Bolivian Americans or Bolivia-Americans (Spanish: bolivio-americanos, norteamericanos de origen boliviano or estadounidenses de origen boliviano) are Americans of at least partial Bolivian descent. In Bolivia sometimes referred to colloquially as "gringo bolivianos" or "yanqui llocallas".
Bolivian Americans are usually those of Indigenous, Mestizo, or Spanish background but also occasionally having African, German, Croatian, Lebanese and/or Japanese heritage.
Bolivians compose the third smallest Latin American group in the United States, with a 2010 Census population of 99,210. The highest concentration resides in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, which accounts for 38% of the total Bolivian population in the United States (especially Fairfax County, Virginia).[2] Additional areas of concentration include the New York City borough of Queens, Miami-Dade County, and the cities of Los Angeles and Providence, Rhode Island. In relative terms, a large number of Bolivian-born medical doctors reside in the Chicago metropolitan area.
Bolivian immigration into the United States occurred in two significant phases. The first phase occurred during and subsequent to the 1952 National Revolution (between 1952 and the latter 1960s). Most of these immigrants consisted of middle- to upper-middle income occupational professionals or political dissidents, belonging mainly to Bolivia's European descendant community.[3] This group included many engineers, medical doctors, and academics. Some quickly organized themselves institutionally. For example, in New York City, the Bolivian American Chamber of Commerce[4] was
formed; in Chicago, the Bolivian American Medical Society was incorporated[5] ;and in Urbana, Illinois, the Bolivian Studies Journal was founded.[6]
The second notable phase of Bolivian immigration (between 1980 and 1988) was a result of Bolivia's fiscal policies in the 1970s which gave way to the hyperinflation throughout most of the 1980s. Most of these immigrants consisted of lower-income Mestizo (European/Amerindian mix) and Indigenous Bolivians obtaining work posts as service and manual laborers. Most of the Bolivian American population is of Quechua descent, with the majority of them hailing from the Valle Alto region of Cochabamba, from towns like Tarata, Arbieto, Cliza, Punata, and Tolata, with most of them living in the D.C. area.[7] They have also organized themselves into institutions. For example, in Chicago, the group Renacer Boliviano began as a caporales folk dance troupe, expanded into hosting Bolivian carnaval dinner dances in the winter and 6 de agosto barbecues in the summer, and finally has become a charitable organization that raises funds for charities in Bolivia.[8] and in northern Virginia, the Arlington Bolivian Soccer League Inc is a 501(c)3 not for profit[9] that has provided funding for erecting an equestrian statue of Esteban Arze in the Tarata town square.
Many Bolivians who emigrated to the United States came as tourists. However, many remained of indefinite way in the country, setting with family and friends. This made it difficult to know the number of Bolivians living in the United States. Between 1984 and 1993, only 4,574 Bolivians got U.S. citizenship. In this period about 457 were naturalized each year.[10]
Bolivians have settled throughout the United States, mainly in Washington D.C., California and Maryland; there are also large groups of Bolivian immigrants in Texas, New York City, New Jersey, South Florida, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Chicago, home to a community of Bolivian medical doctors and their families, most of whom originally from Cochabamba. The number of Bolivians in the U.S. in 2006 was estimated at 82,322. Most Bolivian immigrants are high school or college graduates; many work in companies or in government.[10]
Areas
A Bolivian restaurant in Falls Church, Virginia
The largest populations of Bolivians are situated in the following areas (Source: Census 2010):
Pato Hoffmann - movie and TV actor, advocate for American Indians
Markita del Carpio Landry - chemical engineer, university professor, researcher on nano materials for brain imaging and agriculture (Bolivian mother, French-Canadian father)
Jaime Laredo – Grammy Award-winning musician, violinist, conductor
Eigo, Tim. "Bolivian Americans." Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 1, Gale, 2014), pp. 319–329. online
Paz-Soldan, Edmundo. “Obsessive Signs of Identity: Bolivians in the United States.” In The Other Latinos, ed. José Luis Falconi and José Antonio Mazzoti. (Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard, 2008).
Vargas Caro, Michaela. "5 Bolivian American Creatives You Need to Know." REMEZCLA Media Company, edited by Stephany Torres online[1]
Eckels, Charlene and Aliaga, Anneli. "EXPLORING CULTURAL IDENTITIES / EXPLORANDO IDENTIDADES CULTURALES " Bolivian Express Media,[2]
Vargas Caro, Michaela. "‘Functional & Beautiful’ Lips Bolivianita Gloss" REMEZCLA Media Company, edited by Stephany Torres online[3]
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