Demographics

According to the quickfacts.census.gov, the demographics of Staten Island for 2012-2013 are:

(http://www.socialexplorer.com/89aacd3a4f1e4e1/view)

The highest percentage of Mexicans on Staten Island(the darker shades of green) live in Fresh Kills, totaling a population density of 142, 72.727% of the population in that area. Port Richmond is where our cultural visit, St. Mary of the Assumption Church, is located. The population of Mexicans in Port Richmond is 1,403, or 24.683% of the total population in that area. Most Mexicans are located on the north shore of Staten Island, while the least dense population can be found on the south shore and mid island of Staten Island. There is not a significant spread of Mexicans on Staten Island. Mexican communities can be found at the north shore of Staten Island or in Fresh Kills, but mostly in Port Richmond on the north shore. There is not a lot of Mexicans throughout Staten Island, with populations less than five percent.

History

             In recent times, Mexican immigrants have been subject to hate crimes on Staten Island. Recently, reports have shown that there has been turmoil in Port Richmond, which is the most highly populated Mexican community. Mexican communities on Staten Island are scattered across the island. The Mexican population is mostly found on the north shore of Staten Island, with dwindling numbers found in the mid-island in on the south shore. Compared to other boroughs in New York, Staten Island has a relatively low number of Mexicans. New York state, however, has seen a growing number of Mexicans in recent years. Compared to other ethnicities in Staten Island, Mexicans are second to those categorized as white alone, with respect to population, in 2012.

            Staten Island Live has reported violent acts in Port Richmond, targeting those of the Mexican ethnicity. These attacks even occur around Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo, which is celebrated in both Mexico and America, is a celebratory day of remembrance of the freedom and democracy during the American Civil War. The reason this is interesting is because Mexicans and Americans share the fifth of May as a day of celebration and gratitude towards Mexicans. The Mexican army defeated the French army for the confederate states during the Battle of Puebla in 1862. This day is a day of thanks to Mexicans for their work in America, but there are still hate crimes against them on this day.

(http://www.businessmonitor.com/mexico)

American popular culture has also been influenced by Mexican culture. Lynda Carter, the famous Wonder Woman, was the daughter of a Mexican mother. She is portrayed as Wonder Woman, a woman who wears the colors of the American flag. The televised face of the perception of Wonder Woman in America is portrayed by a Mexican woman. The woman who played Wonder Woman was not only an iconic figure in American popular culture, but was also Miss World USA and a very famous American actress.

(http://batfriend.deviantart.com/art/Lynda-Carter-as-Wonder-Woman-334439625)

Similarly, the paintings of the 1900’s Mexican painter Frida Kahlo are widely admired by Americans to this day. Kahlo was a painter from Mexico who is known for her self-portraits. Her self portrait can be found in textbooks, museums, and on the walls of many Mexican restaurants.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frida_Kahlo)

Historically, Mexicans have been a major part of early America. Cesar Chavez was an American farm worker who became a civil rights activist. He made a huge impact on unions that persists even today. He co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (United Farm Workers Union) after using nonviolent tactics to help American farm workers. He also aided in the enrollment of many Hispanic workers into the union. This iconic figure can be seen in many aspects of America – his life in textbooks, his name on school buildings, his title on street signs, and his name as park labels. He has become the face of organized labor and politics. Barack Obama even used Chavez’s famous phrase, “Si, se puede,” (yes, it can be done) in his campaign slogan. Chavez’s birthday, which is March 31, is a state holiday in Texas, California, and Colorado, called Cesar Chavez Day.

(http://www.ufcw.org/2014/03/28/remembering-the-legacy-of-cesar-chavez/)

Cesar Chavez was a Mexican American in the mid-1900’s. During his later life, there was a major influx of Mexican immigrants into America. Mexican immigrants were seen to come to America during the 1960s, 80s, and 90s. The Mexican population has only been increasing in America, even on Staten Island. In Port Richmond and Mariners Harbor, there has been a steady increase of this population from 2000 to 2010. From 1960 to today, it can be seen in Staten Island that there is over a 20% increase in the Mexican-born population. It can also be seen that Hispanic groups have superseded the percentages of other immigrants coming to America today by nearly 30%. This increase is evident from the highly-dense community in Port Richmond and other areas in the North Shore. In Port Richmond, there is an abundance of Mexican stores, delis, and groups of people that can be seen. Mexican restaurants, Mexican students attending local public schools, and the Mexican-only St. Mary of the Assumption Church are clear indicators of the close-knit community that is on the rise.

Mezcal’s Restaurant is a Mexican restaurant on Staten Island. It is located on Bradley Avenue in Westerleigh, Staten Island, which has a relatively low population of Mexican immigrants. However, the sense of a Mexican community at this restaurant is relatively high compared to other restaurants on the island. Mezcal’s serves strictly Mexican food and drinks, feeding a population of other ethnicities, but mostly Mexican. Although people of other ethnicities come to Mezcal’s, the restaurant is only Americanized in terms of communication with customers and currency. This facility still retains a lot of the Mexican identity that is lost in that neighborhood.

(Photo taken by Timothy Sweeney)

A visit to this cultural institution showed that there is a strong sense of Mexican racial identity prominent through the food. Holding on to the employees’ roots in Mexico, they brought out a menu, which had items that were listed in Spanish. This adds to the atmosphere created by the décor. There were hanging gold and black sombreros, decorative lizards on the walls, a piñata of many colors, the Mexican flag hanging proudly, maracas that were the colors of the Mexican flag, ceramic water basins, colorful lights, and Mexican banners depicting the sun and flowers. This ambiance was accompanied by brightly painted walls, fast-paced and staccato Mexican music, brightly colored floral table clothes, vibrant Mexican tiles, and the friendly smiles of the Mexican employees. Although the restaurant was small, the food made a large impression. From the guacamole to the burritos and every quesadilla in-between, flavor and savory tastes were in every dish that was ordered. Items on the menu included chimichangas, burritos, and Mexican drinks. Dishes that we (Timothy and Naomi) ordered included guacamole, an order of super nachos, a chicken fajita, and a chicken quesadilla. The guacamole is richer than other places that we have tried before. The nachos had an abundance of Mexican ingredients, including jalapeños, salsa, tortilla chips, and chorizo. However, the cheese that was used was American cheese.

(Photo taken by Naomi Love Gaggi)

The waiter informed us that in Mexico they use a cheese called Queso Blanco, which is similar to mozzarella. This strayed away from the highly authentic Mexican feeling in the restaurant. Another fact that we found was that none of the food was from Mexico; it was all grown and processed in the United States. According to our waiter, The chicken used in the fajita and quesadilla, the rice and beans, and the chorizo were all food purchased from Mexican grocery stores on the island. Even though the ingredients weren’t made in Mexico, the food used and the dishes made had highly strong connections to the hometown of the Mexican people going there to eat and the people working there.

(Photo taken by Naomi Love Gaggi)

It was hard to ask the waiters a lot of questions because the restaurant was very busy serving Mexicans and other ethnicities. Even though it was difficult, we managed to speak with one Mexican male waiter who was very friendly and eager to answer questions. He gave us consent to publish this information in a very informal way. All of the employees were Mexican and we found that most of them were immigrants from Mexico. The food brought them together, even though the community did not.

The restaurant serves as a Mexican cultural institution, but also serves the Staten Island community because of its need to flourish financially in a non-Mexican community. This restaurant is a chain and can be found in other boroughs. It is interesting to compare this restaurant to the one in Brooklyn. The restaurant in Brooklyn is in a highly Mexican community and serves a lot of people of that ethnicity. The restaurant in Staten Island is in a more lowly populated Mexican community and serves to other ethnicities. This restaurant, however, still attracts many Mexicans.

   

(Photo taken by Timothy Sweeney)

The ratio of Mexicans to other ethnicities was quite large, with Mexicans clearly superseding the other ethnicities in number. Mexican food has become highly popular in New York, so restaurants that are more Americanized than this one have become more common. This restaurant keeps many Mexican traditions, besides the language. Mezcal’s restaurant strays from other Mexican restaurants because of the authentic atmosphere, created by the immigrant workers and true Mexican people.

Unlike the previous cultural institution visit, this cultural institution was located in the heart of the most heavily populated Mexican area on Staten Island; Port Richmond. The religious institution is called Saint Mary of the Assumption Church. The Church was unlike Mezcal’s Restaurant because it encompassed Mexican-only regulars, even though the Roman Catholic religion is shared by many people throughout the United States. It adds to the popularity of a widely accepted religion in America, but it is home to many Mexican church-goers.

(Photo taken by Timothy Sweeney)

Upon our arrival to the church we walked to the front door, only to find that it was locked. We walked around the church looking at the architecture as well as an entrance. The church looked much like any other Roman Catholic Church that can be seen on Staten Island. There was a tall steeple with a cross atop it and a large stained glass window in the front. As we walked around the outside of the building, we saw a sign with the scheduled mass times on it with one side written in English and the other in Spanish. This was one of the first differences we saw between this church and our churches.

(Photo taken by Naomi Love Gaggi)

Unfortunately, the Church was closed, but we (Naomi and Timothy) were allowed access from a woman working in the rectory. The Mexican woman who let us in was very reserved and quiet, so we could not ask her many questions. When we went to request access to the church, we had to go into the rectory. We observed both outside and inside of the church that everyone was Mexican and spoke Spanish. This community differs from the rest of Staten Island because almost the entire island is primarily English-speaking.

(Photo taken by Timothy Sweeney)

The church was decorated beautifully, with a lot of stained glass windows, statues, and candles. The church was a medium-sized building with a very Mexican atmosphere. The candle holders had pictures of different saints on them. The statues were of Jesus and several saints. The stained glass windows were vibrantly colored. This church is different from the Catholic churches that we attend because the mass is spoken in Spanish and there are many more statues of saints here than there are in our churches. It was a different experience for us being there since we were not Mexican or Spanish-speaking and there was a sense of not belonging. This feeling is especially caused by the fact that there are really no Americanized aspects of the church. It had a lot of Mexican décor and served only a close-knit group of Mexicans.

(Photo taken by Naomi Love Gaggi)

Although the same rituals that are performed here are performed in other Roman Catholic churches, there is a major distinction in how the mass is conducted because of the language difference. Even though these rituals and the religion itself fit into the American religions and cultures, the population that the community serves allows it to be very distinct from most other churches. Likewise, there are no adaptations to serve Staten Island’s other ethnic groups and this keeps the Mexican culture very authentic. We looked through a hymnbook and every hymn was in Spanish. This shows that the church did not conform and change their hymns to English. This also provides evidence that this church serves Mexicans that are very bound to their homeland and have more native qualities than other generations of Mexicans. Something that was interesting were the Mexican saints’ relics on the altar. There were many more of them than can be seen at our churches.

(Photo taken by Timothy Sweeney)

Although we were unable to attend a service, it is very obvious that the church is very different from other Roman Catholic churches on Staten Island. Apart from the physical church building’s structure, this church differed very much from our churches, mainly because this one catered to the Mexican culture in the area. This trip to Saint Mary of the Assumption Church showed us how the Mexican culture can be seen while still capturing the essence of a Roman Catholic Church.

(Photo taken by Naomi Love Gaggi)