Peruvian Americans

Peruvians in the United States

There are 435,363 Peruvian Americans as of the 2010 Census, a large figure given that most immigration has occurred in the last 30 years. Two waves of immigration preceded the late 20th century. Along with many other groups, some Peruvians flocked to San Francisco in the 1840s and early 1850s in response to the gold rush, and many remained in the country thereafter; and in the 1950s, a Peruvian American community developed in the Detroit area.

From the 1980s on, a larger number of Peruvian immigrants began to arrive, fleeing economic turmoil in Peru. They settled principally in New Jersey, Florida, and New York. Nine of the 10 communities with the highest percentage of Peruvian Americans are in New Jersey (East Newark, 10.1 percent; Harrison, 7.01 percent; Paterson, 4.72 percent; Kearny, 3.82 percent; and Prospect Park, 3.22 percent) or Florida (The Hammocks, 3.36 percent; Virginia Gardens, 3.24 percent; Bay Harbor Islands, 3.11 percent; and Doral, 2.95 percent). The remainder is in Port Chester, New York (3.3 percent).

The Peruvian consulate is located in Paterson, New Jersey, and Market Street in Paterson has been nicknamed Little Lima for the number of bodegas, travel agencies, markets, and Peruvian restaurants serving the Peruvian American community.

Peruvians are predominantly Catholic and tend to settle in areas where there is a strong Catholic community, especially a Spanish-speaking Catholic community. The church has been instrumental in helping immigrants pursue citizenship and find employment, as well as providing social networking.

Peruvian American Culture

Some elements of Peruvian culture preceded the main wave of Peruvian immigration, having been passed on to other Latino communities and then to the United States. The soda Inca Kola, for instance, is a Peruvian brand that has long been carried in Latin American grocery stores. “Kola” or “Cola” in Latin American countries more often denotes a sweet cream soda than the acid-heavy spiced colas of North America; Inca Kola was introduced in Peru in 1935 and is intensely flavored with lemon verbena. It has since become a Peruvian cultural icon. Also preceding most Peruvians is Pisco, a clear, unaged brandy developed by the Spanish colonists after they imported grape vines from the Canary Islands. Pisco remains one of the few distilled liquors made in Peru and the only one commonly exported; it has been available in the United States since at least the 19th century and in fact was once more common.

...