by Robert Foehl

Created on: July 11, 2008

The quiet town of Simi Valley, California, boasts a population of almost 65,000 people. While I did not grow up here, this is the place that I currently call home. The diversity of peoples in this town is subtle, a little over 80% of the population is white. Of the remaining 20%, Hispanic or Latino peoples comprise 18%, with other minorities making up the remaining 2% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000a). When looked at by themselves, these numbers do not represent the diversity in ethnicity that Southern California possesses. When we zoom out to look at Ventura County, the Hispanic and Latino peoples represent over 33% of the population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000b). Look also at neighboring Los Angeles County and the Hispanic and Latino population jumps to almost 45% made up of over 4.2 million people (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000c). The changes in the local community reflect the ongoing changes in Southern California as a growing population of Hispanic and Latino peoples are approaching majority status.

As you drive down Los Angeles Avenue, the main street that runs the length of Simi Valley, it is increasingly rare that you can go more than a couple of blocks without seeing signs in Spanish or a Hispanic market. Mercado Numero Uno, has become one of my favorite Hispanic markets and has been an ever increasing stopping point for me in preparing for a Saturday barbeque. Usually when I go in to the market, I am the only non-Hispanic person in the store. With the growing Hispanic population in our small town, there is still some separation between the cultures along with an almost accustomed adherence to daily habits and locations. This includes even things such as markets and restaurants.

Television and Media

With a growing Hispanic and Latino population in Southern California, changes in lifestyle and surrounding areas have evolved over the last three decades. Television is one example of this. Back when I was growing up we only had 13 channels on television and all the programs were in English. On Sunday evenings usually after 10:00pm on the local station, a Spanish newscast would air. As time went by, the channels expanded from 13 to 60 and finally a 24 hour Spanish station was included in. As the channels have expanded so have the non-English stations. Filipino, Asian, and Hispanic broadcasting stations have grown in numbers and channels as the years have passed by.

There has also been an increase in Hispanic and Latino reporters in both the local news and local newspapers.

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