THE EMERGENCE AND GROWTH OF LATINO ETHNICITY IN CHICAGO

This study elucidates the process by which the idea of Latino has become another form of group identity and consciousness among Puerto Ricans and Mexican-Americans in Chicago. I used a structured interview schedule to gather the data for the study. In all, 34 leaders of community organizations were interviewed.;The study's conclusion is that the boundaries which define the Latino ethnic group are the patterns of contact and interaction and related interface institutions or organizations used for the coalescing and organizing of the Spanish-speaking. The language similarities shared by the groups represent the markers used to enclose them into one Latino ethnic group.;One finding was that Latino ethnicity is socially constructed by these leaders as a strategic possibility peculiarly suited to the requirements of political and social mobilization in the larger society. Second, the Latino ethnic identity is a contextual or situational phenomenon. It is created during those situations when the concerns of the groups are the same. Latino ethnicity is operative in the social situations surrounding the political interests of this population.