In pursuit of the Latino American dream

Barbara Brown and daughter Samantha attend a Mexican dance. “Instead of entering the system uneducated, we’re coming in with a stronger profile and with a greater economic foundation than our predecessors.” In contrast to most Latinos elsewhere, the “new Hispanic” in Orange County is adapting well to the suburban life style, far from the crowded substandard housing, spray-painted graffiti and neighborhood youth gangs that plague the barrios, sociologists and demographers say. At times, it has been a slow, difficult “selling job,” Barbara Brown admitted, saying, “My children have to be made aware they’re Mexican-American.” The task has been made more difficult because the family lives in Fountain Valley, which typifies Orange County suburbia--a white, middle class city, with neighborhoods endlessly bordered by cinder-block walls. Both children attend St. Barbara’s Catholic School, and the family regularly supports church activities-- a conscious effort, Barbara said, “because, even though I don’t agree wholeheartedly with some of the church’s dogma, I support it because it’s part of my Mexican culture.” Since their involvement with Relampago, both children have picked up some Spanish and, with some gentle prodding at home, have gained an understanding that they are culturally different. “They don’t understand that they’ve hired thousands of illegals coming in, mostly Mexican and some who were skilled labor.” Santa Ana’s rapid Latino influx has not made for a smooth transition, city officials concede.