Havana on the Hudson

Havana on the Hudson is a nickname for the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.[1] The name is derived from the Cuban capital Havana and from northern Hudson County's geographic proximity to the Hudson River.

During the latter half of the 20th century, Cuban émigrés and exiles left their country and relocated to Union City, West New York, and surrounding communities in search of economic opportunity and political freedom.[2] Although the area during this period became significantly influenced by Cuban culture, over the course of the decades that followed, many Cubans spread into adjacent towns and many other Hispanic groups also moved into the area, resulting in a widespread and diverse Latino culture, commerce and identity that is non-exclusive of any people of Hispanic descent,[3][4][5][6][7] though Cubans remain a powerful voting bloc.[1][8] Numerous towns on the Hudson Palisades in northern Hudson and southeast Bergen counties have populations where more than 50% of the residents are foreign-born,[9] often with a Hispanic majority.[10] Some of its towns are among the most densely populated in the U.S.,[11][12] three of which, Guttenberg, Union City, and West New York, are the top three most densely populated municipalities in New Jersey.[13]

Hudson and southeast Bergen showing percentage of Hispanic population per town
  1. ^ a b Mohka, Kavita (September 3, 2011). "Beyond Havana in Union City". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  2. ^ "Havana on the Hudson". October 20, 2012.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference clout was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Nieves, Evelyn (November 30, 1992). "Union City and Miami: A Sisterhood Born of Cuban Roots". The New York Times. Retrieved May 27, 2010.
  5. ^ Padilla, Felix; Kanellos, Nicolas (June 1994), Handbook of Hispanic Cultures in the United States: Sociology, Arte Publico Press, ISBN 1558851011
  6. ^ Marifeli Perez-Stable. "That other Cuban community". The Miami Herald. December 3, 2009.
  7. ^ Rosero, Jessica. "Most liquor licenses? Bumpiest town? Local municipalities hold unusual distinctions" Archived 2008-05-28 at the Wayback Machine, Hudson Reporter, August 27, 2006. Accessed June 25, 2007. "At one time, Union City had its own claim to fame as being the second largest Cuban community in the nation, after Miami. During the wave of immigrant exiles of the 1960s, the Cuban population that did not settle in Miami's Little Havana found its way to the north in Union City. However, throughout the years, the growing Cuban community has spread out to other regions of North Hudson."
  8. ^ Havana USA: Cuban Exiles and Cuban Americans in South Florida, 1959-1994 By María Cristina García
  9. ^ Roberts, Sam (December 14, 2010). "Region Reshaped as Immigrants Move to Suburbs". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 22, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  10. ^ "Race and Ethnicity in Hudson County, New Jersey". Statistical Atlas. Archived from the original on June 23, 2017. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  11. ^ Gonzaelz, Robbie (September 5, 2013). "Half of the U.S. lives in these 146 counties - is yours one of them?". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  12. ^ "Diversity, density and change in Hoboken and other Hudson County municipalities". Fund a Better Waterfront. September 7, 2021. Archived from the original on July 6, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  13. ^ "Population Density and New Jersey's Two Largest Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups in 2020". Rutgers University New Jersey State Policy Lab. 2022. Archived from the original on June 26, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2023.