-owned businesses and low cost of living, Miami, Florida and
Union City, New JerseyUnion City is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. According to the 2010 United States Census the city had a total population of 66,455. All of the city is on land, an area of...
(dubbed "Little Havana-on-the Hudson") were the preferred destinations for many immigrants and soon became the main centers for Cuban American culture. Union City had the opportunities offered by the
embroideryEmbroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
industry. According to author Lisandro Perez, Miami was not particularly attractive to Cubans prior to the 1960s. It was not until the mass exodus of the Cuban exiles in 1959 that Miami started to become a preferred destination.
Westchester, FloridaWestchester is a census-designated place in suburban Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 29,862 at the 2010 census....
within
Miami-Dade CountyMiami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...
, was the area most densely populated by Cubans and Cuban Americans in the United States, followed by
Hialeah, FloridaHialeah is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 226,419. As of 2009, the population estimate by the U. S...
in second. In 2010, Hialeah, Florida was the area most densely populated by Cubans and Cuban Americans in the U.S., followed by Westchester, Florida in second.
Communities like Miami, Tampa, and Union City, which Cuban-Americans have made their home, have experienced a profound cultural impact as a result, as seen in such aspects of their local culture as cuisine, fashion, music, entertainment and
cigarA cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
-making.
1980s
Another large wave (an estimated 125,000 people) of Cuban immigration occurred in the early 1980s with the
Mariel boatliftThe Mariel boatlift was a mass emigration of Cubans who departed from Cuba's Mariel Harbor for the United States between April 15 and October 31, 1980....
s. Most of the "Marielitos" were people wanting to escape from communism, and have succeeded in establishing their roots in the US.
Fidel Castro sent some 20 thousand criminals directly from Cuban prisons, as well as mentally ill persons from Cuban mental institutions, with the alleged double purpose of cleaning up Cuban society and poisoning the USA. Those people were labeled "unadmissible" by the US government, and with time, through many negotiations, have been returned to Cuba.The Cuban migration was a very tragic migration.
Mid-1990s to 2000s
Since the mid-1990s, after the implementation of the "Wet Foot, Dry Foot" policy immigration patterns changed. Many Cuban immigrants departed from the southern and western coasts of Cuba and arrived at the
Yucatán PeninsulaThe Yucatán Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucatán Channel...
in
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
; many landed on
Isla MujeresIsla Mujeres is one of the ten municipalities of the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The municipality, located in the northeastern corner of the state is mostly on the mainland and has a municipal seat of the same name; Isla Mujeres...
. From there Cuban immigrants traveled to the Texas-Mexico border and found asylum. Many of the Cubans who did not have family in Miami settled in Houston; this has caused Houston's Cuban American community to increase in size.The term "dusty foot" refers to Cubans immigrating to the U.S. through Mexico. In 2005 the
Department of Homeland SecurityThe United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...
had abandoned the approach of detaining every dry foot Cuban who crosses through Texas and began a policy allowing most Cubans to obtain immediate parole.
Jorge Ferragut, a Cuban immigrant who founded Casa Cuba, an agency that assists Cuban immigrants arriving in Texas, said in a 2008 article that many Cuban immigrants of the first decade of the 21st century left due to economic instead of political issues. By October 2008 Mexico and Cuba created an agreement to prevent immigration of Cubans through Mexico.
Immigration policy
Before the 1980s, all refugees from Cuba were welcomed into the United States as political refugees. This changed in the 1990s so that only Cubans who reach U.S. soil are granted refuge under the "
wet feet, dry feet policyThe wet foot, dry foot policy is the name given to a consequence of the 1995 revision of the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 that says, essentially, that anyone who fled Cuba and got into the United States would be allowed to pursue residency a year later...
". While representing a tightening of U.S. immigration policy, the wet foot, dry foot policy still affords Cubans a privileged position relative to other immigrants to the U.S. This privileged position is the source of a certain friction between Cuban Americans and other Latin citizens and residents in the United States, adding to the tension caused by the divergent foreign policy interests pursued by conservative Cuban Americans. Cuban immigration also continues with an allotted number of Cubans (20,000 per year) provided legal U.S. visas.
According to a U.S. Census 1970 report, Cuban Americans as well as
LatinosHispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...
lived in all 50 states. But as later Census reports demonstrated, the majority of Cuban immigrants settled in south Florida. A new trend in the late 1990s showed that fewer immigrants arrived from Cuba than previously. While U.S. born Cuban Americans moved out of their enclaves, other nationalities settled there.
In late 1999, U.S. news media focused on the case of
Elián GonzálezThe custody and immigration status of a young Cuban boy, Elián González , was at the center of a heated 2000 controversy involving the governments of Cuba and the United States, González's father, Juan Miguel González Quintana, González's other relatives in Miami, Florida, and in Cuba, and Miami's...
, the 6-year-old Cuban boy caught in a custody battle between his relatives in Miami and his father in Cuba, after the boy's mother died trying to bring him to the United States. On April 22, 2000, INS agents took Elián González to the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C. From there, his father took him back to Cuba.
Assimilation
Many Cuban Americans have assimilated themselves into the American culture, which includes Cuban influences.
Since the 1980s, Cuban Americans have moved out of "Little Havana" and "Hialeah" to the suburbs of Miami, such as
KendallKendall is a suburban neighborhood of metropolitan Miami, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the area had a total population of 75,226....
, as well in the more affluent
Coral GablesCoral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is home to the University of Miami....
and
Miami LakesMiami Lakes is a Miami suburban incorporated town and former census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 22,676 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S...
.
Many new
SouthSouth America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and
Central AmericaCentral America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
ns, along with new Cuban refugees, have replaced the Cuban Americans who have relocated elsewhere in Florida (
Fort LauderdaleFort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
,
OrlandoOrlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
,
Tampa BayThe Tampa Bay Area is the region of west central Florida adjacent to Tampa Bay. Definitions of the region vary. It is often considered equivalent to the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area defined by the United States Census Bureau. The Census Bureau currently...
and
West Palm BeachWest Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...
) and dispersed throughout the nation.
Cuban Americans live in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and
Puerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, which received thousands of anti-Castro refugees as well in the 1960s, and Cuban American population growth is found in
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
,
GeorgiaGeorgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
,
IllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
,
IndianaIndiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
,
TexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
,
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
,
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
,
Rhode IslandThe state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
,
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
,
South CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, and
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
More recently, there has been substantial growth of new Cuban-American communities in places like
Hazleton, PennsylvaniaHazleton is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 25,340 at the 2010 census, an increase of 8.6% from the 2000 census count .-Greater Hazleton:...
;
Raleigh, North CarolinaRaleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
;
Austin, TexasAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
;
La Puente, CaliforniaLa Puente is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 39,816 at the 2010 census.* City flower: The Golden Hibiscus* City colors: Green and White.-History:...
;
Lancaster, CaliforniaLancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the high desert, near the Kern County line. Lancaster currently ranks as the 30th largest city in California, and the 148th largest city in the United States. Lancaster is the principal city within the Antelope Valley...
and
Palmdale, CaliforniaPalmdale is a city located in the center of northern Los Angeles County, California, United States.Palmdale was the first community within the Antelope Valley to incorporate as a city on August 24, 1962; 47 years later, voters approved creating a charter city in November, 2009. Palmdale is...
;
Palm Desert, CaliforniaPalm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census, up from 41,155 at the 2000 census...
;
Union City, CaliforniaUnion City is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It was incorporated in 1959, combining the communities of Alvarado and Decoto. Alvarado was the original county seat of Alameda County, and the site of the first county courthouse is a California Historical Landmark . The city...
and
Fremont, CaliforniaFremont is a city in Alameda County, California. It was incorporated on January 23, 1956, from the merger of five smaller communities: Centerville, Niles, Irvington, Mission San Jose, and Warm Springs...
in the
San Francisco Bay AreaThe San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
; and a number of counties in
NevadaNevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
such as
Clark-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,375,765 people, 512,253 households, and 339,693 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 71.6% White , 9.1% Black, 5.7% Asian, 0.8% American Indian and 12.8% of other or mixed race. 22.0% were Hispanic of any race...
.
Recently small increases of Cuban Americans were in
Appleton, WisconsinAppleton is a city in Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago Counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is situated on the Fox River, 30 miles southwest of Green Bay and 100 miles north of Milwaukee. Appleton is the county seat of Outagamie County. The population was 78,086 at the 2010 census...
;
Sterling, IllinoisSterling is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. The population was 15,370 at the 2010 census, down from 15,451 at the 2000 census. Formerly nicknamed "The Hardware Capital of the World", Sterling has long been associated with manufacturing and the steel...
;
Oklahoma City, OklahomaOklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
;
Henderson, Nevada-Demographics:According to the 2000 census, there were 175,381 people, 66,331 households, and 47,095 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,200.8 people per square mile . There were 71,149 housing units at an average density of 892.8 per square mile...
; and the Seattle Metropolitan area of
Washington stateWashington State may refer to:* Washington , often referred to as "Washington state" to differentiate it from Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States* Washington State University, a land-grant college in that state- See also :...
.
Cuban Americans have been very successful in establishing businesses and developing political clout by transforming Miami from a beach retirement community into a modern city with a younger demographic base with a distinct Caribbean flavor.
U.S. communities with high percentages of people of Cuban ancestry
The top 25 US communities with the highest percentage of people claiming Cuban ancestry are (the top 24 of which are in Miami):
- Westchester, Florida
Westchester is a census-designated place in suburban Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 29,862 at the 2010 census....
65.69%
- Hialeah, Florida
Hialeah is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 226,419. As of 2009, the population estimate by the U. S...
62.12%
- Coral Terrace, Florida
Coral Terrace is an unincorporated suburban community and census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 24,376 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Coral Terrace is located at ....
61.87%
- West Miami, Florida
West Miami is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,863 at the 2000 census.-Geography:West Miami is located at ....
61.61%
- University Park, Florida
According to the census of 2000, there were 26,538 people, 8,646 households, and 6,501 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 6,535.1 people per square mile . There were 9,047 housing units at an average density of 2,227.9/sq mi...
59.80%
- Olympia Heights, Florida
Olympia Heights is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 13,488 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Olympia Heights is located at ....
57.65%
- Tamiami, Florida
Tamiami is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 55,271 at the 2010 census. Tamiami is a portmanteau of the words "Tampa" and "Miami". The Tamiami Trail, a roadway that connects the two cities, was the reason for this unique combination...
56.63%
- Hialeah Gardens, Florida
Hialeah Gardens is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 19,297 at the 2000 census. As of 2005, the population recorded by the U.S...
54.31%
- Medley, Florida
Medley is a town in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The community was named after its founder, Sylvester Medley. The population was 1,098 at the 2000 census. As of 2005, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 1,059...
51.91%
- Sweetwater, Florida 49.92%
- Palm Springs North, Florida
Palm Springs North is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,460 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Palm Springs North is located at ....
43.59%
- Miami Lakes, Florida
Miami Lakes is a Miami suburban incorporated town and former census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 22,676 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S...
42.28%
- Kendale Lakes, Florida
Kendale Lakes is a census-designated place Miami suburb in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 56,901 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Kendale Lakes is located at ....
38.58%
- Fountainbleau, Florida
Fountainbleau is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 59,764 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Fountainbleau is located at ....
37.29%
- Miami, Florida 34.14%
- Miami Springs, Florida
Miami Springs is a Miami suburban city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city was founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss, "The Father of Naval Aviation", and James Bright, during the famous "land boom" of the 1920s and was originally named Country Club Estates...
31.83%
- Richmond West, Florida
Richmond West is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 28,082 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Richmond West is located at ....
29.30%
- Coral Gables, Florida
Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is home to the University of Miami....
28.72%
- Virginia Gardens, Florida
Virginia Gardens is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,348 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, the village had a population of 2,294.- History :...
26.11%
- South Miami Heights, Florida
South Miami Heights is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 33,522 at the 2000 census.-Geography:South Miami Heights is located at ....
25.70%
- Kendall, Florida
Kendall is a suburban neighborhood of metropolitan Miami, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the area had a total population of 75,226....
21.31%
- Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...
20.51%
- Surfside, Florida
Surfside is a town in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 4,909 at the 2000 census. As of 2005, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 4,710.-Geography:...
20.15%
- Country Club, Florida
Country Club is a census-designated place and an unincorporated suburban community located in northwest Miami-Dade County, Florida. The population was 36,310 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Country Club is located at ....
19.97%
- West New York, New Jersey
West New York is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, situated upon the New Jersey Palisades. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 49,708.-Geography:...
19.64%
U.S. communities with the most residents born in Cuba
For total 101 communities, see the reference given.
Top 20 U.S. communities with the most residents born in Cuba are (all of which are located within Miami):
- Westchester, Florida 55.8%
- Hialeah, Florida 53.5%
- Coral Terrace, Florida 51.9%
- West Miami, Florida 50.5%
- South Westside, FL 48.3%
- University Park, Florida 48.1%
- Hialeah Gardens, Florida 47.5%
- Medley, Florida 46.0%
- Tamiami, Florida 45.7%
- Olympia Heights, Florida 45.2%
- Sweetwater, Florida 45.2%
- Westwood Lakes, Florida
Westwood Lakes is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 11,838 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Westwood Lakes is located at ....
44.9%
- Sunset, Florida
Sunset is a census-designated place in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 16,389 at the 2010 census. The zip-codes serving Sunset are 33173, 33183, and 33193.-Geography:Sunset is located at ....
32.7%
- Fountainbleau, Florida 32.3%
- North Westside, FL 30.4%
- Miami, Florida 30.3%
- Miami Lakes, Florida 30.1%
- Palm Springs North, Florida 29.8%
- Kendale Lakes, Florida 28.9%
- Kendale Lakes-Lindgren Acres, FL 24.3%
Political beliefs
US citizens of Cuban descent tend to be significantly more politically conservative than other
HispanicHispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...
groups in the United States and form a major voting block for the
Republican PartyThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
(GOP) in the state of
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Many Cuban Americans fled the island to escape the political and economic repression that they experienced under the
Fidel CastroFidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
's communist government. As such, they tend to identify with the strong anti-communist stance of the Republican Party. The so-called "Cuban-American Lobby" exercises a greatly disproportionate role in U.S. politics and foreign policy, influencing presidential elections directly in one of the most important "swing" states, and foreign policy in Washington by virtually ensuring that the United States economic embargo against Cuba is maintained at the expense of improved relations with other Latin American and Caribbean countries. The power of the Cuban-American Lobby, reinforced by representatives from Florida and New Jersey in the U.S. Congress, and well-placed Cuban-Americans in all branches of the federal government and both major political parties, is arguably second only to that of the so-called Jewish lobby. In terms of its influence relative to the population of U.S. citizens of Cuban-American heritage, the Cuban-American lobby is the most powerful in U.S. foreign policy.
However there has been a noticeable change since the 2008 elections, in which
DemocratThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Barack Obama received 47% of the Cuban American vote in Florida. According to Bendixen's exit polls, 84% of Miami-Dade Cuban American voters 65 or older backed McCain, while 55% of those 29 or younger backed Obama. This shows that the younger Cuban-American generation has shifted to becoming more liberal.
The failed
Bay of Pigs invasionThe Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragement from the US government, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The invasion was launched in April 1961, less than three months...
, and its association with
John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, left many Cubans distrustful of the
Democratic PartyThe Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. Many Cuban Americans believe that Kennedy deliberately denied Cuban exiles air support, leading to a rout by Castro forces. The trauma of this event has led to speculation about possible Cuban-American involvement in the assassination of President Kennedy.
Ronald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, on the other hand, is particularly popular in the Cuban exile community (there is a street in Miami named for Reagan)..
Political representation
There are now four Cuban-American members of the
United States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
:
David RiveraDavid Mauricio Rivera is the U.S. Representative for . He is a member of the Republican Party. He is a Miami-based public affairs consultant and formerly represented District 112 in the Florida House of Representatives....
,
Mario Diaz-BalartMario Rafael Diaz-Balart Caballero is the current U.S. Representative for , serving since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected in 2010 to succeed his brother, Lincoln Diaz-Balart. The district includes the city of Hialeah, along with several of Miami's southwestern suburbs...
,
Ileana Ros-LehtinenIleana Ros-Lehtinen is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1989. She is a member of the Republican Party....
,
Albio SiresAlbio Sires is the U.S. Representative for , serving since a special election in 2006. The district includes most of Jersey City, as well as most of the Latino neighborhoods of Newark. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
and two senators (Bob Menendez of
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and
Marco RubioMarco Antonio Rubio is the junior United States Senator from Florida . A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives ....
of
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
) in the
United States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
. The former
Secretary of CommerceThe United States Secretary of Commerce is the head of the United States Department of Commerce concerned with business and industry; the Department states its mission to be "to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce"...
, Carlos M. Gutierrez, is also a Cuban-American and
Mel MartinezMelquíades Rafael Martínez Ruiz, usually known as Mel Martinez , is a former United States Senator from Florida and served as Chairman of the Republican Party from November 2006 until October 19, 2007, the first Latino to serve as chairman of a major party...
represented Florida in the US Senate from 2004 to 2009.
Lincoln Diaz-BalartLincoln Rafael Díaz-Balart was the U.S. Representative for from 1993 to 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. He previously served in the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate...
represented Florida in the
United States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from 1993 to 2011.
Cuban American
Marco RubioMarco Antonio Rubio is the junior United States Senator from Florida . A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives ....
was the Speaker of the
Florida House of RepresentativesThe Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The House is composed of 120 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 156,677.The House convenes at...
from 2006 until 2009, and became a US Senator in 2010.
Eduardo AguirreEduardo Aguirre Reyes, Jr. , is a principal in Atlantic Partners, an international consulting firm, based in Houston....
served as Vice Chairman of the
Export-Import Bank of the United StatesThe Export-Import Bank of the United States is the official export credit agency of the United States federal government. It was established in 1934 by an executive order, and made an independent agency in the Executive branch by Congress in 1945, for the purposes of financing and insuring...
in the George W. Bush administration and later named Director of Immigration and Naturalization Services under the Department of Homeland Security. In 2006, Eduardo Aguirre was named US ambassador to Spain. Cuban-Americans have also served other high profile government jobs including
White House Chief of StaffThe White House Chief of Staff is the highest ranking member of the Executive Office of the President of the United States and a senior aide to the President.The current White House Chief of Staff is Bill Daley.-History:...
John H. SununuJohn Henry Sununu is a former Governor of New Hampshire and former White House Chief of Staff under President George H. W. Bush. He is the father of John E. Sununu, a former senator from New Hampshire, and formerly a U.S. Representative...
.
Cuban-Americans also serve in high ranking judicial positions as well. Danny Boggs is the current chief judge of
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth CircuitThe United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* Eastern District of Kentucky* Western District of Kentucky...
and
Raoul G. Cantero, IIIRaoul G. Cantero, III is a Florida lawyer and a former Justice of the Florida Supreme Court.-Career:...
, served as a Florida Supreme Court justice until stepping down in 2008.
Food
Cuban food is varied, though rice is a staple and commonly served at lunch and dinner. Other common dishes are
arroz con polloArroz con pollo is a traditional dish of Latin America and the Caribbean, especially in Cuba, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Honduras and the Dominican Republic....
(chicken and rice),
pan con bistec (
steakA steak is a cut of meat . Most are cut perpendicular to the muscle fibers, improving the perceived tenderness of the meat. In North America, steaks are typically served grilled, pan-fried, or broiled. The more tender cuts from the loin and rib are cooked quickly, using dry heat, and served whole...
sandwichA sandwich is a food item, typically consisting of two or more slices of :bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or...
),
platanos maduros (sweet
plantainPlantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...
s),
lechon asado (pork),
yucaCassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
(cassava root),
flanCrème caramel , flan , or caramel custard is a custard dessert with a layer of soft caramel on top, as opposed to crème brûlée, which is custard with a hard caramel top...
,
batido de mamey (mamey
milkshakeA milkshake is a sweet, cold beverage which is made from milk, ice cream or iced milk, and flavorings or sweeteners such as fruit syrup or chocolate sauce....
),
papayaThe papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae...
s, and
guavaGuavas are plants in the myrtle family genus Psidium , which contains about 100 species of tropical shrubs and small trees. They are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America...
paste.
A common lunch staple is the
Cuban sandwichA Cuban sandwich is a variation of a ham and cheese originally created in cafes catering to Cuban workers in Cuba and in the early Cuban immigrant communities of Florida: Key West and Ybor City, Tampa. Later on, Cuban exiles and expatriates brought it to Miami where it is also still very popular...
(sometimes called a
mixto sandwich), which is built on
Cuban breadCuban bread is a fairly simple white bread, similar to French bread and Italian bread, but has a slightly different baking method and ingredient list ; it is usually made in long, baguette-like loaves...
and was created and standardized among cigar workers who traveled between Cuba and Florida (especially Ybor City) around the turn of the 20th century
Cuban versions of pizza contains bread, which is usually soft, and cheese, toppings, and sauce, which is made with spices such as Adobo and Goya onion. Picadillo, ground beef that has been sauteed with tomato, green peppers, green olives, and garlic is another popular Cuban dish. It can be served with black beans and rice, and a side of deep-fried, ripened plantains.
Beverages
Cubans often drink cafe cubano: a small cup of coffee called a cafecito (or a colada), which is traditional espresso coffee, sweetened with sugar, with a little foam on top called espumita. It is also popular to add milk, which is called a cortadito for a small cup or a
cafe con lecheCafé con leche is a Spanish coffee beverage. More similar to the Italian caffe latte than to the French café au lait, café con leche is a coffee beverage consisting of strong or bold coffee mixed with scalded milk in approximately a 1:1 ratio...
for a larger cup.
A common soft drink is
MatervaMaterva is a mate soft drink, produced in Miami by Cawy Bottling Company. Materva is made from yerba mate, a tea popular in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Materva is very popular among Cubans and other Hispanics in the United States. There is also a diet version called Diet Materva...
, a Cuban soda made of
yerba mateMaté, yerba maté or erva maté , Ilex paraguariensis, is a species of holly native to subtropical South America in northeastern Argentina, Bolivia, southern Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay...
. Jupiña,
IronbeerIronbeer is a soft drink that originated in Cuba in 1917 and was created by Manuel Rabanal. It has been described as tasting like "a fruitier Dr Pepper" or like Ironport soda...
and Cawy lemon-lime are soft drinks which originated in Cuba. Since the Castro era, they are also produced in Miami. Other famous Cuban drinks include guarapo de caña.
Demographics=
| Official Immigration to the U.S |
Year of
Immigration |
White White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
|
BlackThe term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
|
Other The Other or Constitutive Other is a key concept in continental philosophy; it opposes the Same. The Other refers, or attempts to refer, to that which is Other than the initial concept being considered...
|
Asian Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
|
Number |
| 1959-64 |
93.3 |
1.2 |
5.3 |
0.2 |
144,732 |
| 1965-74 |
87.7 |
2.0 |
9.1 |
0.2 |
247,726 |
| 1975-79 |
82.6 |
4.0 |
13.3 |
0.1 |
29,508 |
| 1980 |
80.9 |
5.3 |
13.7 |
0.1 |
94,095 |
| 1981-89 |
85.7 |
3.1 |
10.9 |
0.3 |
77,835 |
| 1990-93 |
84.7 |
3.2 |
11.9 |
0.2 |
60,244 |
| 1994–2000 |
85.8 |
3.7 |
10.4 |
0.7 |
174,437 |
| Total |
87.2 |
2.9 |
9.6 |
0.2 |
828,577 |
| Race by Cuban national Origin, 2000 |
| Country of Origin |
White |
Black In the United States, a Black Hispanic or Afro American Hispanic is an American citizen or resident who is officially classified by the United States Census Bureau, Office of Management and Budget and other U.S. government agencies as a Black American of Hispanic descent. African American/Black...
|
Other |
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
|
85.0% |
3.6% |
7.1% |
| Total: 1,241,685 |
1,055,432 |
44,700 |
88,159 |
The ancestry of Cuban Americans comes primarily from
SpainThe Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
.
During the 18th, 19th and early part of the 20th century, large waves of Castilians,
BasquesThe Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
,
CanariansThe Canarians are an ethnic group living in the archipelago of the Canary Islands , near the coast of Western Africa...
,
CatalansThe Catalans or Catalonians are the people from, or with origins in, Catalonia that form a historical nationality in Spain. The inhabitants of the adjacent portion of southern France are sometimes included in this definition...
,
AndalusiansThe Andalusians are the people of the southern region in Spain approximated by what is now called Andalusia. They are generally not considered an ethnically distinct people because they lack two of the most important markers of distinctiveness: their own language and an awareness of a presumed...
, and
GalicianThe Galicians are an ethnic group, a nationality whose historical homeland is Galicia in north-western Spain. Most Galicians are bilingual, speaking both their historic language, Galician, and Castilian Spanish.-Political and administrative divisions:...
s emigrated to Cuba. Much of Haiti's white population (
FrenchThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
) migrated to Cuba after the
Haitian War of IndependenceThe Haitian Revolution was a period of conflict in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, which culminated in the elimination of slavery there and the founding of the Haitian republic...
in the early 18th century. Also, minor but significant ethnic influx is derived from diverse peoples from Middle East places such as Lebanon and Palestine. There was also a significant influx of Jews, especially between the World Wars, from many countries, including
Sephardi JewsSephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
from Turkey and
Ashkenazi JewsAshkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
from Poland, Germany and Russia. Other Europeans that have contributed slightly include Italians, Germans, Swedes, and Hungarians. Many Chinese also settled Cuba as contract laborers and they formerly boast the largest
ChinatownA Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
in Western Hemisphere as most Chinese Cubans left for Florida.
US Census and ACS
In the most recent census in 2000 there were 1,241,685 Cuban Americans, both native and foreign born and represented 3.5% of all Hispanics in the US.
About 85% of Cuban Americans identify themselves as being
WhiteWhite Hispanic and Latino Americans are citizens and residents of the United States who are racially White and ethnically Hispanic or Latino.White American, itself an official U.S...
, mostly
SpanishThe Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
, which is the highest proportion of all other major Hispanic groups. In Florida, Cuban Americans have cultural ties with the state's large
Spanish AmericanA Spanish American is a citizen or resident of the United States whose ancestors originate from the southwestern European nation of Spain. Spanish Americans are the earliest European American group, with a continuous presence since 1565.-Immigration waves:...
or European Spanish community. In the 2007 ACS, there were 1,611,478 Americans with national origins in Cuba. 983,147 were born abroad in Cuba, 628,331 were U.S born and of the 1.6 million, 415,212 were
not U.S citizens.
Economics
The median household income for Cuban Americans is $36,671, a figure higher than all other Hispanic groups, but lower than for non-Hispanic whites.
In contrast, US-born Cuban Americans have a higher median income than even non-Hispanic whites, $50,000 as compared to $48,000 for non-Hispanic whites.
Education
25% of Cuban Americans have a college education, about twice the average of all other Hispanic groups with Dominican Americans trailing by a close 22%, and lower than that of non-Hispanic whites, of which 30% are college graduates.
However, 39% of US-born Cuban Americans have a college degree or higher, as compared to only 30% of non-Hispanic whites.
Religion
Being of primarily Spanish extraction, most Cuban Americans are Roman Catholic, but some Cubans practice African traditional religions (such as
SanteríaSantería is a syncretic religion of West African and Caribbean origin influenced by Roman Catholic Christianity, also known as Regla de Ocha, La Regla Lucumi, or Lukumi. Its liturgical language, a dialect of Yoruba, is also known as Lucumi....
or
IfáIfá refers to the system of divination and the verses of the literary corpus known as the Odú Ifá. Yoruba religion identifies Orunmila as the Grand Priest; as that which revealed Oracle divinity to the world...
), which evolved from mixing the Catholic religion with the traditional African religion. However, there are many
ProtestantProtestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
(primarily
PentecostalPentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...
) with small numbers of
syncretistSyncretism is the combining of different beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. The term means "combining", but see below for the origin of the word...
, nonreligious or tiny communities of
MuslimAccording to a 2009 Pew Research Center report, there are 9,000 Muslims in Cuba who constitute 0.1% of the population.At a certain point there were many Muslim students entering the nation of Cuba interested in studying at Cuba's prestigious schools. The amount of students was approximately...
and Jewish Cuban Americans.
See also
- Cubans
Cubans or Cuban people are the inhabitants or citizens of Cuba. Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
- List of Cuban Americans
- Cuban British
- White Cuban
- Spanish American
A Spanish American is a citizen or resident of the United States whose ancestors originate from the southwestern European nation of Spain. Spanish Americans are the earliest European American group, with a continuous presence since 1565.-Immigration waves:...
- Afro-Cuban
The term Afro-Cuban refers to Cubans of Sub Saharan African ancestry, and to historical or cultural elements in Cuba thought to emanate from this community...
- Hispanos
Hispanos is a name given to people of colonial Spanish descent in what is today the United States who retained a predominantly Spanish culture. The distinction was made to compensate for flawed U.S. Census practices in the 1930s which used to characterize Hispanic people as non-white...
- White Hispanic
- White Latin American
White Latin Americans are the people of Latin America who are white in the racial classification systems used in individual Latin American countries. Persons who are classified as White in one Latin American country may be classified differently in another country...
- Afro Latin American
- Hyphenated American
In the United States, the term hyphenated American is an epithet commonly used from 1890 to 1920 to disparage Americans who were of foreign birth or origin, and who displayed an allegiance to a foreign country. It was most commonly used to disparage German Americans or Irish Americans who called...
- Cuba-United States relations
Cuba and the United States of America have had an interest in one another since well before either of their independence movements. Plans for purchase of Cuba from the Spanish Empire were put forward at various times by United States...
- History of Ybor City
Ybor City is a historic neighborhood in Tampa, Florida, located just northeast of downtown. It was founded as an independent town in 1885 by a group of cigar manufacturers led by Vicente Martinez-Ybor and was annexed by Tampa in 1887...
- Cuban exile
The term "Cuban exile" refers to the many Cubans who have sought alternative political or economic conditions outside the island, dating back to the Ten Years' War and the struggle for Cuban independence during the 19th century...
- U.S. embargo against Cuba
- Diaspora politics in the United States
Diaspora politics in the United States is the study of the political behavior of transnational ethnic diasporas, their relationship with their ethnic homelands and their host states, as well as their prominent role in ethnic conflicts. This article describes case studies and theories of political...
External links
- Immigration Law and the Racialization of Latina/Latino
- Cuban Americans can go Home More Easily Under Obama Rules by William E. Gibson, Los Angeles Times, March 15, 2009
- Long Islanders of Cuban Descent see Glimmer of Hope by Zachary Dowdy, Newsday, April 13, 2009
- Cuban American Travel to Cuba on the Rise by Marc Frank, Reuters, May 6, 2009
- Expats Flock to Cuba as U.S. Reforms Spark A Party by Andres Schipani, The Observer, May 31, 2009
- The Cuban Heritage Collection at The University of Miami
- Cubans in Miami, an historical perspective