TRANSNATIONAL URBAN LATINIZATION

THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF MIGRANT GROUPS

BY LR

For many years now, Latinos have been finding themselves migrating and using their culture to impact their new homes. From the types of establishments present in these new places to the commodities which drive their economies, it is clear that Latinos have had a very significant effect on the space surrounding them. Newburgh, New York is by no means an exception. It is described as a melting pot, being home to a wide array of cultures and customs. Newburgh is specifically known for housing a very large concentration of Central Americans and Mexicans. I’ve lived in Newburgh for 8 years and have had very close interactions with the Mexican population, which is why I would like to focus on them for this post. Speaking from personal experience, I can attest to the fact that Mexicans as a group are seen as holding little to no power. One would often dismiss a Mexican individual as “weak” based on personal prejudice and/or their legal status. It is with this in mind that I wonder how small undocumented Mexican groups find themselves becoming major global players? In this blogpost I argue that these groups are able to benefit from transnationalism and influence very important aspects of life in their native countries.

Now, I would like to clarify that I obviously believe Mexicans have some type of influence over Newburgh. One would just need to take a stroll through the city and see the plethora of Mexican restaurants next to the countless “Mexican bodegas” in order to realize their importance. What I am saying is that they’re seen as holding little political power when it comes to major decisions. After watching The Sixth Section by Alex Rivera, I can see how this is a very big misconception. The documentary shows the lives of several Mexican immigrants who create the Grupo Union as a tool to invest in their native town of Boqueron. I’ve interacted with many members of Grupo Union without even knowing that such an entity existed. How do you go from anonimity to making a difference in a whole different country? This occurs due to the emergence of transnationalism. Transnationalism is when different countries are linked through the production process and share series of networks (i.e.- Law firms, internet, banking, etc…) (Sassen 2000). This is very clear throughout most of newburgh, in which many stores advertise the sending of money to different Latin American countries. Newburgh is also home to many factories of Latin American firms. It is obvious this accessibility makes it easy to have interactions between nations. These individuals are also able to achieve all of this by outsmarting the current system. “They are managing to leverage that power across the border and, in a way, reversing the dynamic of what we’ve seen over and over again of globalization, which is U.S. capital exploiting the weakness of foreign currency, exploiting the low wages in other countries” (Decena 2006). These individuals use the strength of the American currency to “organize here but to excercise their power there” (Decena 2006).  

Grupo Union is able to save up money and with it have an immense effect on Boqueron. They built a stadium, bought an ambulance, made changes to the infrastructure of a school, etc… Their altruistic actions even caught the attention of the government who decided to invest in Boqueron after seeing the attention being paid to it. These few “common folks” were able to shape this town to the point where a local governor got to know of them and was forced to participate in their activities. It is incredible the difference these few men are making in such a short amount of time and with such limited resources. The truth is that economic importance of Latin American firms and networks such as the internet made it easier for Grupo Union and many other small migrant groups to have an impact outside of U.S. borders. No matter how small you are, our current society is so interconnected that you can have an effect on another country no matter how limited your assets.

WORKS CITED:

Decena, Carlos Ulises, and Margaret Gray. "Putting Transnationalism to Work." 2006.

Accessed March 27, 2016. https://blackboard.albany.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1951496-dt-content-rid-8928134_1/courses/2159-ALCS-283-10080/decena_sixth_section_2006.pdf.

Sassen, S. (2000). Cities in a world economy (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Pine

Forge Press.

   

  

STRUGGLING FOR SPACE, CREATING ETHNIC/RACIAL URBAN CULTURES

BUY MY MIX TAPE?

BY E.S.

Hip-hop. Rap. We all know it. Some of us love it. But regardless of our opinions on the matter, it has definitely had an impact on American culture, specifically New York City culture. Hip-hop culture is not confined to rap music, it also encompasses graffiti and breakdancing (Rose), but I will be focusing on the rap music created by artists from Queens County. For those of you that don’t know, New York City is comprised of five boroughs, or counties: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, the Bronx, and Queens. The main question is, how has hip-hop music helped to create urban space in Queens, New York?  In their early days, hip-hop clubs were the epitome of urban space. With fewer and fewer people going to such clubs nowadays, the urban space has been modified.  Before all of this, there was a period of “white flight” from New York City to Long Island that led many neighborhoods in Queens to become largely populated by minorities. While the minority majority sounds ironic, it is true. Racial and ethnic minorities now occupy neighborhoods that were once mostly occupied by whites.  Like any group that is mostly in contact with other ingroup members, culture begins to develop as it did in the black community in Queens. Hip-hop culture was just one of many cultures that came from ethnic enclaves in Queens.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Queens_neighborhoods_map.png

Many of the rappers that we know today have their roots in Queens. For example, Ja Rule, LL Cool J, and Run DMC are all from the fairly urban neighborhood of Hollis. Other rappers like 50 Cent, Waka Flocka Flame, and Nicki Minaj are from the more urban neighborhood of Southside Jamaica.  These are just a few of the many rap and hip-hop artists to come from Queens. During the 1980s and 1990s, LL Cool J and Run DMC were topping the charts with hits like “Christmas in Hollies” (Run DMC), “Sucker M.C.’s” (Run DMC), “Around The Way Girl” (LL Cool J), and “I Need Love” (LL Cool J). Rappers like these paved the way for hip-hop culture to evolve. Over the past thirty to forty years, hip-hop has changed and with it, the urban space of Queens.

The success of many artists from the borough has created an environment in which everyone believes they can make it big. On many major street corners in Jamaica, Queens Village, Bayside, and other neighborhoods, you will see people promoting their mix tapes and C.D.s. Artists like 50 Cent, Waka Flocka, and Nicki Minaj go to show that anyone can become successful if the conditions are right. Many of these self-proclaimed rappers that are selling their mix tapes on street corners are producing urban space and using it at the same time. In the actual act of selling these mix tapes on street corners urban space is created. Each individual person that does this is creating an environment in which different behaviors become acceptable. These behaviors are what I believe define urban space. Even though the specific behaviors are important to the creation of urban space, I believe that the history of the space is equally as important. The aforementioned history of white flight created the environment in which this conduct could flourish. While it may seem like an insignificant thing, selling mix tapes has added to hip-hop culture in a way that could not have been foreseen.

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Works Cited:

Chang, Jeff. Can't stop won't stop: A history of the hip-hop generation. Macmillan, 2007.

Rose, Tricia. Black noise: Rap music and black culture in contemporary America. Wesleyan, 1994.