Колумбийцы в США: История и современность

Americans of Colombian birth or descent

Colombian Americans (lang es), are Americans who have Colombian ancestry. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of full or partial Colombian descent or to someone who has immigrated to the United States from Colombia. Colombian Americans are the largest South Americans Hispanic group in the United States. Many communities throughout the United States have significant Colombian American populations. Florida (597,238) has the highest concentration and population of Colombian Americans in the United States, followed by New York (241,685), New Jersey (211,456), California (120,873), and Texas (114,865).

The first Colombian immigrants who settled in the United States likely arrived in the 1800s. However, the Colombian presence in the United States would not be known with certainty since the U. S. census included all the South Americans that lived in the United States in the "other Latinos" category. The first community of Colombian origin was formed after World War I, through the arrival of several hundred professionals (nurses, accountants, laboratory technicians, pharmacists, and bilingual secretaries) that established themselves in New York City; later on, more people were added to the community when Colombian students decided to stay in the U. S. after they finished their studies. Most immigrants settled in Manhattan for many years until the late 1970s when they started to migrate to Jackson Heights, a middle class neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, that has good housing, schools and churches. The growth of the Colombian population was slow until 1940, when there was an increase in Colombian immigration to New York.

Most Colombians who arrived after the mid 1960s wanted to stay in the United States for a specific time period. Therefore, the number of undocumented Colombian immigrants increased: from 250,000 to 350,000 people in the mid 1970s. Despite the promulgation of many laws against immigration, the number of Colombians that immigrated to the United States did not stop growing. Most of them immigrated to New York. Smaller communities formed in Los Angeles, Houston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D. C., and in the 1970s, North Side, Chicago. Since the 1980s, many Colombians have immigrated to Miami (especially in its suburbs, such as Doral, Kendall, and Hialeah, and the Weston suburb of Fort Lauderdale). The first Colombians immigrating to the city lived in Little Havana, from where they established commercial relations between Miami and Latin America. The area also attracted wealthy Colombians, who settled there for reasons as diverse as educational, medical or economics. and 213,200 Colombians were living in the Miami metropolitan area. The largest Colombian community lives in the South Florida area (Doral, Kendall, Weston, and Country Club) and Jackson Heights in Queens County, New York City. In 2021, Pew Research Center found that, as far as gender demographics are concerned, women in the United States have made up about 55.7% of Colombian migrants, while men have made up about 44.3% of the Colombian migrant population.

Colombian Americans, based on various studies and a survey, about 90% of the population adheres to Christianity, the majority of which (70.9%) are Roman Catholic, while a significant minority (16.7%) adhere to Protestantism (primarily Evangelicalism). Some 4.7% of the population is atheist or agnostic, while 3.5% claim to believe in God but do not follow a specific religion. In addition to the above statistics, 35.9% of Colombian Americans report that they did not practice their faith actively.

A majority (82%) of Colombian Americans ages five and older speak English proficiently. The other 18% who are Colombian natives report speaking English less than very well, compared with 32% of all Latinos. In addition, 83% of Colombians ages five and older speak Spanish at home.

Musical styles that are enjoyed by Colombian Americans include Vallenato and Cumbia. The main pastime of Colombians in the United States is soccer, and most Colombian Americans raised in the United States continue to follow soccer. Another popular pastime, especially among the older generation, is parqués, a Colombian board game which is very similar to Parcheesi.

Colombian food is varied due to the several distinct regions of Colombia. Popular dishes include bandeja paisa, sancocho (chicken or fish soup with plantain), empanadas (meat filled turnovers), pandebono and pan de queso (types of cheese bread), and arepas (corncake similar to a tortilla). Colombian food is popular and well known in South Florida and in Queens County. Some of the most common ingredients are: cereals such as rice and corn; tubers such as potato and cassava; assorted legumes; meats, including beef, chicken, pork and goat; fish; and seafood. Among the most representative appetizers and soups are patacones (fried green plantains), sancocho de gallina (chicken soup with root vegetables) and ajiaco (potato and corn soup). Representative snacks and breads are pandebono, arepas (corn cakes), aborrajados (fried sweet plantains with cheese), torta de choclo, empanadas and almojábanas. Representative main courses are bandeja paisa, lechona tolimense, mamona, tamales and fish dishes (such as arroz de lisa), especially in coastal regions where kibbeh, suero, costeño cheese and carimañolas are also eaten. Representative side dishes are papas chorreadas (potatoes with cheese), remolachas rellenas con huevo duro (beets stuffed with hard boiled egg) and arroz con coco (coconut rice). Representative desserts are buñuelos, natillas, Maria Luisa cake, bocadillo made of guayaba (guava jelly), cocadas (coconut balls), casquitos de guayaba (candied guava peels), torta de natas, obleas, flan de arequipe, roscón, milhoja, and the tres leches cake (a sponge cake soaked in milk, covered in whipped cream, then served with condensed milk). Typical sauces (salsas) are hogao (tomato and onion sauce) and Colombian style ají. Colombia is one of the world's largest consumers of fruit juices. These juices have made their way to supermarkets all across the United States.

The annual personal income for Colombian Americans is $25,000, a figure higher than many other Hispanic groups at $21,900, but lower than that of the U. S. population at $30,000. The rate of Colombian Americans homeownership is (45%) but lower than the 64% rate for the U. S. population as a whole. This takes into account the younger average Colombian American (Colombino) population. Colombian Americans who live in poverty, 16%, is the same as the rate for the general U. S. population and lower than the rate for Hispanic overall at 25%.

33% of Colombian Americans ages 25 and older—compared with 14% of all U. S. Hispanics and 30% among the entire U. S. population—have obtained at least a bachelor's degree. 54% of U. S. born Colombian Americans have earned a bachelor's degree or higher, as compared to 30% of foreign born Colombians.