Exploring the Latino Metropolis: A Brief Urban Cultural History of US Latinos

East Harlem

East harlem, also commonly know as “Spanish Harlem” of “El Barrio,” is a neighborhood of New York City bounded by 5th avenue of the west and 96th street on the south (Spanish). This neighborhood has always been a multicultural region of manhattan. Latino influence in this neighborhood spans from the 1900s up until present time (Dávila 6). Pre- World War II era, the region was primarily a Jewish, Eastern European and Italian cultural enclave (Dávila 6; Bell3). However, Puerto Ricans had already started to migrate and settle there. In fact by the 1930’s, more than half of Puerto Ricans living in mainland United States had settled in East Harlem (Padilla 68). After world war II, Puerto Rican migration soared due to the island Industrialization program and the government-sanctioned migration of Puerto Rican agricultural workers to the United states. Urban renewal policies between the 1940’s and the 1950’s drove out Italians and as a result East Harlem became a quasi segregated community know for its “culture of poverty” and “island inside the city” nature (Dávila 6; Bell 3). The revolutionary spirit of the 60’s reached East Harlem and latinos and black stood up to the white democracy to halt urban renewal process. A sense of national pride also surged at this time, with the introduction of several outreach programs to help the community, and through introduction of projects, such as the Museo del Barrio, which preserved the latino history in East Harlem (Bell 3). However, this victory was short lived since gentrification began again later in the 90’s and continues to affect its residents Today(Dávila 7). Throughout the 20th and 21st century East Harlem has opened its doors to many more immigrants specifically Mexicans, Salvadorans and Dominicans.
 

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