I was bored and looked up the populations of Boulder and Denver, Colorado and was very surprised to find that the largest minority is Hispanics. I know they are the largest minority nationwide but it surprised me to see relatively large groups in Colorado. So what gives? Is this a recent rise in numbers or?
Albuquerque is the largest city in New Mexico. Here is the census data from Bernalillo County which shows a 42% Hispanic population. The Denver area is about 6 hours or so from Albuquerque right up I 25. Thus, it is easy to assume that this is a natural place for people to move to. Phoenix, the next closest major city, is about 8 hours away.
There were large numbers of hispanics in Colorado when I lived in Boulder in the 1970s. And the hispanic population of southwest Colorado goes back a long time.
Since historically there were few blacks in Colorado, and the Native American population is not all that large, I think hispanics have probably been the single largest minority in Colorado for a long time.
Right. Remember that most of the area of Colorado used to be part of Mexico. Mexican settlers began arriving in large numbers in the 1840s. The Mexican government was giving away land to attract settlers and thereby strengthen its claims to the area. Following the Mexican-American War, Mexican citizens living in what is now Colorado had the option of staying and becoming American citizens by the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848). Most of them opted to stay.
Everything posted so far is true and I am not disagreeing with it. It is especially useful context because so often Hispanics are depicted as new to the country, first generation etc. Having said that, the Hispanic population across the United States is growing and grew by 73% in Colorado from 1990 to 2000. 36 of Colorado’s 63 counties had growth in Hispanic population that exceeded the US average growth rate of during the 1990’s and part of the reason is becuase of agriculture.
It is expected to continue to grow.
The oldest continuous settlement in Colorado was established by the Spanish and since that time Hispanic residents have been a key part of our state.
Looking at the names of communities in the state will give you a feel for the rich Hispanic heritage of the state. Canon City, Pueblo, La Junta, Monte Vista, Alamosa, Granada, Salida, Trinidad and Durango, to name just a few.
One of our U.S. Senators has a Hispanic surname (Ken Salazar) and numerous counties like Hueferno and Otero and sections of the state like the San Luis Valley and rivers like the Animas and mountain ranges like the Sangre de Christo carry the stamp of that portion of our population.
If nothing else should have suggested we have a large Hispanic population - For heaven’s sake, the name of our state is a Spanish word.