Being Latina in Eastern Washington State looks very different today than it did 15 years ago. If you have been to the area, you know that it looks quite differently than the Western side of the State; where Seattle is located. Here in Eastern WA, the Latina/o presence is much more noticeable. I’m in Tri-Cities, WA so you’ll be reading from my experience living in this city (cities?).
Latina/o Population by City
It varies by city. Pasco is where the majority of Latinas/os are and you can really see that when you visit its downtown. There are, almost exclusively, Mexican/Latino/a retail stores, restaurants, and shops in that area and it’s not rare to enter a store and hear Spanish only. Oh! and we also have the biggest flea market in the whole state. Kennewick is a little more diverse, in my opinion. This is where you see more of a mix of cultures and diversity, especially in the last few years. Lastly, in Richland is where you see the least amount of Latinas/os. But there still are some taco trucks, carnicerias, and Mexican restaurants. I think this difference in population makeup is due to the jobs available in each city.
Workplace Division
We have many Latina/o agricultural workers in Pasco and they tend to be people of Latina/o descent. In Richland, we have a nuclear waste plant, which employs other professionals such as engineers, designers, and project managers. There aren’t any salient companies or job fields in Kennewick like in the other two cities but it is the biggest of the three and where you can find the shopping mall.
We’re not going to dive into the history of each city as we are focusing more on how being Latina in Eastern WA looks like today and talking about the history, migration, etc. would take us into a different direction. But if you want to learn more about it, you can go here
Cultural Influences
You’ll notice mention of the Mexican influence in the area or generally about the Latina/o culture. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t people here from other countries, but, from my experience, the majority of us are Mexican or from Mexican descent. To be honest, I didn’t meet many people from other Latin American countries 15 years ago but there are Venezuelan restaurants and Salvadorian pupuserias now, which shows the increasing diversity of the cities.
According to Wikipedia, Latinas/os are the second largest ethnic group in the Tri-Cities, second only to White/Caucasian. Fun fact, Pasco has a Latina/o population of about 56%. If you wanna learn more about the ethnicity distribution of the area go to this page.
Events in the area
I may be missing some but we do have a mariachi festival, big Cinco de Mayo parade in downtown Pasco, and I’ve been noticing there are more latino artists in coming to our event centers (like the Toyota Center). This year, I learned we have a taco crawl which happens just before de Cinco de Mayo festival. You have the chance to try tacos in various local taquerias and vote for the best one. The winning taco/taqueria is announced during the festival.
Changes over the years
When I was in high school, many Latina/o students refused to speak Spanish, even when fluent. I didn’t see many people being proud of their Latina/o cultural background or roots. However, nowadays, the increased acceptance and demand for Spanish-speaking people is noticeable. Especially in downtown Pasco, you’ll have no problem going to almost any shop, store, or business if you only speak Spanish. This has expanded to other areas and people seem to be finally embracing their Latinidad.
I used to have to be the translator for my mom, who doesn’t speak English. But now, she is more frequently than not able to communicate with medical staff and other people in Spanish. I can only guess this is due to the increase in bilingual population.
So what is it really like?
A very different experience than living in a place like Los Angeles, for example. People from the Seattle area say they feel like they’re in Mexico when they come to South Eastern WA because we have a lot more Spanish speakers and Latina/o stores such as carnicerias, grocery stores (Fiesta Foods, SuperMex, La Michoacana), and places like “la pulga” or the Flea Market. You definitely know you’re in the US, but depending on where you are within the Tri-Cities you may feel more connected with the Latino/a culture.
