WAMO, Hispanic stations - Pittsburgh ethnic composition

[Radio_Realist]

"Hispanics in any one place (Peru or Argentina or Mexico) are unified by the country they are in, not by skin color or ancestry."Fine. If anyone wants to enjoy "Hispanic" culture, then let him live in an "Hispanic" country. When someone is in this country, the United States of America, the culture here is "American", not "Hispanic". I'm 100% in favor of radio stations programming individual programs celebrating the cultures of whatever "old country" a listener (or his ancestor) left behind in order to move to America and become Americans. There's nothing wrong with being nostalgic for a culture one has left behind in order to become an American. And listening on the radio to an hour or two a week of the culture of the country one has renounced when one became an American strike me as a positive thing. But those people who have chosen to legally immigrate to the United States and become Americans need to do what the ancestors of all the rest of us did. They need to learn to speak English and to accept and participate in American culture, not to cling slavishly to the culture that they left behind to come here. If "Hispanic" refers to the culture of "Hispanic" nations, then the only people from those nations who are living here in the United States should be "ex-Hispanics". "Hispanics in the US present different problems,"Yeah, they want to live here, but they don't want to be here. They don't want to move to America to become Americans, they want to move to America to turn America into something it isn't. Radio spectrum space is finite. There's no excuse for allocating airwave bandwidth in America, which is a public resource, for use by stations programming for people who want to live here without becoming Americans.

 

[Bob E. Nelson]

Hispanics in any one place (Peru or Argentina or Mexico) are unified by the country they are in, not by skin color or ancestry. There is no difference in prgramming in Argentina or Puerto Rico or Mexico or Ecuador or Peru... there are different taste groups (similar to AC, country, pop, rock, etc) and you design a format for a specific age and taste group. There is no more difficulty in finding a format and programming in any Latin American nation than in the US. Hispanics in the US present different problems, as the "country music" of each nation is different. But in AC, pop, reggaetón, etc., the music is universal. Again, ancestry has nothing to do with it.

David Eduardo has perhaps seen the ``LATINO ETHNIC ATTITUDE SURVEY'' from Daniel Roy of the University of Kansas. The URL is: http://www.azteca.net/aztec/survey/index.html. The fact that ``Hispanic'' is not a monoculture is evident from this study.Still yet to be determined in this thread -- and its initial reason for posting to the Pittsburgh board: Is Pittsburgh the largest market without a fulltime station targeted to Hispanics? (I'm not sure if Cleveland has such a facility.)

 

[johnknapik]

To answer your initial question..there is one market that I found that is larger than Pittsburgh that doesn't have AT LEAST a full time Hispanic AM station and it's St. Louis, Missouri. Interestingly, like Pittsburgh, it's population continues to decline.

 

[Radio_Realist]

"The fact that ``Hispanic'' is not a monoculture is evident from this study."You are correct, that is evident. What that study also shows is that the so-called "Hispanics" are really only immigrants who refuse to accept that the United States of America is an English speaking country. "Hispanics" are the descendants of those who were enslaved by the Conquistadors and forced to learn Spanish, Europeans from other countries who emigrated to Central or South America instead of to the United States, or else descendants of the Conquistadors themselves. For the life of my, I cannot understand why the descendants of people enslaved by the Conquistadors would insist on using the language forced onto their ancestors at sword point instead of doing what all other immigrants in America have done, which is to learn English. Even those Native Americans who lived in the lands that America conquered from Mexico only spoke Spanish because of the earlier conquest by the Spanish Conquistadors. One other thing I'm curious about. Why do the descendants of Native American nations whose lands were in what is now Mexico attempt to claim lands that belonged to totally different Native American Nations? What gives the descendants of the Aztecs any claim to the lands in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas that belonged to the Comanche, Apache, or Navajo? That would be like me as a descendant of Germans claiming the right to land in Greece since Germany and Greece are both in Europe. And lastly, I'm curious why anyone would ask in the Pittsburgh forum if this is the largest city with no Spanish language radio station. Why would those of us in Pittsburgh know or care about whether or not any other city does or doesn't have a Spanish language radio station?

 

[Bob E. Nelson]

And lastly, I'm curious why anyone would ask in the Pittsburgh forum if this is the largest city with no Spanish language radio station. Why would those of us in Pittsburgh know or care about whether or not any other city does or doesn't have a Spanish language radio station?

To find out if Pittsburgh is really ``someplace special''...but, alas, there's St. Louis. Actually, the query stems from growth potential since Hispanic media shows strong uptrends nationwide compared to English-speaking targeted media. If there's an increase of Hispanics in the tri-state, one of the underperforming facilities in the market may find it beneficial to serve even that small niche. The recent fomat flip of WCVG in the Cincinnatti market in spite of a ``N/A'' classification for the Hispanic population.

 

[davideduardo]

You are correct, that is evident. What that study also shows is that the so-called "Hispanics" are really only immigrants who refuse to accept that the United States of America is an English speaking country. "Hispanics" are the descendants of those who were enslaved by the Conquistadors and forced to learn Spanish, Europeans from other countries who emigrated to Central or South America instead of to the United States, or else descendants of the Conquistadors themselves. For the life of my, I cannot understand why the descendants of people enslaved by the Conquistadors would insist on using the language forced onto their ancestors at sword point instead of doing what all other immigrants in America have done, which is to learn English. Even those Native Americans who lived in the lands that America conquered from Mexico only spoke Spanish because of the earlier conquest by the Spanish Conquistadors. One other thing I'm curious about. Why do the descendants of Native American nations whose lands were in what is now Mexico attempt to claim lands that belonged to totally different Native American Nations? What gives the descendants of the Aztecs any claim to the lands in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas that belonged to the Comanche, Apache, or Navajo? That would be like me as a descendant of Germans claiming the right to land in Greece since Germany and Greece are both in Europe.

Hispanics are not resisting assimilation. In fact, the Hispanic radio companies are developing either bilingual ("Spanglish") or English formats for second generation Hispanics, as most do not listen to Spanish stations, or do not listen as much as they listen to English Present day immigrants from Latin America are not a vanquished race, subdued by the awful Spaniards. They are Mexicans, Colombians, Puerto Ricans, etc. Nobody thinks about things that happened 15 generations ago. Nobody but a few loonies thinks about being forced to learn Spanish... that happened about 500 years ago. My ancestors were, at different times, forced to learn Gaelic and English (they were Celts) but I could care less as there is nothing I can do about it. It is too theoretical and intangible. On the other hand, the other groups I named, just like Hispanics, begin to assimilate in the second generation. The first has trouble, for the most part, learning just enough English to get by, but will always speak the native language. NY had Italian stations through the 50's. Chicago still has Polish stations. People don't learn to like music they did not grow up on for the most part, and will retain thier heritage tastes till death... for example, there is no way to get me to listen to English langauge music like rock and AC, as it has no appeal to me, and it never will.Only a tiny few spout the radical rhetoric of repossion of the Southwest. Most, like the Irish, Germans, Italians, Chines, Poles, Greeks and other large groups, just came to get ahead. The first generation opens the door, the second is bicultural, the third is pretty much assimilated. It has always, with few exceptions, been this way.

 

[davideduardo]

David Eduardo has perhaps seen the ``LATINO ETHNIC ATTITUDE SURVEY'' from Daniel Roy of the University of Kansas. The URL is: http://www.azteca.net/aztec/survey/index.html. The fact that ``Hispanic'' is not a monoculture is evident from this study.

I have seen this study and others like it. I have also seen studies that show that the residents of Calais, ME are not like the residents of Cornith, MS. Every big area has considerable differences in culture, whether the distinctions be by region or by nation. Distsance creates differences, as does ethnicity, income and education. Blacks don't have 100% cultural synchronization with whites, southern poor whites do not have the same culture as NY Puerto Ricans (who are NOT immigrants), etc. "Hispanic" is a colection of sub-cultures united by a language or the heritage of that language. In fact, I picked the countries in my prior post because they are quite different, yet I have programmed radio staitons in each of them... and there are no more radio differences than finding out what mix of songs a CHR in Bangor, ME will play vs one in Houston, TX. Oddly, the Pittsburgh-Buffalo-Cleveland-Rochester-Harrisburg area has seen very little Hispanic growth, while to the west, south and east of these areas there is extreme growth of Hispanic populations.

 

[Radio_Realist]

"Hispanic" is a colection of sub-cultures united by a language or the heritage of that language"]So they are just like Americans, who are also a collection of sub-cultures united by language (English) or the heritage of that language.

 

[Radio_Realist]

"To find out if Pittsburgh is really ``someplace special''...but, alas, there's St. Louis."It is indeed "someplace special". It's a place where people of diverse cultures who entered this cou7ntry legally became English-speaking Americans who still honored their prior heritage. "If there's an increase of Hispanics in the tri-state, one of the underperforming facilities in the market may find it beneficial to serve even that small niche."Is "illegal aliens" really a profitable niche to pursue?

 

[davideduardo]

"Hispanic" is a colection of sub-cultures united by a language or the heritage of that language"]So they are just like Americans, who are also a collection of sub-cultures united by language (English) or the heritage of that language.

Nope. The fundamental difference is that there is no country named "Hispanic" (Although the term is derived from the Roman province of Hispania 2000 years ago), but there is an "America." The common element is geography, and that joins disparate cultures. Hispanics have no common specific geography, spanning 3 continents as they do, but a common language or linguistic heritage.

 

[Radio_Realist]

This: "The fundamental difference is that there is no country named "Hispanic" (Although the term is derived from the Roman province of Hispania 2000 years ago), but there is an "America." The common element is geography, and that joins disparate cultures. Hispanics have no common specific geography, spanning 3 continents as they do, but a common language or linguistic heritage."is quite different from this: "Hispanics in any one place (Peru or Argentina or Mexico) are unified by the country they are in, not by skin color or ancestry."I understand the concept of language defining a people. Over the years, the nation called Poland as expanded, contracted, disappeared, reappeared, and relocated. But the Polish language and culture defined the Polish people, regardless of whether they had a nation or not. The issue is why one group of who are living permanently in the United States of America should continue to use the language of the land they left behind when they moved here, when all other immigrant groups were expected to learn to speak English. And, why should radio frequency bandwidth, which is a national asset that is supposed to be used for the (American) public good is being used to support a non-American culture.

 

[davideduardo]

This: "The fundamental difference is that there is no country named "Hispanic" (Although the term is derived from the Roman province of Hispania 2000 years ago), but there is an "America." The common element is geography, and that joins disparate cultures. Hispanics have no common specific geography, spanning 3 continents as they do, but a common language or linguistic heritage."is quite different from this: "Hispanics in any one place (Peru or Argentina or Mexico) are unified by the country they are in, not by skin color or ancestry."I understand the concept of language defining a people. Over the years, the nation called Poland as expanded, contracted, disappeared, reappeared, and relocated. But the Polish language and culture defined the Polish people, regardless of whether they had a nation or not. The issue is why one group of who are living permanently in the United States of America should continue to use the language of the land they left behind when they moved here, when all other immigrant groups were expected to learn to speak English. And, why should radio frequency bandwidth, which is a national asset that is supposed to be used for the (American) public good is being used to support a non-American culture.

I suppose I should have said that I was making the comment in the context of the assimilation discussion, meaning "in the US."Hispanics in the US share a common language tradition. Hispanics from specific regions and countries have additional commonalities, although there is no radio commonality or you would not have 64 radio stations in Mexico City... each nation has as many different taste groups as the US does.Immigrants who did not speak English seldom learned good English as a group. Exceptional individuals did, but the mass and bulk of them did not. Assimilation came in the second and third generations. And things like music taste do not significantly change once formed in early adolescence, although they "mature" as a person ages. This is why we had foreign langauge radio for Poles, Italians, Chinese, etc in the past.Radio is, predominantly, a business. If there is a need to be filled, stations will fill it. And that includes radio formats that have appeal and interest, whatever language they are in.

 

[Radio_Realist]

"Radio is, predominantly, a business."And the airwaves are, by legal statute, a national asset allocated for use by radio station operators in the public interest. Serving the needs of illegal aliens, no matter how profitable it may or may not be, is not in the public interest.

 

[davideduardo]

"Radio is, predominantly, a business."And the airwaves are, by legal statute, a national asset allocated for use by radio station operators in the public interest. Serving the needs of illegal aliens, no matter how profitable it may or may not be, is not in the public interest.

There are in excess of 35 million LEGAL Hispanics in the USA. Radio does not, except by casuality, serve illegals.Illegals do not participate in Arbitron ratings, proprietary research projects, etc. They will no, for obvious reasons, give their name and address on the phone (an Arbitron requirement and part of AMT and perceptual recruiting) and so are lost to radio as far as making an impact on ratings or sales. Sure, they are a "bonus consume" but so are summer visitors to Traverse City, MI. Radio is chartered to serve the public interest, convenience and neccesity. If one segment of the population wants to hear ballads in Spanish or rancheras or norteñas or salsa or reggaetón or oldies in Spanish, then serving them means playing that music. If one segment wants more international news from Latin America and about domestic Hispanic issues, then there is an overpowering public interest being served by serving that portion of the population that either prefers or understands better in Spanish... or, in fact, any langauge of an immigrant community. Nowhere in the FCC rules does it say one must serve the community interests IN ENGLISH. In fact, such a suggestion is repugnant and discriminatory. There have been foreign language publications since before the Revolutionary War. Radio and the electronic media found long ago that there were communities that could be profitably served that did not necessarily want programming in English. WOV and WHOM in New York programmed in Italian. Several stations around Fall River programmed in Portuguese... and this was in the 40's and 50's. In Cleveland, the first two profitable FMs were 100% ethnic, with blocks in Czech, Polish, Italian, German, Greek, and other languages of the huge ethnic communities of Cleveland. Speaking just of music, an immigrant may arrive in early adulthood and pick up the necessary amount of English needed to support the family. But that person's musical tastes were formed in very early adolesence, and such a person will not find much pleasure listening to the offerenigs of English radio. So, who is to say that such people, who are building a future for thier family in the US need to be deprived of entertainment that they enjoy? Most immigrants are not like Kissenger, Grove and Schwarzenegger. Most are too busy working to actually study English to a higher degree of proficiency. Most are building towards the assimilation of thier children and grandchildren, however. And they contribute to the US, culturally and economically.Back on the subject of illegals, though. Since we basically opened the door, did not enforce our laws, and made millions of jobs available, it is ingenuous to blame JUST the illegals for thier presence here. And, illegal or not, once here most behave just like legal residents. Their kids become bilingual, they work hard and they contribute. And they have the protection of our legal system because they are people.

 

[Radio_Realist]

"Nowhere in the FCC rules does it say one must serve the community interests IN ENGLISH."Then the FCC rules need to be changed. "There have been foreign language publications since before the Revolutionary War. Radio and the electronic media found long ago that there were communities that could be profitably served that did not necessarily want programming in English. WOV and WHOM in New York programmed in Italian. Several stations around Fall River programmed in Portuguese... and this was in the 40's and 50's. In Cleveland, the first two profitable FMs were 100% ethnic, with blocks in Czech, Polish, Italian, German, Greek, and other languages of the huge ethnic communities of Cleveland." But those examples are of entrepeneurs serving the needs of people who were working towards assimilating and becoming Americans, including learning to speak English. At no time was this nation in danger of being split into two separate nations, an American population that speaks English, and an Hispanic population that speaks Spanish. America will not be well served by becoming bilingual. "it is ingenuous to blame JUST the illegals for thier presence here. And, illegal or not, once here most behave just like legal residents."I blame everyone who had a hand in creating the problem. I blame everyone who persists in continuing the problem. I blame everyone who refuses to see the problem for what it is. The issue now isn't to determine who to blame, it is to determine how to arrest and deport those who are in this country illegally. I have spent too much time in parts of the United States where people whose ancestors have lived here for several generations still can't (or won't) speak English. Pleasant platitudes about the second generations learning English and how to assimilate sound good, but real world observations indicate that those anecdotes are not accurate. "And they have the protection of our legal system because they are people."I agree. We should give them fair trials with competant lawyers before they are deported.

 

[davideduardo]

"Nowhere in the FCC rules does it say one must serve the community interests IN ENGLISH."Then the FCC rules need to be changed. But those examples are of entrepeneurs serving the needs of people who were working towards assimilating and becoming Americans, including learning to speak English. At no time was this nation in danger of being split into two separate nations, an American population that speaks English, and an Hispanic population that speaks Spanish. America will not be well served by becoming bilingual. I blame everyone who had a hand in creating the problem. I blame everyone who persists in continuing the problem. I blame everyone who refuses to see the problem for what it is. The issue now isn't to determine who to blame, it is to determine how to arrest and deport those who are in this country illegally. I have spent too much time in parts of the United States where people whose ancestors have lived here for several generations still can't (or won't) speak English. Pleasant platitudes about the second generations learning English and how to assimilate sound good, but real world observations indicate that those anecdotes are not accurate. "And they have the protection of our legal system because they are people."I agree. We should give them fair trials with competant lawyers before they are deported.

The FCC does not define "community" or "public interest" by language. To do so would be highly discriminatory. There is no reason to expect or even want persons to erase thier heritage. One can easily be bicultural and bilingual, and that is a definite benfit. No large group of immigrants that do not arrive already speaking English "assimilates" linguistically in the first generation. Most immigrants, going back tothe Irish (many of whom spoke Gaelic, not English), the Germans, the Italians, were of the lower educational and skill levels and, thus, in hard times, were marginalized in their home nations. Same applies today... the first priority of an immigrant is to secure a future for themselves and family. When you work long hours, often several jobs, like many immigrants did and do, you do not have time to go to school to polish English skills. Adults are very bad language learners, so most never get beyond rudimentary "translate as you go" skills in English. Your observations, as you state, are anecdotal. Most of us in Spanish language radio are armed with considerable research showing that second generation uses vastly less Spanish radio than the first, and that by the third generation, nearly nobody uses Spanish radio. This is why all the Hispanic focused broadcasters, from Univision to SBS to Clear Channel are developing second generation formats that have Hispanic appeal but are mostly in English. Clear's Mega in Houston or Univsion's Beat in San Antonio or SBS's Latino in LA are examples of what has to be done to get second generation Hispanics to listen to us. As to illegals, anyone with a slight understanding of economics knows that 11 to 12 million people (including 4 million non-Hispanics) can not be deported, especially if a huge percentage have children who are US citizens. It would be logistically impossible, and humanely unacceptable to deport all illegals, which is why legislation will probably have some form of permanency for those who have a family and roots in the US by this time.

 

[Radio_Realist]

"The FCC does not define "community" or "public interest" by language."Then it should start doing so. It is long past the time when English should have been declared, by statute, the only official language for this nation. "This is why all the Hispanic focused broadcasters, from Univision to SBS to Clear Channel are developing second generation formats that have Hispanic appeal but are mostly in English."But if second generation Hispanics are assimilating into American culture, why wouldn't they simply listen to American radio formats? Why don't second and third generation Hispanics regard themselves as Americans the same way that second and third generation descendants of Europeans or Asians do? Could it be that Hispanic broadcasters are deliberately seeking to inhibit Hispanics from assimilating in order to preserve there own lucrative businesses at the expense of people who would enjoy more prosperity if they'd just decide to be Americans? "As to illegals, anyone with a slight understanding of economics knows that 11 to 12 million people (including 4 million non-Hispanics) can not be deported, especially if a huge percentage have children who are US citizens. It would be logistically impossible, and humanely unacceptable to deport all illegals, which is why legislation will probably have some form of permanency for those who have a family and roots in the US by this time."It would be extremely difficult to deport all of the illegals, but not impossible. It simply requires the voting citizens of the nation deciding that is what needs to be done, and for the voting citizens of the nation to elect lawmakers who will do what needs to be done. Perhaps one way to narrow down the list of deportations would be to print the rules for obtaining some sort of permanent legal residency only in English, and require all aliens who intend to remain in America to complete all applications in English. Granted, that would be difficult. But if someone is serious about wanting to become an American, then they should be willing to make that effort. And, if they aren't, then being returned to their native land, where everyone speaks the same language, shouldn't be seen as less than humane. Of course, one way to thwart the backlash against illegal aliens, particularly illegal Hispanic aliens, would be if the Hispanics in this country, legal and illegal, aliens and citizens, would make more of an effort to demonstrate that they intend to assimilate into American culture, and spend less time and effort flaunting an in-your-face attitude of "we are la raza and we're here to take over your country".

 

[davideduardo]

"The FCC does not define "community" or "public interest" by language."Then it should start doing so. It is long past the time when English should have been declared, by statute, the only official language for this nation. "This is why all the Hispanic focused broadcasters, from Univision to SBS to Clear Channel are developing second generation formats that have Hispanic appeal but are mostly in English."But if second generation Hispanics are assimilating into American culture, why wouldn't they simply listen to American radio formats? Why don't second and third generation Hispanics regard themselves as Americans the same way that second and third generation descendants of Europeans or Asians do? Could it be that Hispanic broadcasters are deliberately seeking to inhibit Hispanics from assimilating in order to preserve there own lucrative businesses at the expense of people who would enjoy more prosperity if they'd just decide to be Americans? "As to illegals, anyone with a slight understanding of economics knows that 11 to 12 million people (including 4 million non-Hispanics) can not be deported, especially if a huge percentage have children who are US citizens. It would be logistically impossible, and humanely unacceptable to deport all illegals, which is why legislation will probably have some form of permanency for those who have a family and roots in the US by this time."It would be extremely difficult to deport all of the illegals, but not impossible. It simply requires the voting citizens of the nation deciding that is what needs to be done, and for the voting citizens of the nation to elect lawmakers who will do what needs to be done. Perhaps one way to narrow down the list of deportations would be to print the rules for obtaining some sort of permanent legal residency only in English, and require all aliens who intend to remain in America to complete all applications in English. Granted, that would be difficult. But if someone is serious about wanting to become an American, then they should be willing to make that effort. And, if they aren't, then being returned to their native land, where everyone speaks the same language, shouldn't be seen as less than humane. Of course, one way to thwart the backlash against illegal aliens, particularly illegal Hispanic aliens, would be if the Hispanics in this country, legal and illegal, aliens and citizens, would make more of an effort to demonstrate that they intend to assimilate into American culture, and spend less time and effort flaunting an in-your-face attitude of "we are la raza and we're here to take over your country".

The government can legislate English to be the official language of the US, and conduct the business of government in English. But to require individuals and businesses to conduct thier affairs in only one language would not pass constitutional muster as it restricts freedom of speech. In additon, it would cost the US billions and billions in foreign trade, negotiations for which are more often conducted int he langauge of the buyer overseas. Second generation Hispanics are a product of an Hispanic home, and an American educational and social environment. Blacks don't like much "white" music. Young people don't like old folks music. Rural Southerners don't like the music of the urban Northeast. Nobody likes "American music" but, rather, people like different forms of music. Second generation Hispanics, by heritage and lifestyle, like somewhat different varieties or blends. The goal of radio is to attract listeners. If there are Hispanic listeners who want a format that does not exist, we will give it to them. As to "restricting their income" I can make reference to one of the older big Hispanic communities, Miami. In Miami-Dade, the median income in Hispanic homes exceeds that of non-Hispanic white homes and Black homes. This, to a great extent, is due to being a bilingual environment where vast amounts of goods and services are sold to Latin America and to visitors from Latin America. Bilingulism is essential to Miami's prosperity, as is the retention of a bicultural lifestyle. Hispanic communities have many rich and successful entreprenueurs who know no English at all. Same applies in Korean, Persian, Vietnames, Chinese, Russian, Thai communities in the US. What you don't understand is that most immigrants, even if they know accetable English, prefer their birth tongue because it is easier to express themselves in it. There are many bilinguals who use English at work or when required, but in thier family and personal lives use the preferred tongue. And there is the fact that adults have a really hard time learning another language at all well... language learning declines rapidly towards the end of childhood, before adolescence. All evidence supports the same rate of assimilation by Hispanics as seen with Italians, Germans, Poles, etc. And ther eis plenty of evidence.

 

[Radio_Realist]

"But to require individuals and businesses to conduct thier affairs in only one language would not pass constitutional muster as it restricts freedom of speech. In additon, it would cost the US billions and billions in foreign trade, negotiations for which are more often conducted int he langauge of the buyer overseas." Making English the official language only means that all legal proceedings, such as contracts and legal announcements, must be in English to be legally binding in court. We wouldn't need all those bilingual signs everywhere. But, as for constitutionality, it has been noted that there is no constitutional right to have access to a piece of the electronic spectrum. Requiring that a station broadcasts the bulk of its programming in the official language of the country as a condition for satisfying the "serving the public interest" clause of the FCC licensing standards would probably pass constitutional muster, especially if the Supreme Court ruled on the law itself instead of attempting to legislate from the bench. If the FCC can put enough pressure on station owners to get Howard Stern to give up and move to satellite because of what he says on the air, they can do the same to get broadcasters to use English. "I can make reference to one of the older big Hispanic communities, Miami."Miami has a totally unique situation. The Cuban population of Miami is, for the most part, not immigrants planning to become American. The Cuban population of Miami and the rest of Florida see themselves as exiles waiting for Castro to die so that they can return home. According to my former brother-in-law, who was Cuban, the exiles in Florida generally regard going back to Cuba the way Jews used to regard someday moving back to Israel. So, they are not an example of any "typical" Hispanic sub-group. "All evidence supports the same rate of assimilation by Hispanics as seen with Italians, Germans, Poles, etc. And ther eis plenty of evidence."The evidence that I have seen includes second, third, and fourth generation Mexicans in Texas and the Southwest who either couldn't or wouldn't attempt to speak English. There were cities I've visited in Texas where I couldn't order a simple hamburger at a Burger King in English. The evidence I have seen is spokesman for "la raza" who demand that all of "Aztalan" be returned to "la raza". The evidence I have seen includes hordes of illegal aliens pouring across the border from Mexico.

 

[Bob E. Nelson]

All evidence supports the same rate of assimilation by Hispanics as seen with Italians, Germans, Poles, etc. And there is plenty of evidence.

This thread has veered beyond the original scope I had intended and has interest beyond those who may visit the Pittsburgh radio board. Neverthless, David, to possibly add creedence to what Radio_Realist contends, the ``Latino Ethnic Attitude'' study I cited a few messages back states the following:

There are Latino self-identity differences among age, education and geographic regions as well...The younger and older males did not like the label "American"...

What is interesting is just how low the self-identity is with ``American''. It varies from a high of 16% (in Pennsylvania) to a range of merely 0-3% (Colorado and California). Terms such as ``Chicano'' and ``Mexicano'' were preferred, according to the study, over ``American''.Recalling the controversial KRCA-TV billboard of ``Los Angeles, Mexico'', I wonder how well a ``Pittsburgh, Poland'' billboard would have been received decades ago had WPIT opted to use that approach to advertise its ethnic fare?