European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 11, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Rising influence of latino americ by Randolph e. Schmid associated press Call it the lat ionization of America. Co Prende usted for instance in a martial arts movie on Cable television the Oriental warriors speak Spanish. In California the Telephone company puts out special yellow pages in Spanish. In new York City a growing number of bus and subway ads for familiar products Are in Spanish and All the safety instructions Are in English and Spanish. And a major american movie an american Tail was recently released simultaneously in Spanish and English versions whereas in the past a Spanish version would have appeared months after the English release. More and More Spanish is heard in americans big cities becoming common enough to be used in business and on ballots. The number of hispanics in the United states surpassed 20 million last year and is rapidly growing according to census Bureau estimates. Hispanics now comprise 8.2 percent of the . Population. Quot i believe that we see ourselves in the same Light As previous immigrants. The Irish the italians the germans who came before Quot says Eduardo Pena chairman of the league of United latin american citizens. Quot we Don t want to change America singing Star Gloria Estefan who suffered fractured vertebrae recently when her tour bus was hit by a truck is an example of hispanics who have made it in show business. Almacen Sjef calle8 wave Del . M2jmm$�esc0ffl a Nasty Psi ls0s a pm Mem Marcas Spanish language advertisements on the Side of a clothing merchants Van Are intended for residents of Miami a Little Havana District. We just want to be part of it. We  be As much of America As anybody 6ls6. Yet As they try to assimilate into  life Many hispanics feel Quot their americanism is being questioned Quot he efforts to make English the official language of the United states says Ronaldo Cruz associate director of Ihu . Catholic conference secretariat hispanic affairs. Quot the hispanics Are angry. They re Hurt. They re upset Quot he says Cruz also pointed to moves to limit immigration and exclude illegal immigrants from the 1990 census As areas of concern to hispanics. Pablo Sedillo director of the secretariat for hispanic affairs says Quot when they get Here they encounter discrimination exploitation in a land that they thought was free a land of  problems Are even greater for those arriving illegally since they Lack documents that ease the Way into jobs and face the continual threat of being discovered and deported. But Legal or illegal the influence of hispanics on american life business Andl politics is undeniable. Between 4 million and 4.5 million hispanics were registered to vote in 1988, and they were openly courted by Spanish language ads in local newspapers and broadcast Media. Early in the 1988 presidential Campaign George Bush promised to appoint the first hispanic Cabinet member. President Reagan beat him to the punch by selecting Lauro Cavazos As education Secretary. Bush kept Cavazos on and also picked Manuel Lujan As Interior Secretary. Americans of All backgrounds have come to enjoy the music of such groups As Gloria Estefan and Miami sound machine and los Lobos. The song la Bamba enjoyed a recent revival As the title track from a movie about the life and Brief career of the late Singer Ritchie Valens Valenzuela. Ricardo Montalban meanwhile became a widely seen spokesman for an automobile company on National. Television. The census Bureau preparing for the 1990 head count is telling hispanics Vagase Contr a make yourself count. Its something hispanics already Are doing at the Cash Register. Quot corporate America has rediscovered the hispanic Market. A lot of major corporations Are targeting advertising to hispanics Quot says Lisa Navarrete spokeswoman for the National Council la Raza. Hispanic food also has become More popular in major cities where a variety o restaurants a mexican cuban salvadoran and others a reflect the local hispanic communities. Mexican tops the list. The i Quot sear firm packaged facts reports that 3o million households eat mexican f�ocls7 sales of which Rose 55 percent Bette 1982 and 1987. Krafts velveeta now comes in a spicy mexican version Jalapeno Flavoured potato chips Are sold nationally an Farmers in new Mexico report do Dimy Page 14 a a a the stars and stripes s hispanic population distribution air crops of Chiles Between 1977 and i87. But there has been some confusion. For example Borden advertised ice Feam using the Slang mexican term Sieve Quot which literally Means Snow. The pm pain worked Fine in California and a was where there Are numerous a Xian americans. But in the East the ubans and puerto Picans thought the Many was literally Selling Snow the Agazine american demographics ports. Remember the frito Bandito a mustachioed Sombrero wearing Bandit Jio used to sell Corn chips on Levision frito Lay Laid him to rest in 1971 after a a plaints from hispanic groups that i portrayal was demeaning. Frito Corn lips Are still big Sellers and the a Many now donates Money to build a grounds in hispanic neighbourhoods. In 1984, Coors signed an agreement the a coalition of hispanic groups Smising to provide $325 million Over veral years for a variety of programs the hispanic Community As Well As to Mph size procurement and zip Layment programs for hispanics. Uni vision the largest Spanish Guage television network is timoted to reach 17 million hispanics that least 5 million regular viewers Omerly known As the Spanish Ernat ional network it has been joined a second Spanish network Lem undo with More than 3.3 million Jular viewers according to Cable Lusty experts. As far As hispanics Are concerned he word minority is becoming extinct in me parts of the country although that a not have hit the policy types yet Quot is Elvira Valenzuela Crocker of the Asican american National women s a animation. About two thirds of the hispanics in the United states live in just three states. California leads with 34 percent followed by Texas at 21 percent and new York with 10 percent. Florida has 8 percent of the nation s hispanics and there Are significant populations in Illinois new Jersey Arizona new Mexico and Colorado the census Bureau reports. Latinos Are younger on average than the rest of the population. In 1980 their median age was 23, compared to 30 for americans in general. That Means More Are in the childbearing years and they Are producing a higher growth rate than the rest of the nation. In 1988, hispanics averaged 94 births per 1,000 women Ages 18 to 44, compared to 67 per 1,000 for the rest of the country. That also Means More Young latin americans Are in the nations schools raising the Issue of bilingual education in Many cities. That As yet unresolved debate centers on whether it is better to teach children in their own language while they learn English or to immerse them Only in English As a Means of improving their skills in that language while they Are learning other subjects As Well. Only about 44 percent of hispanics age 25 and Over have completed High school compared to nearly 70 percent of non hispanics. Cary Davis a researcher at the private population reference Bureau views the growing hispanic population As a source of needed labor in the coming years. Quot when the baby Boom starts to retire in 20 to 30 years who will provide the work Force it will be an increasingly minority and hispanic society Quot Davis says. Quot the labor Force is going to be very different in the next couple of decades where they live population growth in millions 181 19.4 14.5 1s.4 16-6 re a a with a need for improved literacy and employment training to educate the work Force Quot adds Navarrete. Davis cautions non hispanics against being Quot Overly pessimistic Quot about these changes. Quot they will not be All newly arrived immigrants there is an assimilation process going on a he says. Quot hispanics will soon become the majority of entry level workers in some metropolitan areas Quot reported the population reference Bureau in a 1988 analysis of the hispanic population. However limited educations and language skills have held Down incomes with per capita income in 1988 averaging $7,956 for hispanics compared to $8,271 for Blacks and $13,896 for Whites. While Many hispanics Are not citizens the Constitution specifies that the census count All residents of the country not just . Citizens. Thus when census figures Are used for political reapportionment and distribution of Federal and state funds areas with More people a hispanic and otherwise a will be the gainers. Education Secretary Lauro Cavazos shown speaking to students was the first hispanic Cabinet member chosen by president Reagan. Las Mobile caterers by Michael lev new York times i t is lunchtime in los Angeles and Juan Saenz budding fast food Mogul is toiling in his catering truck. I fingering a thick wad of $1 Bills he takes three orders for burritos and Calls them out to his wife Mari furiously working the griddle. S a half dozen customers chattering in Spanish la roved the sidewalk waiting for lunch. The tiny restaurant la Jerez Ana for Saenz a Hometown in Exi Cois doing Good business today on Kenter Avenue in Brentwood a Tony West los Angeles Community. Or of pm get said they will stay a while before Oving on perhaps in a few months though they Quot be forced to move on permanently. Pm of an9 a Ancl h spanic cultures has Vine m an9e, Over the Issue of Mobile the / i a Jerez Ana. A Large truck that prowls sheets in search of hungry workers. Comp hints that trucks like Saenz s litter streets a a a but Raf c hazards in residential Contr. Ods has Pronh Ted the los Angeles City on wage s consider a tact new rules for restaurants catering trucks Are big business in los Angeles where the drive through window at Mcdonald a often does not seem fast enough to qualify As fast food. Over the years companies with stables of 50 catering trucks or More have built up lucrative routes that include daily 1q-to-30-minute stops at businesses warehouses construction Sites and movie shooting  in the last few years a new Breed of Independent owners predominantly hispanic has carved out a Small Niche serving their countrymen who work in residential districts like Brentwood As gardeners swimming Pool cleaners and painters. At lunchtime along Kenter Avenue and other streets catering trucks attract dozens of workers in an hour. The customers come by foot or pick up truck from jobs at nearby houses for the convenient. Inexpensive food and the familiar atmosphere. Patrons say the trucks remind them of the town squares in their Home villages where Street food is consumed local residents say the restaurants on wheels should not be allowed to operate in front of Homes. A some of the trucks Are setting up for six or eight hours a Day a said Susan Young president of the Brentwood Homeowner s association Quot it s causing a safety problem people can t get out of their driveways. Trash is left behind. There needs to be some kind of controls before tempers Start to get  the complaints won Quick support from the City Council which is scheduled to vote this Spring to limit the time catering trucks May remain at a particular location or within a half mile radius to 30 minutes. A a that a a Good Start but id like to see More Quot said Nate Holden a City Council member who is chairman of its transportation committee. Quot id like to go a Little further and say they can go to Job Sites Only. I done to like to see those trucks out there dumping trash into the  Marvin Braude another councilman said the trucks also steal business from established restaurants that pay rent and utilities and serve their communities continuously. Quot it s unfair Competition Quot he said. Established catering truck companies have no problem with the proposed Law because they make most of their stops in under 30 minutes. But the Independent owners say they need More time. Quot if this Law passes it s going to cause trouble a said Saenz who bought his truck four months ago after working in the Kitchen of Scandia a Well known Beverly Hills restaurant for 20 years Quot i need to stay in one place a Long time a he said. Quot the gardeners when they come for lunch some come at 11 o clock some come at noon. Its better to stay Here two  the stars and stripes a a a Page 15