Hispanics in Pitt

[OnThaGrind]

I'm puerto rican and Cuban, about to move out there this coming week. From what I've read, there's not much Latino culture or population out there in the burgh. I'm sure it will grow because of it's livability factor, but overall, most Latinos and Hispanics like to stick together. Look at South Florida, Cali, NYC, etc. NJ also has a large PR population. Theres a part of NJ called Union City that has the highest concentration of cubans in the nation second to only Miami. We tend to cluster together, but hey I'm gonna catch heat for this one... But the white neighborhoods are usually safer with lower crime. It is what it is.

[BrianTH]

I can't remember if we discussed this above, but like most related things, the preference for living in ethnic enclaves tends to diminish with each post-immigration generation. So I think it is a fair bet that Pittsburgh won't be getting a lot of direct Hispanic immigrants in the near future, since it doesn't have a history of such immigration and consequently has no really notable Hispanic enclaves. But I do think we will gradually get more and more people who have some sort of Hispanic heritage, perhaps intermingled in many cases with other heritages.

[EriSteelersfan]

I know this thread is a couple years old, but i'm sure other people would like input.
I am Puerto Rican and i'm from Memphis, TN. I lived in Pittsburgh from 2008-early 2010, I LOVED living there. I was never discriminated against, I was looked at more than a few times (more than likely because there aren't many hispanics there) and I got comments from people about my "spanish eyes" and olive complexion. Not once did I get an ugly comment from someone or any type of racial slur thrown at me. I actually enjoyed living there a million times more than living in Memphis. Memphis has a ton of diversity (tons of hispanics, black, asian, white, middle eastern you name it we've got it) but it's not that great especially when hispanics here are treated all the same. No matter where you're actually from it's always the same assumption "Oh so you're Mexican right?". I wish there wasn't such an abundance of ignorant people here in Memphis, but you can't fix stupid right? LOL I'm a true southern girl at heart, but when I lived in PA it was so much more welcoming and laid back that if I could afford it i'd move back in a heartbeat even though i'd have to tolerate the cold weather.
Anyways back to the hispanic population thing. Yeah there are hardly any hispanics and when you do run into them, they are normally not from your homeland, which is totally fine, but don't get your heart set on meeting a ton that are of your background. The entire 2 years I lived there I only met one other Puerto Rican and met her through church. She was really nice and was married to a white man, the only bad thing about meeting the only other Puerto Rican in town was that she couldn't cook so my hopes of getting some food like my mami's and abuela's were shot. I can cook but there are a ton of dishes you can't make when you live there because there is only one latin market (that I know of) and they carried mainly mexican products. No plantains, none of the specific peppers to make sofrito, no yuca, but they do carry Cafe Bustelo in Giant Eagle, huge ripoff because they charge so much, but that's the coffee i've grown up on and the only kind we had in our house, so I didn't mind paying the $6 for the can. Other than the one Puerto Rican lady, I met a man from Panama at the grocery store and a couple from the Dominican Republic. Oh and a Cuban family who lived there while their child was being treated at UPMC children's hospital. Not a ton of diversity but it won't kill you, the people are friendly and that's all that matters.
Now let's talk food. The only place that had food that reminded me of home was a place in the Strip called Chicken Latino. OMG. AMAZING FOOD. It's a Peruvian restaurant and they have limited hours, but go when you get a chance. They have Lechon on sundays and it's just like lechon in Puerto Rico, their Yucca fries are so good with the green sauce, they had maduros if you don't know what those are they are sweet plantains that are fried and of course they are tasty, and their chicken is the best! The people are really nice there, I highly recommend this place I went once, sometimes twice a month to get a taste of home even if i'm not peruvian their food is very similar to Puerto Rican food and I was never dissapointed. In Memphis we don't have any Puerto Rican/Cuban restaurants or Peruvian for that matter, so I very much miss this place. The mexican restaurants are few and far between so if you love Mexican food you may be searching long and hard for one. The only one I found that was pretty decent was the one next to BWW in Robinson.
Basically as long as you don't start any problems you will be accepted just fine. Racial tension doesn't seem to be a problem, Pitt is a really welcoming place, and definitely the least judgemental city i've ever lived in.

[feanix]

I don't want to feed into the trolls post, but I do not agree that racial/ethnic tension doesn't exist. My husband did not like living in Pittsburgh. He did feel the area was at times unwelcoming to Mexican men and he tolerated some ignorant comments living here under the guise of being a joke. I just disagree that it is somehow largely disproportionate to other cities.

I don't even think that was the biggest issue for my husband. He was more impacted by the lack of a large Mexican community here. My husband is from Southern California, so you have to see things from his perspective to understand why he felt such a culture shock moving here. This is the difference he experienced:

https://pics.city-data.com/zraces/29922.jpg (broken link)https://pics.city-data.com/zraces/4194.jpg (broken link)


So you can see what a culture shock it was for him to experience! It was his first time living away from his family and the comforts of his culture. Sure he could search out a Mexican store, but it's not the same.

Pittsburgh isn't to blame for that, the city is only a representation of its demographics, and I think had there been a large Hispanic presence he would have enjoyed the city more. Instead he resented what Pittsburgh represented, a loss of his family and culture. Clearly that wasn't Pittsburgh's fault, but it was why he never adjusted, so when we moved finding a larger Hispanic presence was a necessity.

I strongly disagree that the lack of presence of is because there is some large amount of racism happening here. You may get an occasional comment from an ignorant person, but that is anywhere and may be more or less depending on where you're coming from. In fact, I would say if you speak Spanish and won't mind being without some culture comforts in the same quantity you are used to, get your butt to Pittsburgh! The market is ripe for Spanish speaking Americans! Oh, and if you're a fluent speaker be prepared for some men/women to be turned on by your accent and ability. Speaking Spanish isn't a commonly heard thing here so you may find yourself popular with some folks! My husband has a deep voice and heavy accent and was often asked to "Say something in Spanish." I would say if you're single this could be a nice bonus.

I think the Hispanic community will continue to grow in Pittsburgh as families seek out more affordable living communities. I think the reason the city hasn't grown as much is that parents/grandparents who are Spanish only speakers stayed within communities where knowing English wasn't a necessity and in-turn their children stayed close to their parents. Pittsburgh doesn't have a section of the city that I know of that is almost entirely Spanish speaking only. I think this will change as their children become adults who are fluent in English and Spanish and no longer bound by that impediment.

[pman]

thabks for the lechon tip and generally informative post

[Craziaskowboi]

Last time I was in Pittsburgh, somebody called me a dumbass! What the **** was his problem? Do they have something against dumb people in Pittsburgh? I was called a dumbass like it's a bad thing! ****in' Pittsburgh bigots, I tell you.