Towns and Residents Adjust as Latino Population Hits Record High in Oregon

It’s the phone cards that bring them in. But the Spanish language videos are popular too. And so are the green, white and red coconut sweets, doled out in soft, two-inch chunks.

Las Gemelas Tienda, a Mexican-style general store, sits on the west end of Springfield’s Main Street, sandwiched between a former auto parts store and a storefront for a mental health group.

It has only been open for five months. But business is good, said owner Maria Zaragoza, better than she ever expected.

“People like the store because we have things from our culture,” Zaragoza said. “They help keep Mexican customs alive.”

Inside the small store, shelves carry videos emblazoned with Spanish titles. Cans of jalapeno peppers, hominy and menudo carry Spanish labeling. Boxes of galletas (cookies) come in the same packaging as back home in Mexico.

For an estimated 2,500 Latinos, home is now Springfield, a solidly middle-class, blue-collar community.

Although half of Oregon’s Latinos live in the Portland area, Spanish-speaking communities have put down roots and gained influence in towns throughout the state.

Officials say the 2000 census will show that the population of the state’s fastest-growing minority has doubled since 1990, when it numbered 113,000.

In Springfield, the population only recently has reached a critical mass, pushing it from being a “ghost” community to having a visible and vital presence.

Today, six businesses that cater to Mexican and Spanish-speaking customers, including Las Gemelas, are established along or just off the city’s main street.

The free English classes held in the town’s public library twice a week bustle with mostly Spanish-speaking students of all ages.

A Eugene parenting group has sessions in Spanish once a week for Springfield residents. A Eugene human rights and immigrant justice group now has a Springfield branch.

The Latino population came out in force several weeks ago at St. Alice’s Catholic Church when more than 200 worshipers attended the first Spanish-language Mass held in Springfield.

Eppie Ruiz, a parishioner who helped organize the event, said the Mass was an experiment to see if enough support exists for regular services in Spanish. The turnout left no question.

“Most of the people here are from out of the country,” he said. “Their faith is very strong. To be able to find a Mass in Spanish is a tremendous lift.”

Maria Myott, owner of a longtime fabric business on Main Street, said she welcomes the influx of new faces. “They’re great. They seem like very good family people, the way they take care of their children.”

Like many other towns in rural Oregon where resident majorities have been predominantly white with shared cultural values, Springfield has struggled with opening its arms to outsiders.

In past years the community adopted a charter amendment targeting homosexuals.

Last year parents accused the Springfield School Board of ignoring their concerns about alleged racial incidents in the schools.

Zaragoza says the biggest complaint she hears from Las Gemelas’ customers isn’t about discrimination but about their interactions with police. Latinos “can’t explain to the police what has happened,” she said. “They are very frustrated.”

Springfield Police Chief Jerry Smith acknowledged that the language barrier creates problems. The 60-member police force has only two Spanish-speaking officers. Smith has been frustrated in his efforts to recruit more.

Smith said another difficulty is the common perception among Latinos that police are enemies, not advocates.

Jaime Johnson, a family liaison for Springfield schools, says it’s not only cultural conditioning but also fear of the Immigration and Naturalization Service that drives many Latinos’ fear of police. “They are afraid police might be connected to Immigration, that information will find its way to the authorities,” he said.

Smith repeatedly emphasized that the police department is not an arm of the INS and does not enforce immigration laws, but the distrust lingers. Two years ago, before Smith became chief, the department joined federal agents in an INS raid of businesses in Springfield and Eugene. The incident created a furor in the Latino community. Springfield police later apologized.

These days Springfield is reaching out to the Latino community in a variety of ways.

Last year the city held cultural sensitivity workshops for city employees. Springfield Mayor Maureen Weathers and other city officials met with local Latino leaders from Eugene and Springfield in December “to ask them what are things the city could be doing,” said Rosie Pryor, a Springfield spokeswoman.

Latino advocates say the city needs to find a way to make the Latino community aware of what services are available and how to use them.

Johnson said people in Latino cultures depend on their immediate community to take care of them, not on social service agencies. In Springfield, people need help, he said, “but they don’t know how to get it.” Springfield Latinos in need of help are directed to agencies in Eugene.

Zaragoza said Latinos are drawn to Springfield because it offers a safe place to live and the chance for parents to make a good life for their families.

Children need a mother, father, family and community to succeed, she said. And opportunities. “How many opportunities you have--that’s who you are,” she said.