  Umbound Member Username: Umbound Post Number: 142 Registered: 02-2008 |
I haven't passed through Mexicantown in a few years but i would like to know, is it just Mexicans that live there or is there people of other Hispanic Backgrounds that live there also? | ||
Andylinn Member Username: Andylinn Post Number: 846 Registered: 04-2006 |
a good source for information of this kind is factfinder.census.gov, with which you can look at specific census tracts and find out detailed information! I would wager that mexican town is something like 60% Hispanic, 30% Black, 10% White, non-hispanic. but that's just a guess. As to the origin of where people came from? There is really no way to find that out through more than hit or miss observation... But from what I know, primarily Mexican. | ||
Umbound Member Username: Umbound Post Number: 143 Registered: 02-2008 |
I heard there is a lot more than just Mexican, i have heard theres Guatemalans, Peruvian, and some Argentinian. It just makes me wonder if there is other Hispanic cultures than Mexican, why would you give the neighborhood that name? | ||
Crawford Member Username: Crawford Post Number: 225 Registered: 10-2006 |
Argentines in Mexicantown? I seriously doubt it. Even if there were Argentine immigrants to metro Detroit, I doubt they would settle in Mexicantown. | ||
Umbound Member Username: Umbound Post Number: 144 Registered: 02-2008 |
Actually i have a friend she is Argentine, well half, but some of her Agentine side live in Mexicantown, she has told me there is some that live there. | ||
Islandman Member Username: Islandman Post Number: 1388 Registered: 08-2004 |
Yes, there are Hispanics/Latin Americans from almost every country living in Mexicantown. As far as percentages, not sure. I used to volunteer at Latino Family Services on Fort during the holidays. | ||
Southwestmap Member Username: Southwestmap Post Number: 1006 Registered: 01-2005 |
Well, didn't Mexicantown have an Argentinian Restaurant until just a month or two ago - Tango Bravo? | ||
Hpgrmln Member Username: Hpgrmln Post Number: 451 Registered: 06-2007 |
Theres an area of S/W Detroit that also has a few Puerto Ricans | ||
Umbound Member Username: Umbound Post Number: 145 Registered: 02-2008 |
Thats just what im wondering? not to start debate honestly, but why would it be called Mexicantown if its not just them, kind of just sounds like a stupid name. even my friend who is half Argentinian thinks it should have a new name. | ||
Zephyrmec Member Username: Zephyrmec Post Number: 54 Registered: 01-2008 |
rename it "Florida" ;) | ||
Texorama Member Username: Texorama Post Number: 221 Registered: 12-2006 |
The answer to Umbound's question, I believe, is that historically Mexicantown was smaller--it referred to the retail and restaurant row near the Ambassador Bridge, and perhaps to the West Vernor strip. This area indeed had strong Mexican roots going back decades. The rest of the area that's now predominantly Latino was quite diverse until very recently, with Poles, Hungarians, Italians, and others living among newer Mexican immigrants and during the good years of the 1990s, some immigrants from other Latin countries. It was, and is, just southwest Detroit. (Message edited by texorama on May 08, 2008) | ||
Dbc Member Username: Dbc Post Number: 123 Registered: 09-2006 |
Using factfinder.census.gov (It's sad, but I've got it bookmarked), Census tract 5211 (basically bordered by W. Grand to the West, the railroad tracks to the North, 16th to the East, and Fort to the South) is the heart of the Mexicantown business district. Anyway, according to the 2000 census, 5211 is 63.9% Latino, 22.1% Black, and 13.6% white. As to Mexican specifically, they comprise 52.8% of the total population. | ||
Mackinaw Member Username: Mackinaw Post Number: 4757 Registered: 02-2005 |
Great info. It lives up to its billing with such a large percentage of Mexicans. It is a pretty unique place. | ||
Umbound Member Username: Umbound Post Number: 146 Registered: 02-2008 |
So there is Italians, Hungarians, and Poles living there now? Or did those groups move out to the burbs already? but one name my friend Marianna came up with to replace mexicantown is just call it the Latin Quarter? i think it sounds okay. | ||
Professorscott Member Username: Professorscott Post Number: 1265 Registered: 12-2006 |
Tango Bravo was an Argentinian restaurant, and I'm sorry to see that it's closed. There are at least a couple of Guatemalan pupuserias as well. Most of the other restaurants are Mexican taquerias. I avoid the touristy places at the east end of the neighborhood, like Xochi's, not that there's anything wrong with it but I prefer to eat Mexican food where the Mexican folks eat. West Vernor is one of the most fascinating places in Detroit. Lots of pedestrians, very vital business strip, all sorts of things to do and see. If you think Detroit is lacking any kind of retail, check out West Vernor. My fellow bus passengers like to take the Vernor bus from Capitol Park or the Ford Rouge plant at lunchtime to get the best Mexican food in the area. If you like to shop in Detroit and you're in the market for furniture or appliances, check out Danto's. Just for instance. | ||
Hudkina Member Username: Hudkina Post Number: 189 Registered: 12-2004 |
The only other significant hispanic population in Detroit is Puerto Rican and the Puerto Rican population is about 1/5 the size of the Mexican population. There really isn't any other major hispanic ethnic groups in the city. | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 6477 Registered: 11-2003 |
We do know that Diego Rivera had connections with the Mexican community in Detroit in 1936. They've been in Detroit a long time. There were some immigration issues and he advocated for them. jjaba. | ||
Barnesfoto Member Username: Barnesfoto Post Number: 5055 Registered: 10-2003 |
from Diego Rivera: My Art, My Life (The Battle of Detroit) "What I did not understand was that certain people in Detroit were looking for a pretext to attack me and my mural.In a pharmacological panel, they found it at last. In front of three men at work in a modern biochemical plant, I had pictured a child in the arms of a nurse, being vaccinated by white gowned physicians. Directly before them stood a horse, a cow and some sheep-animals from whose tissues many vaccinations are prepared. The panel was intended to celebrate the noble work of men of science fighting against disease. To some people, the panel seemed a portrayal of the holy family in modern dress, the 3 lab workers standing for the 3 kings, and the animals standing for the animals of the manger. To my enemies, because it had sprung from my conception, the painting was sacrilegious. A visitor was presented to me as a columnist for one of the Detroit Newspapers. He wore his hat pulled down over his eyes, which, when he lifted his head, were obscured by lenses as thick as bottle glass. After watching me for a long time, he shouted up "Don't you think the perspective is wrong? I peered down and suddenly found the sight of this terribly myopic hat blinded man so amusing that I could not control myself and burst out laughing. The following day he officially opened the campaign against me. The basis of his condemnation was the alleged immorality of my frescoes. How, in such a beautiful museum, could I be allowed to paint such filth! But he was only the first of the crackpots who now set upon me. An even more deranged-and dangerous-foe of my mural was a priest who lived in a suburb of Detroit. His name was Father Charles Coughlin. This clergyman had built a handsome church with the liberal contributions of his poor and ignorant followers...The day after the appearance of the column denouncing my work, Father Coughlin began to honor me daily with long diatribes condemning the institute frescoes as immoral, blasphemous, antireligious, obscene, materialistic and communistic. As a result, the whole City of Detroit began to argue about what I was doing".... (Message edited by barnesfoto on May 09, 2008) | ||
Crawford Member Username: Crawford Post Number: 226 Registered: 10-2006 |
Well, I don't want to be argumentative, but the presence of an Argentine restaurant is not necessarily indicative of an Argentine community. I spend a lot of time in Mexico, particularly Mexico City, and I can tell you that there are TONS of Argentine steakhouses and empanada places all over Mexico. Mexicans LOVE Argentine food. It's like pizzerias in New York or Coney Islands in Detroit. I know there are a few Puerto Ricans on the West Side. I think Hudkina is right that there are no other sizable concentrations of Latino ethnics within the city limits. | ||
Raggedclaws Member Username: Raggedclaws Post Number: 182 Registered: 08-2006 |
Professorscott...W. Vernor one of the most fascinating places in Detroit ? Really ? You should get out more. I love and spend time in SW for many reasons, the "things to do and see" along West Vernor is not one of them. Did you mean shopping at Chapparal's and Al Wissam followed by a dog from Duly's ? Oy... There are things to do in SW Detroit but West Vernor as a fascinating place with many things to do and see...hardly. Get some perspective, please. | ||
Barnesfoto Member Username: Barnesfoto Post Number: 5057 Registered: 10-2003 |
Where and when did you live in DF, Crawford? (there are lots of Argentine exiles all over the Spanish-speaking world due to the military dictatorship's "dirty war" a few years back...) but there are is no significant Argentine presence in SWD...A few folks from PR, a few from CA, a few from the DR... | ||
Rocknrollscientist Member Username: Rocknrollscientist Post Number: 130 Registered: 05-2005 |
Umbound: I know the venue of the same name on Grand Blvd has been closed for a decade, but might it be too confusing for some people to refer to Southwest Detroit/Mexicantown as the "Latin Quarter"? (Message edited by rocknrollscientist on May 09, 2008) | ||
Texorama Member Username: Texorama Post Number: 222 Registered: 12-2006 |
Well, heck, the city council is going to make a wholesale move of Paradise Valley half a mile to the west, so I don't think that's a problem! Latin Quarter ould be a catchy name. To answer your other question, yes, you certainly still can find non-Hispanic whites, many Polish, around SW Detroit if you poke around the bars and the churches. Delray, the old Hungarian enclave, is pretty much emptied out. The event that decimated the area's economic base was the closure of the Cadillac plant on Clark in 1987, but the area bounced back to a degree in the 1990s when Latino families began to move in and work on houses. Wondered about Doņa Lola's seafood place on Springwells and whether there were other Ecuadorians around. I think she came up here for marital reasons, so maybe not. | ||
Islandman Member Username: Islandman Post Number: 1398 Registered: 08-2004 |
Ah, Doņa Lola's! My mom loves that place. Great food. Great post Barnes. | ||
Crawford Member Username: Crawford Post Number: 227 Registered: 10-2006 |
Barnesfoto, I currently have an apartment in Polanco, DF. I live there part-time on business. My job basically has me split between NYC and DF. I really like Mexico City, but it's crazy. It's amazing it survives to this day with everything it endures (earthquakes, active volcanos, land is sinking, water shortages, terrible pollution, insane congestion, rampant crime, ridiculous class divisions, etc.) Despite all that, I think Mexico City is one of the greatest cities on earth. Does anyone know if there are Puerto Rican or Dominican restaurants in Detroit? I especially like the DR chicken places. | ||
Downtownguy Member Username: Downtownguy Post Number: 137 Registered: 07-2004 |
A little bit of Mexicantown history here: http://www.motorcitycandlework s.com/scents/mexicantownmargar itaville/ | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 6481 Registered: 11-2003 |
Downtownguy, welcome to The Forum. Your HOF post is appreciated. You tell it like it tis. You even gave us a number for this ethnic community. jjaba, Westside Bar Mitzvah Bukkor white ethnic. | ||
Umbound Member Username: Umbound Post Number: 147 Registered: 02-2008 |
well thanks a lot, i didnt know that the neighborhood went back that far. Well how are the girls down there lol. But i think Latin Quarter sounds fine really, it sounds more interesting to me if i was a visitor to the city. | ||
Islandman Member Username: Islandman Post Number: 1401 Registered: 08-2004 |
Crawford, I'm Puerto Rican. There was a small PR restaurant on Vernor, but it didn't last long. You always had to call to make sure they were open, etc. I used to do computer support for Mexico. One IT admin that I knew down there was robbed 3 times in broad daylight right in front of her office. The third time they beat her up as well. Somehow, she took it all in stride. | ||
Downtownguy Member Username: Downtownguy Post Number: 138 Registered: 07-2004 |
jjaba, your posts are always worthy of HOF status. I am humbled by your compliment. Umbound, my recollection may be a bit hazy, but I think the label "Mexicantown" was coined by the local businesses in the 80s to capture some of the brand loyalty Greektown had achieved. This was a bit of a change from what most folks had informally called the area: Mexican Village. As I recall, the point was Mexican Village was a restaurant, but Mexicantown referred to the area. Not long after, Mexican Town Restaurant opened and muddled the name game some more. | ||
Crawford Member Username: Crawford Post Number: 228 Registered: 10-2006 |
Islandman, yeah, lots of crime down in DF. Kidnappings are down from their heyday, but still common. The rich all have bodyguards and live in walled, alarmed homes. Nothing has happened to me yet (knock on wood). That said, I really do think it is an interesting city, and worth visiting. | ||
Texorama Member Username: Texorama Post Number: 223 Registered: 12-2006 |
The folksinger Tom Russell calls Mexico City the Rome of the Western hemisphere. It did make me want to visit. | ||
Barnesfoto Member Username: Barnesfoto Post Number: 5059 Registered: 10-2003 |
One of the world's great cities indeed... like Detroit, you hear people say about it this: "Yes, it was kind of dangerous, but I only got robbed once". I moved back ten years ago, but still miss the place...Lived in Tabacalera and then Del Valle, There's no place on Earth that I've seen like it. | ||
Crawford Member Username: Crawford Post Number: 229 Registered: 10-2006 |
Del Valle is great! My GF lives in the area. There's a fabulous Argentine steakhouse on Insurgentes Sur. Mexico City is an experience. It's simultaneously shocking and amazing. | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 6482 Registered: 11-2003 |
Downtownguy, you the man. How can jjaba be the man when you the man. So jjaba called John Conyers and told him that he's the man and Conyers, who jjaba campaigned for on Ewald Circle in 1964, said how can he be the man when Downtownguy be the man. So jjaba called Senator Levin, for whom he also campaigned, and said Levin, you the man. Levin laughed and told jjaba, how can he be the man when Downtownguy be the man. So, you the man. jjaba on the Westside. | ||
Goblue Member Username: Goblue Post Number: 1682 Registered: 03-2007 |
I spent several days in Mexico City last fall...one thing you don't have to worry about is being killed in high speed crash...the entire city is grid-locked 24/7...traffic just sort of creeps along but drivers are reasonably polite. The Argentine steakhouse mentioned is a GREAT place. | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 7335 Registered: 02-2004 |
I'm glad that Mexicantown survives with other ethnic communities pack their bags, left Detroit to the suburbs and other successful ethnic communities. Mexicantown the rest of the Hispanic community in Southwest Detroit will continue to grow despite economic problems. The community is destined to expand to other parts of Detroit sometime in the future. Mexicans/Hispanics have a strong ethnic stability in Detroit and most of the families are fixing up SW Detroit one block at a time. Other people can leave Detroit but the Mexicans and Hispanic communities will not give up on Detroit and its ghettohoods. | ||
Nere Member Username: Nere Post Number: 74 Registered: 04-2007 |
There is a very small Puerto Rican restaurant on Michigan Avenue west of Central called Angel's Place. Very good authentic food! | ||
Rhymeswithrawk Member Username: Rhymeswithrawk Post Number: 1208 Registered: 11-2005 |
I haven't passed through Mexicantown in a few years but i would like to know, is it just Mexicans that live there or is there people of other Hispanic Backgrounds that live there also? Uh, no. Just like black people aren't the only ones who live in Detroit, people of many colors and walks of life live here. I'm a crackah and live here. My neighbors are Korean. There are some Guatemalans across the street. There's a Frenchman on Hubbard. In fact, I'd say that Grand Blvd., Vinewood and Hubbard (all from south of Vernor, anyway), are largely non-Mexican families or couples. Perhaps that's why we hate having our neighborhood labeled Mexicantown when it's really Hubbard Farms or Southwest Detroit. Mexicantown is more the touristy stuff and restaurants. Not that any of this race schitt matters, of course. Why does it matter? | ||
Hybridy Member Username: Hybridy Post Number: 251 Registered: 08-2006 |
the city website has all of the demographic breakdown for each "cluster" of the city it all used to be here seems its not there anymore http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/De partments/PlanningDevelopmentD epartment/Planning/LongRangean dCommunityPlanning/CurrentMast erPlan/tabid/1992/Default.aspx | ||
Young_detroiter Member Username: Young_detroiter Post Number: 217 Registered: 08-2004 |
Hey everybody... I come out of forum-hibernation every once in a while. One must note that the southwest Detroit latino population includes blacks and whites, with Latino being the ethnicity, and black or white being the race. For example, many northern Mexicans (Mexicans living near the US-Mex border), though "latino" identify as white, in spite of having indigenous and black admixtures. Meanwhile, for example, a dark-skinned person of Dominican or Puerto Rican descent living in southwest Detroit might identify as "Hispanic," black or both, depending their level of comfort and self-perception. However, black latinos have been historically taught that they are purely "indio" or Native American/Indian/indigenous. Nevertheless, does anyone know where I can find some good GORDITAS? These are my favorite, but it seems that the Mexicantown restaurants have forgotten about these tasty treats. I ate them all the time in Monterrey, Mexico. - Young Detroiter, in need of a good gordita. | ||
Crawford Member Username: Crawford Post Number: 234 Registered: 10-2006 |
Young Detroiter, "Indio" Latinos do NOT consider themselves black. They would check off "Hispanic" or "White Hispanic" on a Census form. Indio Latinos have Native (and thus Asian) roots and share few (or no) cultural links with black Latinos. Black Latinos are those with heavy African roots, and would come from (among other places) Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Columbia, Venezula, Panama, etc.) Even in these countries, most people would not consider themselves "black", but probably "mixed" or simply Latino. |
