The diversity of metro Detroit comes from various Latino countries consisting of Mexico, Honduras, Argentina, South and Central America. Particularly in southwest Detroit, non-Mexican Latinos have developed a connection with the prominent Mexican population and Mexican-American culture. Furthermore, there is no separation among the people of various Latino descents in southwest Detroit, but rather a collaborated living space. For instance, Puerto Ricans are willing to live in the Mexican-dominated Mexicantown. This living situation is unique to Detroit when comparing it to the rest of the United States. In the rest of the United States, different Latino populations reside in separate communities limiting the amount of assimilation between the cultues.
The Mexicans more than double the non-Mexican Latino population, but the Mexicans still embrace their counterparts. (Statistically Latinos from countries other than Mexico have increased slightly from 31, 000 to nearly 40,000 in 15 years while Mexicans have more than doubled from 48,000 in 1990 to 103,000 in 2005). Many Latino Americans in Michigan feel connected to Southwest Detroit even without a daily interaction to the area. All these diverse people are brought together by the basic Spanish language, the culture, and a similar set of values.
Photograph taken by Heather Dougherty