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New Orleans with Latino Spirit
January 4, 2008
Javier Maldonado
Diario El Mundo
The latino community in New Orleans continues to grow with Salvadorians numbering as many as 2,000. The latter are recognized for their part in reconstructing the city after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
After the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Katrina and the flooding of 80% of New Orleans in August of 2005, it appeared that life in this richly historic city had ended.
Half the population was forced to abandon the city, including more than 3,000 Salvadorians. Just as the world wrote it off, the latino community rebuilt the city and restored its wonder. These workers not only reconstructed a city, but also became part of its daily culture.
Salvadorians, Mexicans, Guatemalans, Nicaraguans and Hondurans are already a part of the new racial mixture after Hurricane Katrina.
“There are many latinos who arrived in New Orleans to find work in the tourism industry, the most important in the city, knowing they would be among Salvadorians,” indicated Kelly Schulz, vice president of communications at the Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Schulz, who was also forced to leave the city in 2005, assured that latinos have not only arrived looking for work in tourism and construction, but also as tourists themselves. Because of this, her office has just incorporated latino staff to offer Spanish assistance.
“The truth is that for latinos it was very sad to see the city under water. I was forced to leave, but when everything seemed normal again I knew I would go back,” tells Barbara Robichauz, a student at Loyola University of Mexican descent.
To rebuild New Orleans, more than $400 million has been invested. However, areas outside the tourist regions, including entire neighborhoods, remain scarred by the disaster and wait to be reconstructed or demolished, perhaps by latino and even Salvadorian labor.
A census carried out by the consulate in Houston, Texas, tallied the Salvadorian community in New Orleans at more than 2,000. This number could be more as undocumented workers arrived from other states.
The presence of Salvadorians is becoming more and more common in the city. Zaria, a local employee of African descent, remembered on more than one occasion having attended to Salvadorians in search of souvenirs, as well as other Central Americans searching for a new start.
All errors and bad writing are mine.
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