Hispanic growth on rise

Web posted September 4, 2000

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By Vicky Eckenrode
Staff Writer

At La Casa Latina, Enrique Mandonado sells the staples of any Hispanic food store. The shelves display rows of imported canned goods; bins hold dried chilies and fresh plantains.

Brenda Smith shops at La Casa Latina, where Hispanic immigrants can find familiar foods from their home countries. Mr. Mandonado used the store to distribute forms for Census 2000 when it came through Augusta. JEFF JANOWSKI/STAFF

But Mr. Mandonado, the store's owner, does more than just ring up grocery purchases. He serves as a conduit for what is becoming one of Georgia's largest Hispanic communities.

Three men ask him for directions, in Spanish, for a place to get keys made. He helps a woman make an international call home. When people need legal assistance, he refers them to business cards of people they can talk to, in Spanish.

And when the Census 2000 sweep came to Augusta, he distributed the forms at his Lumpkin Road store.

Mr. Mandonado also works within the community, donating support and pinatas to the local Hispanic cultural festival.

``Any kind of Latin activity going on in Augusta, I get involved with,'' he said.

In a city with a burgeoning Hispanic population, Mr. Mandonado acts as an unofficial ambassador to the newest influx of Hispanics to the area.

U.S. Census Bureau estimates released last week showed that Georgia has the fourth-fastest-growing Hispanic population in the country, doubling what it was 10 years ago.

Richmond County has the eighth-largest Hispanic population in the state, the report stated. That figure reflects an 80 percent increase for the county since the 1990 census count, and many demographers say those numbers are less than the actual figure because of undercounting.

Amalia Mandonado weighs plantains for Theresa Etinge at the Mandonado's La Casa Latina grocery on Lumpkin Road. Store owner Enrique Mandonado often helps new members of the Hispanic community acclimate to the area. JEFF JANOWSKI/STAFF

``What happens traditionally with any migration is you get these networks of people (already here). Then it grows faster and faster,'' said Stephanie Bohon, a professor and demographer in the University of Georgia's department of social work.

Although Augusta is witnessing the growth firsthand, its population does not mirror other counties in the state with large Hispanic numbers.

DeKalb, Fulton and Cobb counties have some of the largest Hispanic populations in the state, but they border Atlanta. Other counties experiencing large increases are agriculturally based with a growing number of immigrant farmworkers.

Augusta's population, however, is a hybrid of Hispanics from a variety of national backgrounds who work in a cross-section of jobs. Many come to work at Fort Gordon or Medical College of Georgia. Others work in construction or landscaping.

``The Hispanic community is really trying to fit in in the Southeast,'' Maria Mallar said. From Puerto Rico, the Mallars are one of many Hispanic families that moved to Augusta because of the Army base and decided to stay. ``There's a whole new world outside of Augusta, and they're beginning to have recognition that the Hispanic presence is here.''

Although issues within Atlanta's Hispanic community include a push for more bilingual government services and representation, Augusta's local government has yet to feel the same pressures.

Many local Hispanics said one reason for this is that it is difficult to define Hispanic issues when the community represents such internal diversity.

Augusta's Hispanics speak the same language and check the same block on the census form, yet include both retired military personnel and farmworkers, Panamanians and Mexicans.

``I think the perception is that all Hispanics are alike - that all these Hispanics are going to vote in a bloc; they're all Catholic; they're all Democrat - that's wrong,'' said Carlos Barrera, vice president of Augusta's Asociacion Cultural Hispanoamericana. ``Hispanics come in all sizes, in all degrees of education.''

Mr. Barrera and five others formed the association in 1985 to promote cultural interaction.

``Prior to 1985, you didn't have any of this. Augusta has always been a very conservative place, with the opening of these groups due to (the association), due to Arts in the Heart, a lot of these groups seemed to have come out of the woodwork,'' he said. ``There's been a greater growth in other groups - Korean, Chinese - it's just blossomed.''

ARTS IN THE HEART is a multicultural arts festival held every September, and the association puts on the Hispanic Festival at Riverwalk Augusta every October.

Unlike other areas with large Hispanic communities, Augusta has no Spanish newspaper, no lawyers' advertisements in the phone book in Spanish, no formal advocacy or political group. At this point, much of the organized activity comes from the cultural groups and festivals.

Most of Mayor Bob Young's interaction with the Hispanic community also has stemmed from cultural interactions, he said.

``I've been invited to participate in various ways in the Hispanic festival here,'' Mr. Young said. ``I haven't had any discussions with any people about issues that were unique to Hispanics or specifically Hispanic issues. I'd be interested to know what some of those might be.''

Dr. Bohon and another University of Georgia professor, Jorge Atiles, are in the midst of conducting a study to assess the relationship between caregivers and Hispanics. By interviewing municipal and social workers in six counties, they have discovered that the state is trying to keep pace.

``Because the population arrived here so recently - within the past eight years - there has not been enough time (to meet all the needs),'' Dr. Atiles said. ``Anytime you have an increase in population, you have an impact on services. People are making the steps to adjust to the changes.''

IN RICHMOND COUNTY, THERE are members in the police department and court system who translate when necessary, and the school system employs six people who teachEnglish as a second language.

But at an earlier time, Mr. Barrera said, he often was called to help translate for the district attorney's office and at MCG, where he worked as a social worker.

``As more and more Hispanics move here, a guy like me is not needed as much because they have doctors at MCG, for instance, that speak Spanish,'' he said.

Although there is no formalized dialogue between the Hispanic community and local government, representatives from both sides are optimistic about Augusta's ability to prepare for continued growth.

Mr. Barrera said the local government was getting better at addressing a diverse populace.

``You have to show that you're a mayor for all the people; you have to show that you're a commissioner for all the people,'' he said.

Mr. Young said the government could handle a spike in the population of any one ethnic group because of the cultural ties already established.

``We are used to - now, I think more so than ever before - to dealing with people from different cultures in our everyday life,'' he said.

Whatever changes accompany the expected growth, Mr. Barrera said, it is important to point out to the community that Hispanics are not the newest neighbors on the block - that in 1540, the Spanish were the first Europeans in Georgia; that nearby Martinez was named after a Cuban farmer who settled in Columbia County.

``The thought in the community is that we swam the Rio Grande yesterday,'' he said. ``There's more of an influx now, but it not like all of us just came here.''

Hispanic population

Here are the 10 Georgia counties with the largest Hispanic populations, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The first figure gives the population in July 1990, the second in July 1999:

DeKalb County:15,87429,107

Gwinnett County:8,63926,731

Fulton County:13,52225,450

Cobb County:9,57024,350

Hall County:4,62010,995

Muscogee County:5,3469,390

Clayton County:3,8048,338

Richmond County:3,7406,763

Liberty County:3,2606,249

Whitfield County:2,3495,257

Reach Vicky Eckenrode at (706) 823-3227.