Ricourt and Dante’s Introduction: The Emergence of Latino Panethnicity talked about the population of latinos in Corona, as well as the change in population of other parts of the borough of Queens.  They started off by discussing the sense of unity Latinos of Corona found in their common language.  This was the first thing that stood out to me about this passage.  I found it interesting language was the most unifying factor of the Hispanic population.  It did make the most sense to me, though, because as different as various Hispanic cultures are, the language is the one thing that they have in common.  That is the one thing that they can depend on to communicate and connect with each other.  Since Spanish is what attracts Latinos to Corona, it makes it easier for more and more Hispanics to feel comfortable living in the area, interacting, and creating a community of their own.

As a child, I spent a lot of time in Corona and I remember looking around and thinking that my family was “the outsider” in this area.  Reading this passage made it seem like it was in fact the other way around, at least at one point.  Ricourt and Dante explain the growth of Latinos in Corona and how it was a result of “new immigration.”  However, before this Corona’s population was predominantly white and black.  Soon, more blacks would move into the area and whites would move out.  By the 1990’s, the area became multi-Latino.  Although the area became predominantly Hispanic, there were people moving in from various spanish countries, from Puerto Rico to Panama.  All of these cultures mixed into one area can be hard to believe.  There are bound to be separations and divisions, but as a whole, Latinos have made Corona their home.