Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

has the second largest Puerto Rican community outside of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

after

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, an estimated 121,643

Puerto Ricans Puerto Ricans ( es, Puertorriqueños; or boricuas) are the people of Puerto Rico, the inhabitants, and citizens of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and their descendants. Overview The culture held in common by most Puerto Ricans is referred t ...

were living in Philadelphia, up from 91,527 in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

. Recent 2017 estimates by the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

put the number of Puerto Ricans living in Philadelphia at 134,934. In 2019, estimates put the number of Puerto Ricans at 146,153. Many Puerto Ricans in the Philadelphia area have engaged in

circular migration Circular migration or repeat migration is the temporary and usually repetitive movement of a migrant worker between home and host areas, typically for the purpose of employment. It represents an established pattern of population mobility, whether c ...

in which they spend periods of time living in Philadelphia and periods of time living in Puerto Rico.Latino Philadelphia at a Glance
"
Archive

Historical Society of Pennsylvania The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a long-established research facility, based in Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chronicles, maps, press reports and v ...

. p. 1. Retrieved on January 15, 2014.

History

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, Puerto Rican students, laborers, cigar makers, trades people, merchants, and pro-

Puerto Rican Independence Throughout the history of Puerto Rico, its inhabitants have initiated several movements to obtain independence for the island, first from the Spanish Empire from 1493 to 1898 and since then from the United States. A spectrum of pro-autonomy, ...

organizers and exiles emigrated from Puerto Rico and settled in

. The tobacco workers liked to hear hired lecturers while working in the factories, they were a self-educated group. In 1910, there were fewer than 100 Puerto Ricans in Philadelphia. In the 1920s, labor recruiters in Philadelphia focused on attracting Puerto Ricans because they were already U.S. citizens: the

Immigration Act of 1924 The Immigration Act of 1924, or Johnson–Reed Act, including the Asian Exclusion Act and National Origins Act (), was a United States federal law that prevented immigration from Asia and set quotas on the number of immigrants from the Eastern ...

had restricted immigration into the U.S.Vázquez-Hernández, p
88
In the early 20th Century, due to inexpensive housing and the proximity to employment, concentrations of Puerto Ricans moved to

Northern Liberties Northern Liberties is a neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Prior to its incorporation into Philadelphia in 1854, it was among the top 10 largest cities in the U.S. in every census from 1790 to 1850. Boundaries Northern Liberties is loc ...

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, and Spring Garden. Between 1910 and 1945 those three areas had the majority of Philadelphia Hispanophones.Vázquez-Hernández, p
90
Additional Puerto Ricans moved to Philadelphia during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, and the period between World War I and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. A mass migration from Puerto Rico to Philadelphia coincided with an industrialization Puerto Rican economy from the late 1940s to 1970. Most Puerto Ricans came from rural areas. During the period many Puerto Ricans worked in factories. Puerto Rican neighborhoods and organizations formed during the area. By the 1950s Puerto Ricans became the largest Latino and Hispanic group in Philadelphia. In the 1950s many pan-Latino areas were becoming predominately Puerto Rican. By 1954, 65% of Puerto Ricans in Philadelphia lived in three neighborhoods north of Center City. In the 1950s Puerto Ricans were settling in those three neighborhoods and two of them became no longer majority white. Spring Garden, the third, remained predominately white. In the period from 1950 to 1970 the Puerto Rican community expanded by over 60,000. By the 1960s an increase of Cubans arrived in Philadelphia, and the proportionate percentage of Puerto Ricans began to decline. Since 1970, Puerto Ricans coming to Philadelphia have originated from Puerto Rico and from communities outside of Puerto Rico including New York. Although U.S. citizens, Puerto Ricans migrating to Philadelphia encountered racism, discrimination, and limited economic opportunities, and to some extent, still do. Throughout the 1980s and '90s, the Puerto Rican community was notorious for being heavily involved in the city's drug trade. During that time, the Puerto Rican community was also the poorest of all ethnic communities in the city. Retaining strong ties to the island, they also worked hard to make a home here and build a community structure of businesses, organizations, houses of worship, and other institutions that have become the foundation of Latino life in the city. The Puerto Rican community is credited for revitalizing North 5th Street in North Philadelphia by opening numerous Puerto Rican-owned businesses, they have also done this to Kensington Avenue, and Lehigh Avenue(between 5th and Front Streets). Philadelphia is also one of the few large US cities with a significant number of middle-class Puerto Ricans, though in Philadelphia, even the middle class Puerto Ricans live in segregated communities, thus they are more visible. Philadelphia is often considered a preferred destination among Puerto Rican migrants, because of its position as a Northeastern city and its cheaper cost of living compared to other cities in the Northeast region. Throughout the 1950s, many Puerto Rican migrants settled east and west along Spring Garden Street. Puerto Ricans were not always welcome newcomers, however, and many faced prejudice and discrimination in their neighborhoods. As the Puerto Rican population continued to grow in the 1960s, it expanded east towards the Delaware River and north towards Lehigh Avenue. During the 1980s and 1990s, the Puerto Rican community grew further north into Olney and into the lower sections of the Northeast. Since 2010, Philadelphia replaced the city of Chicago as the city with the second-largest Puerto Rican population, Chicago's slightly shrunk and Philadelphia's continued to grow, more than ever before, not only having the second largest Puerto Rican population, but also one of the fastest-growing. Most sources, including the most reliable, the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, estimated that as of 2010, Puerto Ricans made up between 70-80 percent of Philadelphia's Hispanic/Latino population. Other sources put the percentage Puerto Ricans make up of Philadelphia's Hispanic population, as high as 90% and others as low as 64%. The influx of other Latino and Hispanic groups between 2000 and 2010, may have slightly decreased the proportion Puerto Ricans make up of the city's total Latino and Hispanic population. As of 2016, it was estimated that Puerto Ricans accounted for 59 percent of Philadelphia's Latino population, down from 71 percent in 2000. Nonetheless, unlike many other large northern cities, which have declining or slow-growing Puerto Rican populations, Philadelphia has one of the fastest-growing Puerto Rican populations in the country. With increased crime and unemployment in

, migration from Puerto Rico to the US mainland is at all-time highs, with

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

being the second most popular destination after Florida. Also, many Puerto Rican Americans ("Nuyoricans") are moving to Philadelphia from states like New York and New Jersey, because of the close proximity and cheaper cost of living when compared to New York City, as well as the similarly large Puerto Rican population. Between 2000 and 2010, over 40% of Puerto Ricans who moved from other US states and Puerto Rico itself to Pennsylvania, moved to the city of Philadelphia, the remaining nearly 60% moved primarily to the South Central and Eastern sections of Pennsylvania, as well as to Philadelphia suburbs. Since

Hurricane Maria Hurricane Maria was a deadly Category 5 hurricane that devastated the northeastern Caribbean in September 2017, particularly Dominica, Saint Croix, and Puerto Rico. It is regarded as the worst natural disaster in recorded history to affect ...

, there has been another huge increase in Puerto Ricans, with the Philadelphia area being among the most popular destinations outside Florida.

Geography

Philadelphia neighborhoods

Area with high concentration of PuertoRicans

Of Philadelphia's 12 Planning Analysis Sections, the ones with significant Puerto Rican populations include Upper and Lower North Philadelphia, the Kensington section, the Lower Northeast, and the Olney-Oak Lane section locally known as 'Uptown'. When Puerto Ricans first started settling in Philadelphia they came to the Spring Garden neighborhood. As of 2010, the majority of the Puerto Rican population lives in

North Philadelphia North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as everything north of either ...

, in areas east of Germantown Avenue, between Girard Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard, in fact, this area has one of the highest concentrations of Puerto Ricans in the country. Especially the blocks between 6th street and B street, north of York street and south of Erie avenue, located in the Fairhill neighborhood, these blocks have some of highest concentrations of Puerto Ricans in the country, with most blocks usually being around 85-90% Puerto Rican alone. This particular area is represented by the zip-codes 19133, 19140, and 19134, though these zip-codes heavily overlap with majority black or white neighborhoods. Fairhill has the highest concentration of Hispanics in the city, a large majority of which, are Puerto Rican. Though, there is also a large Puerto Rican population in Northeast Philadelphia, especially the Kensington section. From these areas, the Puerto Rican population is largely spreading eastward and northward, to other areas in upper North Philadelphia and the lower Northeast, and to a much lesser extent westward as well, to areas around Broad Street. Other parts of the city have smaller populations, including

Northwest Philadelphia Northwest Philadelphia is a section of the city of Philadelphia. The official boundary is Stenton Avenue to the north, the Schuylkill River to the southwest, Northwestern Avenue to the northwest, Roosevelt Boulevard to the south, and Wister Stree ...

. On a neighborhood basis, large Puerto Rican populations exist in neighborhoods like Fairhill (locally nicknamed the

Badlands Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, mi ...

Hunting Park Hunting Park is a neighborhood in the North Philadelphia section of the United States city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 2005, the 19140 ZIP code, which roughly consists of Hunting Park and Nicetown–Tioga, had a median home sale price of $3 ...

, Juniata, Harrowgate,

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensington Garden ...

, West Kensington, Hartranft, and to a lesser extent, Feltonville,

Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gov ...

, Olney, Lawncrest, Oxford Circle, Frankford, and Port Richmond. Neighborhoods in eastern North Philadelphia (like Fairhill, Hunting Park) and Kensington tend to be more segregated, with high amounts of poverty and very high percentage of Puerto Rican residents.america.aljazeera.com/articles/2016/2/17/on-drug-infested-north-philly-corners-hope-and-good-luck-come-in-a-bag.html Neighborhoods further north and northeast, like Olney, Juniata, Lawncrest, and Oxford Circle, tend to be more mixed with large numbers of middle class and working class households, and high integration especially between Puerto Ricans/Hispanics and Blacks.

Surrounding metropolitan area

Many smaller cities in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, also have large Puerto Rican populations. This includes

Norristown Norristown may mean: * Norristown, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Norristown, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Norristown, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Norristown, Pennsylvania Norristown is a municipality with home ...

, Coatesville, and

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

in Pennsylvania, and

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 20 ...

and

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Unami language, Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North ...

. Other cities in Southeast Pennsylvania,

South Jersey South Jersey comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey located between the lower Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of South Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquialism rather than an administrativ ...

, and

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

with large Puerto Rican populations, however, are not counted as part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area. There's also a growing number of middle-class Puerto Rican families in the Philadelphia area, especially in Camden County, with many families who can afford to move from impoverished areas of

and the Camden to better off places like Pennsauken for example. Despite the moderately high segregation in the metropolitan area, there are significant Puerto Rican populations scattered throughout the city of Philadelphia and many of the surrounding smaller cities and suburbs. Puerto Ricans represent about 4.5% of the Philadelphia metropolitan area as a whole and 60% of Metro Philly's Latinos, making up the majority of Latinos inside and outside of the city.

Institutions

By the 1950s and into the 1960s and 1970s Puerto Ricans became the leaders of Latino and Hispanic community organizations, which been founded and previously operated by Spaniards and Cubans. By 2005 most of the leadership was still Puerto Rican.Vázquez-Hernández, p
8889

Recreation

There is an annual Puerto Rican Day Parade held in Philadelphia, in late September.Annual Puerto Rican Day Parade

Archive
. City of Philadelphia. Retrieved on 15 January 2014.

Notable Puerto Ricans from the Philadelphia area

This is a list of notable Puerto Ricans from the Philadelphia region, including

/Southeast Pennsylvania,

, and

, all of which have areas with large numbers of Puerto Ricans. *

Quiara Alegría Hudes Quiara Alegría Hudes (born 1977) is an American playwright, producer, lyricist and essayist. She is best known for writing the book for the musical ''In the Heights,'' and screenplay for its film adaptation. Hudes' first play in her ''Elliot Tri ...

- playwright and composer *

Eddie Alvarez Edward "Eddie" Alvarez (born January 11, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Lightweight (170 lb) division of ONE Championship. He also formerly competed in the UFC and Bellator MMA, winning world titles ...

- mixed martial artist *

Obie Bermúdez Obie Bermúdez (born January 10, 1981) is a Puerto Rican Latin pop, salsa singer and composer. Early years Bermúdez was born in Aibonito, Puerto Rico into a family who loved music. His father and grandfather were both musicians. He received ...

- salsa artist * Pedro Cortés - politician * Nelson Diaz - politician * Danny "Swift" García - boxer *

Reagan Gomez-Preston Reagan Amyre Gomez-Preston (born April 24, 1980) is an American television, film and voice actress. She is known for her roles as Zaria Peterson on The WB sitcom '' The Parent 'Hood'' (1995–1999) and Roberta Tubbs on the FOX animated comed ...

- actress *

Reggie Jackson Reginald Martinez Jackson (born May 18, 1946) is an American former professional baseball right fielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Cali ...

- baseball player *

Héctor Andrés Negroni Colonel Héctor Andrés Negroni (born January 30, 1938) is a United States Air Force officer, historian, senior aerospace defense executive, author, and the first Puerto Rican graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. He was commissioned ...

- Colonel (Ret.)

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

. *

Claudette Ortiz Claudette Ortiz (born July 21, 1981) is an American singer, model and television personality, best known as a member of the R&B trio City High. Ortiz also was a castmate in TV One's reality series '' R&B Divas: Los Angeles''. Biography Early li ...

- R&B artist * María Inés Ortiz - U.S. soldier *

Sam Parrilla Samuel Parrilla Monges (June 12, 1943 – February 9, 1994) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball left fielder and pinch hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, in . He played in Minor League Base ...

- baseball player for Philadelphia Phillies * Roberto A. Rivera-Soto - former Associate Judge *

Gabriel Rosado Gabriel Rosado (born January 14, 1986) is an American professional boxer who challenged twice for a middleweight world title in 2013. Hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rosado is part of the city's large Puerto Rican community. Renowned f ...

- boxer *

Juan R. Torruella Juan Rafael Torruella del Valle Sr. (June 7, 1933October 26, 2020) was a Puerto Rican jurist. He served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit from 1984 until his death, and as chief judge of ...

- politician * Pedro "Peedi Crakk" Zayas - rapper

References

* Whalen, Carmen Teresa. ''From Puerto Rico to Philadelphia: Puerto Rican Workers and Postwar Economies''.

Temple University Press Temple University Press is a university press founded in 1969 that is part of Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). It is one of thirteen publishers to participate in the Knowledge Unlatched pilot, a global library consortium approach ...

, 2001. , 9781566398367. * Vázquez-Hernández, Víctor. "From Pan-Latino Enclaves to a Community:Puerto Ricans in Philadelphia, 1910-2000" (Chapter 4). In: Whalen, Carmen Teresa and Víctor Vázquez-Hernández (editors). ''The Puerto Rican Diaspora: Historical Perspectives''.

, 2005. , 9781592134144.

Notes

External links

Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha for Everyone
(APM) {{Ethnicity in Philadelphia Ethnic groups in Philadelphia Hispanic and Latino American culture in Pennsylvania