Everything about Cuban American totally explained
A
Cuban American is a
United States citizen who traces his or her "national origin" to
Cuba. Cuban Americans form the third-largest
Hispanic group in the United States
Many communities throughout the United States have significant Cuban American populations. However,
Miami, Florida stands out as the most prominent Cuban American community, in part because of its proximity to Cuba. It is followed by
North Jersey, particularly
Union City and
West New York.
Immigration
Prior to the
Louisiana Purchase and the
Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819, all of
Florida and
Louisiana were provinces of the
Captaincy General of Cuba. Consequently, Cuban immigration to the U.S. has a long history, beginning in the
Spanish colonial period in 1565 when
St. Augustine, Florida was established by
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, 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 –
1783 and
Texas during the period of Spanish rule.
Many early Cubans migrated to
New York City,
St. Augustine, Florida,
Key West, and
Tampa, Florida. Many Cubans were absorbed into the mainstream of American culture after the United States claimed Florida from Spain in
1821.
In the late 1800s, a Cuban entrepreneur named
Vicente Martinez-Ybor started a
cigar making business in Tampa. Soon, other Cuban businessmen, but included anti-Batista refugees fleeing the military dictatorship, which had pro-U.S. diplomatic ties.
US communities with high percentages of people of Cuban ancestry
The top 25 US communities with the highest percentage of people claiming Cuban ancestry are:
- Westchester, Florida 65.69%
- Hialeah, Florida 62.12%
- Coral Terrace, Florida 61.87%
- West Miami, Florida 61.61%
- University Park, Florida 59.80%
- Olympia Heights, Florida 57.65%
- Tamiami, Florida 56.63%
- Hialeah Gardens, Florida 54.31%
- Medley, Florida 51.91%
- Sweetwater, Florida 49.92%
- Palm Springs North, Florida 43.59%
- Miami Lakes, Florida 42.28%
- Kendale Lakes, Florida 38.58%
- Fountainbleau, Florida 37.29%
- Miami, Florida 34.14%
- Miami Springs, Florida 31.83%
- Richmond West, Florida 29.30%
- Coral Gables, Florida 28.72%
- Virginia Gardens, Florida 26.11%
- South Miami Heights, Florida 25.70%
- Kendall, Florida 21.31%
- Miami Beach, Florida 20.51%
- Surfside, Florida 20.15%
- Country Club, Florida 19.97%
- West New York, New Jersey 19.64%
1960 - 1980
Political upheaval in Cuba created new waves of Cuban immigrants to the U.S. In 1959, after the Cuban revolution led by Fidel Castro, a large Cuban exodus began. From 1960 to 1979, hundreds of thousands of Cubans left Cuba and began a new life in America, often forming the backbone of the anti-Castro movement. Most Cuban Americans that arrived in the United States came from Cuba's educated upper and middle classes. Like many immigrants, the Cuban Americans often had little money, which was further exacerbated by Cuban government measures taken to prevent removal of wealth from Cuba. Some of the poorest exiles arrived via operation Pedro Pan, which occurred in the early 1970s. The Catholic Church in an effort to help the Cuban children established Operation Pedro Pan in 1972. Cuban parents were allowing the church to take the children until the parents can later reunite in Miami. La Salle High School sponsored many of these children.
In order to provide aid to recently arrived Cuban immigrants, the
United States Congress 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,
Medicare, free English courses,
scholarships, and low-interest college
loans. Some banks even pioneered loans for exiles who didn't have collateral or credit but received help in getting a business loan simply because they were of Cuban descent. 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 Jersey (dubbed "Havana-on-the Hudson") were the preferred destinations for many immigrants, and soon became the main centers for Cuban American culture. Miami was particularly attractive due to its similar climate, geography, and architecture; Union City for the opportunities offered by the
embroidery industry. However,
Westchester, Florida within
Miami-Dade County, stands as the area most populated by Cubans and Cuban Americans in the United States, followed by
Hialeah, Florida in second. The term "dusty foot" refers to Cubans immigrating to the U.S. through Mexico. In
2005 the
Department of Homeland Security 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 2000s left due to economic instead of political issues.
Assimilation
Many Cuban Americans have assimilated themselves into the mainstream American culture, but in the city of Miami and its surroundings, there's a uniquely molded Cuban American community.
Since the 1980s, Cuban Americans have moved out of "Little Havana" to the suburbs of Miami, such as
Hialeah and
Kendall as well as the more affluent
Coral Gables and
Miami Lakes.
Many new
South and
Central Americans, along with new Cuban refugees, have replaced the Cuban Americans who have relocated elsewhere in Florida (
Fort Lauderdale,
Orlando,
Tampa Bay and
West Palm Beach) and dispersed throughout the nation.
Cuban Americans live in all 50 states,
Washington, D.C. and
Puerto Rico, which received thousands of anti-Castro refugees as well in the 1960s, and Cuban American population growth is found in
California,
Georgia,
Illinois,
New York,
North Carolina,
Virginia and
Indiana.
More recently, there has been substantial growth of new Cuban-American communities in places like
Hazleton, Pennsylvania;
Raleigh, North Carolina; and
Palm Desert, California.
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 distinct Caribbean flavor.
Cuban American culture
Political beliefs
Cuban Americans tend to be significantly more conservative politically than other Latino groups in the United States and form a major voting block for the
Republican Party (GOP) in the state of Florida . Many Cuban Americans are deeply resentful of the Castro
regime. As such, they're more in tune with the strong anti-communist stance of the GOP .
The failed
Bay of Pigs invasion, and its association with
John F. Kennedy, left many Cubans distrustful of the
Democratic Party .
Ronald Reagan, on the other hand, is particularly popular in the Cuban exile community (there's a street in Miami named for
Ronald Reagan) . The return of
Elián González by the
Clinton administration contributed to the community's Republican-oriented political views .
Food
Cuban food is varied, though rice is a staple and commonly served at lunch and dinner. Other common dishes are
arroz con pollo (chicken and rice),
pan con bistec (
steak sandwich),
platanos maduros (sweet
plantains),
lechon asado (
pork),
yuca (
cassava root),
flan,
batido de mamey (mamey
milkshake),
papayas, and
guava paste.
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 could be 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 and a side 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 a sugar foam on top called espumita. When you order a colada, you get a small cup with thimble size cups for sharing. It is also popular to add milk, which is called a cortadito for a small cup or a cafe con leche for a larger cup.
A common soft drink is
Materva, a Cuban soda made of
yerba mate.
Jupiña,
Ironbeer and Cawy lemon-lime are soft drinks which originated in Cuba. Since the Castro era, they're also produced in Miami.
Demographics
The ancestry of Cuban Americans comes primarily from Spain, and West and Central Africa, with many others being of
French,
Portuguese,
Italian,
Irish and
Russian descent
During the 18th, 19th and early part of the 20th century, large waves of
Canarian,
Catalan,
Andalusian and
Galician emigrated to Cuba. Much of Haiti's white population migrated to Cuba after the Haitian War of Independence 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
Sephardic Jews from Turkey and
Ashkenazic Jews from Poland, Germany and Russia. Other Europeans that have contributed slightly include Italians, Germans, Swedes, and Hungarians.
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
White, mostly
Spanish, which is the highest proportion of all other major Hispanic groups. In Florida, Cuban Americans have cultural ties with the state's large
Spanish American or European Spanish community.
Economics
The median household income for Cuban Americans is $36,671, a figure higher than 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, 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, and 12% for all other Hispanic groups.
Religion
Being of
Spanish and African extraction, most Cuban Americans are
Roman Catholic, but some Cubans practice the African Traditional Religions (such as
Santeria,IFA), which evolved from mixing the catholic religion with the traditional african religion. However, there are many
Protestant (primarily
Pentecostal),
syncretism nonreligious, and
Jewish Cuban Americans.
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 policy". 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
Latinos 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 González, the 6-year-old Cuban boy caught in a custody battle between his relatives in Miami and his father in Cuba. The fiasco ended on April 22,
2000, when INS agents took Elián González to the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C. From there, his father took him back to Cuba.
Political representation
There are now four Cuban American members of the
United States House of Representatives and two Senators (
Mel Martinez of Florida, and
Bob Menendez of
New Jersey) in the
United States Senate, as well as the Cuban American
Secretary of Commerce, Carlos M. Gutierrez
In 2006
Marco Rubio became Speaker of the
Florida House of Representatives. Eduardo Aguirre served as Vice Chairman of the
Export-Import Bank of the United States 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 Staff,
John H. Sununu.
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 Circuit and
Raoul G. Cantero, III, served as a Florida Supreme Court justice until stepping down in 2008.
Further Information
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