Hispanics in Pitt (Pittsburgh, Allentown, Penn Hills: homes, gated, living in)

[MissShona]

Originally Posted by pman

Perhaps I need to be more clear. My wife is from Puerto Rico, will she encounter problems with people there? I'm not looking for why large amounts of hispanics haven't moved to Pittsburgh, but what it's like for hispanics, specifically those with brown skin, to live there. I'm not assuming anything, I'm asking. We were in buffalo, shortly, and there were virtually no hispanics even from mexico let alone smaller places like Puerto rico or the DR. Still, we didn't have any problems... of course the weather sucked (At the time) and it was a ghost town (downtown) so we didn't see that many people. Still, it's nice to know what neighborhoods have hispanics. any area worth visiting on the north side? the priory hotel looks interesting.

It's really hard to say. She will probably encounter a good share of ignorance (like my father immigrated to the area from Jamaica back in the 1970s with his mother and two sisters and brother; however they are not Black Jamaicans...but rather East Indian Jamaicans which confused a lot of people here!). However the story is probably the same in Buffalo as well. A better response may come from another Hispanic Pittsburgh resident; although I don't know of any to refer you to (unfortunately). There is The Hispanic Center, Inc. - Home ; maybe that could be a useful resource as far as getting a perspective of the Hispanic experience in Pittsburgh?

[hildi200]

PMAN,
I am from mexico and my husband too. We have been living in the US for 14 years. We are both professors at Pitt and we did our postdoctoral studies in California (Stanford) but went to Cornell University for our graduate studies. We have been living in Pittsburgh for two months (in Squirrell Hill) and we both love it. But I sure miss the large hispanic population of California. It is funny when we were in upstate NY I remember turning my head everytime I heard Spanish!... then I went to California and it was weird for me to hear Spanish all the time... but now I am back to turning my head around everytime that I hear Spanish ! So... discrimenation... not at all! but I am in the university where you hear all sorts of accents and languages around. In all honesty California seemed a bit more discriminatory with certain people that assume you are an illegal immigrant if you speak spanish! Additionally I am very faired-skin and it was amazing how many people in California told me that I did not look" Mexican" like if that was a compliment! It has been only two months but we are liking it here but miss our latin friends in California! So let me know if you are moving ... would love to meet your wife!


Hope this helps...

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by hildi200

PMAN,
I am from mexico and my husband too. We have been living in the US for 14 years. We are both professors at Pitt and we did our postdoctoral studies in California (Stanford) but went to Cornell University for our graduate studies. We have been living in Pittsburgh for two months (in Squirrell Hill) and we both love it. But I sure miss the large hispanic population of California. It is funny when we were in upstate NY I remember turning my head everytime I heard Spanish!... then I went to California and it was weird for me to hear Spanish all the time... but now I am back to turning my head around everytime that I hear Spanish ! So... discrimenation... not at all! but I am in the university where you hear all sorts of accents and languages around. In all honesty California seemed a bit more discriminatory with certain people that assume you are an illegal immigrant if you speak spanish! Additionally I am very faired-skin and it was amazing how many people in California told me that I did not look" Mexican" like if that was a compliment! It has been only two months but we are liking it here but miss our latin friends in California! So let me know if you are moving ... would love to meet your wife!


Hope this helps...

Hildi,

I'm planning to move to Pittsburgh in a few years and the lack of a large Hispanic population is a concern for me. I'm not Hispanic, but I live in a Latino neighborhood and my kids went to a Spanish language immersion school. My son was the one of only a few non-hispanics during all his middle school years. My daughter just had a weird sort of reverse discrimination experience. She just got her room assignment for her Washington DC school trip and noticed that they have her rooming with two hispanic girls she hardly knows (all the other non-hispanic kids were placed in rooms with their friends). She told me that the principal probably assumed that she was friends with the girls because so many of her school friends are hispanic - however none of them are going on the trip. But I digress, I have traveled extensively in Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador and I have lived in a hispanic neighborhood for 20 years. I will really miss the culture, my friends, and the FOOD!!!! I'm addicted to carne asada tacos. True Mexican tacos are nothing like American style tacos. Does Pittsburgh have real Mexican food? I didn't look for Mexican food while I was there.

There is a lot of discrimination here in CA. I see it at my daughter's school (she's not at the Spanish immersion school now). The white kids get in far less trouble than the hispanic kids for the same infractions. I could go on, but I won't.

If you're still in Pittsburgh when I move there, I'll speak Spanish (very limited) with you. Or better yet, my daughter who is much more fluent than I am will speak with you! LOL

[claremarie]

I grew up in the North Hills, and one of our neighbors was from Guatemala. They were, by far, the most "exotic" family in our entire neighborhood. Until we got a Vietnamese refugee family in the late 1970s, everyone else was white. As far as I can tell, the neighborhood is still virtually all white.

There are so few Hispanics in Pittsburgh that, unless you live in a university community, you may well be the only Hispanic that your neighbors have ever met in person. I have a friend here in DC who was born in Egypt, raised in Kuwait, and spent several years in Pittsburgh for graduate school. She told me that many people would ask her, with some puzzlement, "What are you?" She is so dark-skinned that she could be black, but has Middle Eastern features, so lots of people couldn't quite figure her out, especially because she speaks fluent English with no discernible accent.

[Humanoid]

My wife is from Puerto Rico, will she encounter problems with people there?

My wife is mixed and looks Hispanic to the...hmm...untrained eye. I don't recall her ever coming home with a story of overt racism in the area, but she would often complain about people looking at her weird, saying odd things and other minor things of that nature.

In general the people in Pittsburgh only have experience with whites/blacks and a bit of asian and can't even figure out what the hell you are if you aren't these things.

Does Pittsburgh have real Mexican food?

Nope! The Mexican food in Pittsburgh is all a sort of tex-mex. They have a really odd idea of Mexican food. The closest thing to Mexican you'll find is at Baja Fresh, but I believe they have all closed down. It was sort of odd, they opened up a few years ago and then closed within 2-3 years.

Better start learning how to make Mexican food yourself! The Giant Eagle at the waterfront has enough Mexican food items to make a number of dishes. But some of the fresh ingredients can get hard to find, even something simple like fresh cilantro isn't available at very store.

[Katarina Witt]

Does Pittsburgh have real Mexican food?

I vote with Humanoid on this one. No. My nephew and his wife moved from Denver to Pgh and that is one thing they really missed. Many people will try to tell you, yes Pittsburgh does have good Mexican food, but it's not true unless it's very well hidden.

[supersoulty]

Originally Posted by pman

I see there aren't very many hispanics in Pitt, would you say there are problems with racism or cultural problems?

It has nothing to do with racial attitudes. The reason is probably timing. The major Hispanic influx of the 1970's and 80's coincided with a period of severe economic downturn in the city. There were no jobs here for the people living here, let alone migrants.

[supersoulty]

That being said, I should mention that, in terms of the relationship between the Black population and "everyone else", Pittsburgh is the closest thing you will find in the North to a racially segregated city par excellence... but is "only" for that circumstance. Otherwise, Pittsburgh is a fairly integrated city.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by supersoulty

It has nothing to do with racial attitudes. The reason is probably timing. The major Hispanic influx of the 1970's and 80's coincided with a period of severe economic downturn in the city. There were no jobs here for the people living here, let alone migrants.

I'm not sure there ever was a "major Hispanic influx" in this country, and if there was, it wasn't in the 70s and 80s. It has been pretty steady. Here in Colorado, people are arriving from Mexico every day. The Hispanic population of the US is the fastest-growing segment. Some of that is from births, but some is from immigration.

[supersoulty]

Originally Posted by Katiana

I'm not sure there ever was a "major Hispanic influx" in this country, and if there was, it wasn't in the 70s and 80s. It has been pretty steady. Here in Colorado, people are arriving from Mexico every day. The Hispanic population of the US is the fastest-growing segment. Some of that is from births, but some is from immigration.

I should qualify my statement by saying "major Northern Hispanic influx". Hispanics were a very small minority in most Northern cities until the 70's and 80's.