Guatemalan Americans

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Guatemalan Americans
Total population
1,878,599 (2022)
Evangelical Christianity, Indigenous beliefs
Related ethnic groups
Hispanic Americans, Guatemalans, Spanish Americans, Mexican Americans, Honduran Americans, Salvadoran Americans
Part of a series on
Hispanic and
Latino Americans
National origin groups
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Guatemalan Americans (Spanish: guatemalteco-americanos, norteamericanos de origen guatemalteco or estadounidenses de origen guatemalteco) are

Guatemalan descent. The Guatemalan American population at the 2010 Census was 1,044,209. Guatemalans are the sixth largest Hispanic group in the United States and the second largest Central American population after Salvadorans. Half of the Guatemalan population is situated in two parts of the country, the Northeast and Southern California
.

The states with the largest Guatemalan population are California (29%), Florida (8%) and Texas (7%).[3]

History of Guatemalans in the United States

Main article: History of Guatemalan migrants in the United States

Oakland, San Francisco, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia
.

The largest influx of Guatemalans into the United States, however, started occurring in the 1970s and 1980s, peaking in the 1990s due to the

September 11, 2001, new laws were enacted in Mexico limiting immigration visas and introduced other measures on the southern Mexican border through Plan Sur, a binational treaty with the Guatemalan government. There were 430,000 undocumented Guatemalans by 2008. 71% of Guatemalan immigrants are undocumented.[5]

Immigration

During the 1950s, there were 45,000 documented immigrants from Central America. In the 1960s, this number more than doubled to 100,000. In the decade after, it increased to 134,000. 26,000 of these immigrants were Guatemalan.[6] Following the 1950s, Guatemala had been full of unrest with military dictatorships, civil wars, and a thirty-six year long guerrilla war. Those wars produced over 200,000 deaths, as well as the displacement of nearly one million refugees. In 1996, the Guatemalan government signed a peace accord. This ended the war; however, the war did not end for many Guatemalans who had to live alongside those who inflicted violence throughout their country.

During the

U.S. intervention. Consequently, many Guatemalans received Temporary Protected Status during that time period. These same Guatemalans lost that status once the war ended.[5]

Migration from Central America had always been below 50,000. However, in 1970, the census had counted 113,913 Central American immigrants. 17,536 of those immigrants were of Guatemalan descent. This was a dramatic increase from the 5,381 count from the decade prior.

agricultural economy as their source of employment.[8]

During the 1980s, many revolutionary/guerrilla groups merged together to become the

Femicide has become more prevalent in Guatemala. In this manner, many United States courts have been granting asylum
due to the increase in femicide in Guatemala.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) was passed in the United States in 1986. Following IRCA, most documented Guatemalan Americans were able to receive legal admission through the petitioning of family members already in the United States. Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) disadvantaged incoming Guatemalan immigrants, because it allowed for documentation to those who entered prior to 1982; however, Guatemalan immigration largely took place after 1982.

In 1997, immigration was further limited for Guatemalans through the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act. This act allowed Central American asylum-seekers to be documented in the United States but called for deportation for those undocumented. At the time, many of those people were Guatemalan Americans.[5] Deportation of undocumented immigrants have consequences of socioeconomic mobility within Guatemala. Households in Guatemala that receive money from Guatemalans in the United States are able to pull themselves into a better economic standing. By contrast, households which lose that money experience downward mobility.[8]

Literature in the U.S.

According to Rodriguez, the main themes of Central American literature in the United States are: war, violence, criminality, solidarity, migration, ethnicity, and the construction of identity.[9] Maya Chinchilla is a Guatemalan poet of mixed U.S., German and Guatemalan heritages. In her poem "Central Americanamerican" she "diffracts the construction of Central American identity beyond a geographic notion and along the multiple coordinates of migrations, generations, heritages, languages, ethnicities, races, sexualities, cultures, and discourses magnified in the Central American diasporas."[9] Novels like The Tattooed Soldier by Héctor Tobar display the cultural significance of Central American identity within U.S. multiculturalism.[10]

Culture

Guatemalan Mayas and Hispanics

Norma Torres, member of the House of Representatives.

Guatemalan Americans are a very culturally diverse group of people, including around 23 distinct ethnic groups, whose languages are different, although they maintain unique cultural traditions. The groups are, on the whole,

Spanish culture
. So, Guatemalan Americans are a multicultural community. This reason is why the assimilation processes, traditional beliefs, and customs vary differently between groups. Most Ladino Guatemalans living in the United States come from Jutiapa, Guatemala City, and Chiquimula. The majority of Ladinos from Jutiapa and Chiquimula live in the northeast, in states such as New Jersey and Massachusetts.

Immigrant Maya American communities have preserved their ethnic customs. The Guatemalans of European descent (mostly of Spanish ancestry) often mixed with other U.S. Hispanic groups. However, it is unknown the degree to which the transmission of cultural traditions between Guatemalans immigrants and their descendants occurs due to a lack of research.

Some traditions have remained in most neighborhoods of Guatemalan immigrants, especially in Los Angeles, Houston and southern Florida, where Guatemalan traditions are being both transformed and lost due to American acculturation. Some Guatemalan traditions are the celebration of Quinceañeras, the formation of soccer leagues, and the Organization de las Fiestas de la Patronal (Organization of Patronal Parties).[11]

There are over one million Maya Natives in the United States- largely from both Mexico and Guatemala. Despite this, the United States fails to recognize Maya Natives as refugees from Guatemala despite the political and social conditions that produce the need for immigration.[12] Mayas are at the bottom of the social stratum in Guatemala. This can be accounted by racism within Guatemalan society, along with the vulnerability that is produced during migration to the United States through Mexico.[8]

Maya Indian Organizations in the United States[12]
Organization Location
Corn Maya Organization Jupiter, Florida
Guatemalan Maya Center Lake Worth Beach, Florida
Summer Language Program Los Angeles, California
Maya Vision Los Angeles, California

Religion

Due largely to influences such as Spanish colonization and U.S. business involvement in Central America, the Indigenous religions of Guatemala have mixed to create a hybrid spirituality and emergent "spiritual forms, practices, and communities as these intersect with other aspects of Hispanic/a identity, such as ethnicity, race, gender and sexuality."[13]

Socioeconomic mobility

Luis E. Arreaga, former ambassador to Guatemala and Iceland

Compared to the U.S.

service sector.[15]

Demographics

Biden administration
.

Half of the Guatemalan population is situated in two parts of the country, the Northeast and Southern California. A combined population of 267,335 resides in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties. There is also a Guatemalan community in Las Vegas.[16]

The Northeast megalopolis, extending from Northern Virginia to north of Boston, is home to a population of 257,729 Guatemalans. Cities such as Langley Park, Trenton, Stamford, Providence and Lynn have significant concentrations of Guatemalans along the corridor.

Distribution by state

State/Territory Guatemalan Population
2020 census[17][18]		 Percent 2020 2010 census[19] Percent 2010
 Alabama 26,614 0.5% 15,282 0.3%
 Alaska 724 0.1% 508 0.0%
 Arizona 22,713 0.3% 13,426 0.2%
 Arkansas 9,428 0.3% 4,533 0.2%
 California 454,917 1.1% 332,737 0.9%
 Colorado 14,362 0.2% 7,488 0.1%
 Connecticut 26,660 0.7% 16,715 0.5%
 Delaware 10,449 1.0% 5,202 0.6%
 District of Columbia 3,743 0.5% 2,635 0.4%
 Florida 138,818 0.6% 83,882 0.4%
Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia 59,625 0.5% 36,874 0.4%
 Hawaii 1,191 0.0% 565 0.0%
 Idaho 2,529 0.2% 1,168 0.1%
 Illinois 48,681 0.4% 35,321 0.3%
 Indiana 14,937 0.2% 5,933 0.1%
 Iowa 10,708 0.3% 4,917 0.2%
 Kansas 11,496 0.3% 5,538 0.2%
 Kentucky 12,514 0.2% 5,231 0.1%
 Louisiana 12,270 0.2% 6,660 0.1%
 Maine 783 0.0% 457 0.0%
 Maryland 63,972 1.0% 34,491 0.6%
 Massachusetts 53,437 0.7% 32,812 0.5%
 Michigan 12,994 0.1% 8,428 0.1%
 Minnesota 13,058 0.2% 6,754 0.1%
 Mississippi 5,807 0.2% 2,978 0.1%
 Missouri 11,079 0.1% 6,610 0.1%
 Montana 401 0.0% 200 0.0%
 Nebraska 18,548 0.9% 8,616 0.5%
 Nevada 19,787 0.5% 13,407 0.5%
 New Hampshire 1,242 0.1% 743 0.1%
 New Jersey 79,638 0.8% 48,869 0.6%
 New Mexico 3,859 0.2% 2,386 0.1%
 New York 109,766 0.5% 73,806 0.4%
 North Carolina 35,349 0.3% 20,206 0.2%
 North Dakota 460 0.0% 134 0.0%
 Ohio 20,084 0.1% 8,680 0.1%
 Oklahoma 15,660 0.3% 7,960 0.2%
 Oregon 14,809 0.3% 7,703 0.2%
 Pennsylvania 23,280 0.2% 11,462 0.1%
 Rhode Island 28,062 2.5% 18,852 1.8%
 South Carolina 14,999 0.2% 8,883 0.2%
 South Dakota 3,737 0.3% 1,620 0.2%
 Tennessee 36,767 0.5% 14,323 0.2%
 Texas 108,548 0.3% 66,244 0.3%
 Utah 11,651 0.3% 6,877 0.2%
 Vermont 309 0.0% 215 0.0%
 Virginia 56,076 0.6% 33,556 0.4%
 Washington 20,340 0.2% 9,520 0.1%
 West Virginia 842 0.0% 347 0.0%
 Wisconsin 5,015 0.1% 3,037 0.1%
 Wyoming 683 0.1% 418 0.1%
Total U.S. Guatemalan Population 1,669,557 0.4% 1,044,209 0.3%

Cities (metro areas) with the largest Guatemalan populations

The largest population of Guatemalans are situated in the following areas (Source: 2020 ACS 5-Year Estimate):[20]

  1. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA MSA
    - 286,250
  2. New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA MSA - 125,231
  3. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA - 81,530
  4. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL MSA - 66,829
  5. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX MSA - 56,993
  6. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA MSA - 51,626
  7. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA - 42,457
  8. Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL-IN-WI MSA - 38,872
  9. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH MSA - 36,709
  10. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA MSA
    - 35,917
  11. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX MSA - 27,950
  12. Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA MSA - 27,588
  13. Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA - 17,575
  14. Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ MSA - 16,892
  15. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA MSA - 13,572
  16. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA - 13,563
  17. Trenton-Princeton, NJ MSA - 15,457
  18. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT MSA - 15,417
  19. Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA - 10,401
  20. Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN MSA - 9,147

U.S. communities with largest population of people of Guatemalan ancestry

The top 25 U.S. communities with the highest populations of Guatemalans (Source: Census 2020) [21]

  1. Los Angeles, CA – 157,676
  2. New York City, NY – 42,499
  3. Houston, TX – 33,210
  4. Chicago, IL – 20,885
  5. Providence, RI – 15,332
  6. Oakland, CA – 13,492
  7. Trenton, NJ – 13,323
  8. Phoenix, AZ – 11,181
  9. Lynn, MA – 10,615
  10. Stamford, CT – 10,221
  11. San Rafael, CA – 8,876
  12. San Francisco, CA – 7,870
  13. Oklahoma City, OK – 7,842
  14. Langley Park, MD – 7,546
  15. Lake Worth Beach, FL – 7,317
  16. Plainfield, NJ – 6,958
  17. Dallas, TX – 6,641
  18. Long Beach, CA – 6,522
  19. West Palm Beach, FL – 5,542
  20. Palmdale, CA – 5,509
  21. Las Vegas, NV – 5,134
  22. Boston, MA – 4,871
  23. Hawthorne, CA – 4,681
  24. Miami, FL – 4,545
  25. Inglewood, CA – 4,172

U.S. communities with high percentages of people of Guatemalan ancestry

The top 25 U.S. communities with the highest percentages of Guatemalans as a percentage (Source: Census 2010):

  1. Marydel, Maryland - 42.55%
  2. Brewster, New York - 38.16%
  3. Indiantown, Florida – 37.15%
  4. Templeville, Maryland – 31.88%
  5. Georgetown, Delaware – 31.86%
  6. Chamblee, Georgia – 30.89%
  7. Henderson, Maryland – 29.45%
  8. Langley Park, Maryland – 26.81%
  9. Ellijay, Georgia – 19.39%
  10. Lake Worth Beach, Florida – 18.66%
  11. Collinsville, Alabama – 18.51%
  12. East Ellijay, Georgia – 18.31%
  13. Mount Kisco, New York – 16.38%
  14. Fairview, New Jersey
    – 15.84%
  15. Schuyler, Nebraska – 13.99%
  16. Saluda, South Carolina – 13.74%
  17. Central Falls, Rhode Island – 13.28%
  18. Greenport, New York – 13.06%
  19. Carthage, Missouri – 12.80%
  20. Tice, Florida – 12.70%
  21. Stuart, Florida – 12.62%
  22. Stacy Street, Florida – 12.59%
  23. Modest Town, Virginia – 11.41%
  24. Trion, Georgia – 10.84%
  25. Monterey, Tennessee – 10.77%

Notable people

Oscar Isaac performing at Universidad Francisco Marroquín, February 2015.
Lists of Americans
By US state
By ethnicity or nationality
  • Luis E. Arreaga – American diplomat and United States Ambassador in Guatemala and Iceland.
  • Luis von Ahn – Entrepreneur and an associate professor in the Computer Science Department at Carnegie Mellon University.
  • Joseph Baena – American actor, bodybuilder, fitness model and real estate agent. Son of Hollywood actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Of Guatemalan descent from his mother's side.
  • Aston Matthews – American hip hop artist from Los Angeles, California.
  • third-wave ska band Suburban Legends
    .
  • David Campos – Guatemalan-American attorney and member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors representing District 9.
  • René Corado – Guatemalan-American ornithologist and writer.[22]
  • David Estrada – of Guatemalan descent.
  • Francisco Goldman – American novelist, journalist, and Allen K. Smith Professor of Literature and Creative Writing. He is son of a Guatemalan Catholic mother and Jewish-American father.[23]
  • José Antonio Gutiérrez – US Marine Lance Corporal. First US Marine to be killed in action in the Iraq War.
  • Ted Hendricks – Guatemalan born, former American football linebacker who logged 15 seasons for the Baltimore Colts (1969–73), the Green Bay Packers (1974) and the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders (1975–83) in the National Football League.
  • Oscar Isaac – Guatemalan born American raised[24] actor and singer.
  • Ed Lopez – American Republican Party activist and National Vice Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus. He is of Guatemalan descent.[25]
  • Manny Marroquin – Grammy winning mixing engineer. Guatemalan born, his family moved to Los Angeles when he was nine due to the Guatemalan Civil War.[26]
  • David Aceveda in the television series The Shield
    .
  • Luisa Moreno – Social Activist and participant in the United States labor movement.
  • Delia Ramirez – American politician born to Guatemalan immigrant parents.[27]
  • Rubio Rubin – American soccer player of Guatemalan and Mexican descent.[28][29]
  • AraabMuzik – American hip hop record producer of Dominican and Guatemalan descent.[30]
  • KC Porter – American record producer, singer-songwriter, musician.
  • Bridget Powers – American hardcore pornographic actress.
  • Tony Revolori – Guatemalan American actor (Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home).
  • glamour model of Guatemalan and Puerto Rican descent.[31]
  • Devorah Rose – Guatemalan/Venezuelan American socialite.
  • Juana Samayoa – Guatemalan-American actress and television presenter.
  • Gadi Schwartz – NBC News correspondent[32]
  • Willie Sims – Guatemalan born, American raised soccer player.
  • Ryan Spilborghs – American professional baseball outfielder in the Texas Rangers organization.
  • Héctor Tobar – Los Angeles author and journalist.
  • Norma Torres – Politician. She is Guatemalan born but American raised.
  • David Unger – Guatemalan-American author and translator.
  • Daphne Zuniga – American actress (Melrose Place, One Tree Hill and Spaceballs). Her father was originally from Guatemala.[33]
  • Anthony Gonzalez – American actor.
  • Ricky Duran – Guatemalan-American recording artist. Runner-up of season 17 of the American talent competition The Voice.

    • See also

    References

    1. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov.
    2. U.S. Census Bureau
      . July 1, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
    3. ^ Moslimani, Mohamad; Noe-Bustamante, Luis; Shah, Sono. "Facts on Hispanics of Guatemalan origin in the United States, 2021".
    4. ^ "Article: Central Americans and Asylum Policy in th.. | migrationpolicy.org".
    5. ^
      PMID 22833862
      .
    6. ^ a b c Hamilton, Nora; Chinchilla, Nora (2001). Seeking Global Community in a Global City: Guatemalans and Salvadorans in Los Angeles. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.[page needed]
    7. ^
      JSTOR 24781903
      .
    8. ^ a b c d e Jonas & Rodríguez 2015, p. [page needed].
    9. ^
      S2CID 246937395
      .
    10. ^ Vázquez, Eric (2018). Interrogative Justice in Héctor Tobar's The Tattooed Soldier. The Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 129–152.
    11. ^ "Guatemalan Americans - History, Immigration to the united states, Settlement patterns". www.everyculture.com. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
    12. ^
      JSTOR 24781909
      .
    13. ISBN 978-0415666060
      .
    14. ^ Gustavo, López (September 15, 2015). "Hispanics of Guatemalan Origin in the United States". Pew Research Center's Hispanic Trends Project.
    15. ^ Constructing the Los Angeles Area Latino Mosaic: A Demographic Portrait of Guatemalans and Salvadorans in Los Angeles. Claremont, CA: Tomas River Policy Institute and NALEO Educational Fund. 1997.
    16. ISBN 9780874178180
      .
    17. ^ "Detailed Races and Ethnicities in the United States and Puerto Rico: 2020 Census". Census.gov.
    18. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov.
    19. ^ "QT-P10 - Hispanic or Latino by Type: 2010". Retrieved May 5, 2014. [permanent dead link]
    20. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov.
    21. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov.
    22. ^ Patel, Samir S. (August 10, 2018). "From A Million Eggs, Putting Together Clues About Science's Past And Future". NPR.org. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
    23. ^ Jaggi, Maya (February 2, 2008). "A life in writing: Francisco Goldman". The Guardian. London.
    24. The Miami Herald
      , May 16, 2010, retrieved April 16, 2011
    25. ^ "Language of Lopez". providencephoenix.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012.
    26. ^ Daley, Dan. "Manny Marroquin". Sound on Sound. May 2005. Retrieved February 10, 2007
    27. ^ "About". January 3, 2023.
    28. ^ "For Rubio Rubin, It's All About the Red, White & Blue". Brian Sciaretta. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
    29. ^ "Getting to Know: U.S. U-17 MNT Forward Rubio Rubin". ussoccer.com. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
    30. ^ "AraabMUZIK". Schedule.sxsw.com. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
    31. ^ "Pam Rodriguez interview". Open Your Eyes Magazine. June 11, 2008. Archived from the original on December 24, 2009. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
    32. ^ "GADI SCHWARTZ". July 11, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2018.
    33. ^ "Daphne Zuniga displays snob appeal in 'Spaceballs'". Chicago Sun-Times. June 28, 1987.

    Sources

    • Jonas, Susanne; Rodríguez, Nestor (2015). Guatemala-U.S. Migration.
      ISBN 978-0-292-76315-9
      .

    Further reading
    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Guatemalan_Americans&oldid=1218048766"