Quote:
Originally Posted by emathias
I think that his ignorance is just like so many other coastal persons' ignorance - they think because Chicago is in the center of the country it couldn't possibly actually have anything to offer the rest of the country, let alone the world. But I mean, come on, there's even a Latino and Chicago-specific nickname: Chicaganos.
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I don't think it's that deep. I think it's a mix of a few things:
1) people unfamiliar with the city generally aren't aware of Chicago having a large Mexican population. Everyone knows about the Black, Polish, Italian influences, and these communities are pretty visible and their impacts noticeable by visitors. You've got blues and jazz clubs, sausages, pizza, mafia legacy stuff....these are things that come to mind when a lot of people think of Chicago. Most people don't think of Mexican food, culture, or people when they think of Chicago. I also don't ever recall seeing much of a visible Mexican culture or population in my visits to Chicago- at least not in the downtown/core area.
2) While Chicago's Mexican community is impressive for its location, it's not all that impressive from a sheer numbers perspective compared to many western cities/metros. For comparison, there are about 6.5 million Mexicans/Mexican Americans living in greater Los Angeles alone. Not Hispanics, but people specifically of Mexican origin. So, in comparison to that, a large city like Chicago having a million people of Mexican origin doesn't seem all that impressive. I think many westerners also just assume that cities elsewhere in the country are more hispanic than they are. A coworker of mine recently went to Ohio and came back shocked that she didn't see
any Hispanics in her few days there.
3) Chicago doesn't really have a famous Hispanic/Mexican ambassador. NYC has many rappers and artists who brought DR/PR culture to the mainstream. LA has numerous Chicano stars who rep the city. Texas and Miami also have multiple Hispanic celebs who come to mind when you think of those places. Can't think of anything similar for Chicago, but can think of a million black and white celebrities who hail from and represent Chicago. I think the community is more or less hidden from visitors, and doesn't have great representation nationally.