Centro Journal ISSN: 1538-6279 [email protected] The City University of New York Estados Unidos
Firpo, Julio Raúl Annotated Bibliography on Sources Regarding Puerto Ricans in Central Florida Centro Journal, vol. XXII, núm. 1, 2010, pp. 286-297 The City University of New York New York, Estados Unidos
Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=37721077012
How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative CENTRO Journal Annotated Bibliography a nnot ted Volume7 xx11 Number 1 s p r i n g 2010 This annotated bibliography is a work in progress. It aims to provide future researchers with a consolidated list of works pertaining to Puerto Ricans within the Central Florida region. It contains works that regard Puerto Ricans in Central Florida, especially in terms of migration. The list is divided between primary sources and secondary sources. It is far from complete, but is meant to be a springboard for future studies. The format of the annotated bibliography follows that of CENTRO Journal. b i liogr a phy Primary Sources
Annotated Bibliography Oral History Collections on Sources Regarding Puerto Ricans in Central Florida 1940s to 1980s: A History. Oral History Collection, completed 28 Feb 2009, digital recordings, Orange County History Center, Puerto Ricans in Orlando. This collection comprises oral history interviews from Puerto Ricans who Central Florida moved to Central Florida between the 1940s and 1980s, with a few exceptions from the 1990s. Directed by Patricia Silver and Natalie Underberg, the project aimed at discovering the reasons why Puerto Ricans decided to settle in Central Florida. The interviews were conducted between March 2008 and February 2009 with seventy-seven interviewees and about eighty interview hours recorded. Ju l i o Ra ú l Fi r p o The interviewees discuss the how and why they moved to Central Florida, the challenges they faced when they arrived, and their insights as to what puertorriqueñidad, or “Puerto Ricanness,” means to them. These interviews are planned to be housed in the Orange County Regional History Center and the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at CUNY.
Newspapers
El Nuevo Día-Orlando This newspaper is the Orlando edition of El Nuevo Día, the most widely read newspaper on the island of Puerto Rico. The Orlando edition ran from September 2, 2003, to August 29, 2008. On November 13, 2006, it began free distribution until its final copy in August 2008. It is not stored in any public archives.
Orlando Sentinel The Orlando Sentinel is the primary newspaper for Orlando. Its publication history dates back to 1876. It is archived online at their website. Abstracts are available for free, but viewing full documents requires a fee. More details can be found in the following link:
La Prensa Founded by Dr. Manuel A. Toro, La Prensa’s first publication was on August 21st, 1981. Originally only sixteen pages, La Prensa is the longest-standing Spanish language newspaper in Central Florida. It continues to be printed weekly and is distributed not only in Orlando but in Kissimmee, as well as other regions in
[ 286 ] [ 287 ] Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties. It covered many of the top and local stories, such as the expansions of Disney World and Universal Studios, the Challenger disaster, and the explosion at Chernobyl. It also reported on Latin American topics, ranging from local Hispanic celebrations to events occurring in Central and South America. Its full collection can be found at La Prensa’s main office: 685 S. Ronald Reagan Blvd, Longwood, Florida, 32750. It also hosts a website:
El Sentinel A weekly bilingual newspaper from the Orlando Sentinel began distributing August 11, 2001. Introduced for the growing Hispanic population in Central Florida, it contains news, opinion, lifestyle, religion, and sports. The newspaper also has a corresponding website:
Newspaper Articles
Binette, Chad. 2005. Orlando Area May Become ‘Next Mecca’ for Puerto Rican Migration. East Orlando Sun 5-11 October: B-14. Binette overviews a local community event hosted by the UCF Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies program, in which the university invited professor Jorge Duany to speak on how Orlando is becoming the “next Mecca” for Puerto Ricans leaving Puerto Rico.
Cortés, Marcela. 2005. Boricuas prefieren Florida a Nueva York. El Nuevo Día- Orlando 4 March: 6. Cortés specifically covers the shift in the Puerto Rican migration from New York toward Central Florida and Orlando, evidently due to the Central Florida Hispanic community being in a better overall economical, political, and social state.
Delgado, Dora. 1986. New Agency Will Guide Hispanic Entrepreneurs. Orlando Sentinel 5 October: B-2. Delgado talks about the opening of the Orlando chapter of the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce, the second in Florida after Miami.
Delgado, José. 2001. Clave la fuerza boricua en Florida. El Nuevo Día 31 December: 36. Delgado reports on the voting power Puerto Ricans hold vis-à-vis statewide elections, having major numbers behind President Bill Clinton in 1996, Governor Jeb Bush in 1998, and presidential candidate Al Gore in 2000.
Denton, John. 2006. Arroyo Magic for Orlando Fans. ESPN.com, 22 October. Retrieved from
[ 288 ] Duany, Jorge. 2005. Los ‘florirricans.’ El Nuevo Día 9 March. a nnot ted Duany provides a historic overview of the Puerto Rican migration to Florida. He begins with the Puerto Rican migrant workers who relocated to south Florida in the 1940s and those who came later on. He then focuses on the migration toward Orlando beginning in the 1960s and the influence the migration had on the metropolitan region.
______. 2009. La Nueva Meca Boricua. El Nuevo Día 12 March. b i liogr a phy Duany highlights the “Puerto Ricans in Central Florida 1940s to 1980s: A History” exhibit (formed from the oral history collection mentioned at the beginning of this annotated bibliography) being displayed in Orange and Osceola county libraries. He further explains the reasons why Puerto Ricans began migrating to Orlando and Central Florida.
Friedman, Robert. 2001. Florida Now 2nd Most Populous P.R. State. The San Juan Star 28 May: 6-7. Friedman compares the growth of Central Florida’s Puerto Rican population to Miami’s Cuban population, detailing their influence on American national policies toward Puerto Rico’s status and legislation.
______. 2004. P.R. Vote in Florida Seen as Crucial in ’04. The San Juan Star 15 March: 5. Friedman points to the Interstate 4 corridor as “the state’s most contested political battleground” with Puerto Ricans being in the center of the clash for the 2004 presidential election. According to the Census, there were 320,658 eligible Puerto Rican voters in the region.
Glaton, Dahleen. 2000. Hispanics Turn Florida into More of a Swing State. The Chicago Tribune 26 November: 17. Dahleen reports on how campaign volunteers began aiming at Florida’s Hispanics for the 2000 presidential election, including the “largely Democratic Puerto Ricans in Orlando,” who were the largest Hispanic group outside the Cuban population in Miami.
Harris, Melissa. 2003. A Day to Celebrate. Orlando Sentinel 6 October: B-1. Harris covers the Orlando Puerto Rican Day Parade celebrated the day before on Sunday, October 7, 2003. 15,000 local Puerto Ricans participated in the festival.
Hernández Cruz, Juan. 2002. La emigración puertorriqueña a Florida y el ‘Mundo maravilloso de Disney.’ Diálogo (August): 29. Hernández Cruz explains that younger Puerto Ricans are moving to the “Wonderful World of Disney” in Central Florida. Many of the typical characteristics in the Puerto Rican diaspora still exist, such as poor Puerto Ricans facing discrimination in Central Florida.
Jacobson, Susan. 2003. Battle Over Becoming a City Barely Stirs Buenaventura Lakes Residents. Orlando Sentinel 3 November: B-1. Jacobson points out that the Buenaventura Lakes community is home to one of the highest concentration of Hispanics in the nation, but very few residents are involved in the conflict over the community’s unincorporated status in Osceola County.
[ 289 ] Krueger, Jill. 1999. Puerto Rican Chamber Makes Deal to Grow.” Orlando Business Journal 17 September. Retrieved from
Kunerth, Jeff and Dan Tracy. 2005. Where Are We Going? Orlando Sentinel 6 December: A-1, A-14. Kunerth and Tracy notice that, in 2005, Central Florida was one of the fastest growing regions in the United States with Americans, including Puerto Ricans, coming from all parts of the country, and leaving Central Floridians wondering what will the New Orlando become.
Kunerth, Jeff and Víctor Manuel Ramos. 2007. As Local Hispanic Summit Nears, Poll Shows Split on Immigration. Orlando Sentinel 17 June. Kunerth and Ramos investigates a new poll released a week before the Hispanic Summit in Orlando. It shows that whites found immigrants as “a threat to the future” while Hispanics saw them as “an asset to society…eager to assimilate to American society and learn English.” The article displays the schism between Central Florida residents over the immigration debate.
Marquez, Myriam. 2000. Robert Guevara Made a Difference, Set Path for Others to Follow. Orlando Sentinel 13 April. Marquez provides a biography on Robert Guevara, the first Puerto Rican to become an Osceola County Commissioner, who died in April 2000. Guevara not only focused on Hispanic issues but on county-wide problems and solutions, such as juvenile crime and code enforcement.
Martínez-Fernández, Luis. 2004. The Hispanic Vote: Is There Such a Thing? Orlando Sentinel 14 October: A-15. Martínez-Fernández takes issue with the overly simplistic view that there is just one overarching Hispanic vote, as if Hispanics were incapable of discerning issues and politicians but instead were focusing on parties. He further argues that John Kerry’s approach with Hispanics was flawed and led to his downfall with Hispanics from both southern and southwestern states.
______. 2004. Orlando: The Puerto Rican Frontier. Orlando Sentinel 16 December: A-23. With Orlando estimated at having more Puerto Ricans than any of Puerto Rico’s municipalities (the exception being greater San Juan), Martínez-Fernández elaborates on many reasons behind the growth of the Puerto Rican population in Central Florida.
[ 290 ] ______. 2005. Orlando Develops Hispanic Accent. Orlando Sentinel 26 July: A-9. a nnot ted Martínez-Fernández goes through the year from August 2004 to July 2005, highlighting new programs and events in Central Florida that acknowledge and aid the growing Hispanic population.
______. 2005. Radio: Another Conquest of Orlando. Orlando Sentinel 9 February: A-17. Martínez-Fernández comments on how Clear Channel Communications Inc. converted
an oldies FM radio station to “La Rumba,” a Latino-oriented Spanish language station. b i liogr a phy The article covers some of the reactions from faithful listeners before and after the change. He further dwells on the Latinization process Orlando is going through.
Milligan, Susan. 2000. In Florida, Different Latino Group Now in Mix. Puerto Rico Herald 30 October. Retrieved from
Oliver-Méndez, Ken. 2002. Welcome to Orlando, Puerto Rico. Caribbean Business 29 August. Retrieved from
______. 2005. Puerto Ricans Like What Central Florida Offers. Orlando Sentinel 24 July: A-15. Oliver-Méndez lists several reasons Puerto Ricans supply for moving from Puerto Rico to Central Florida: better healthcare, economic opportunities, better education for their children, and the perception of less crime.
Pacheco, Walter. 2001. State Hispanic Chamber Conference Comes to Life. El Sentinel 18 August. Pacheco writes about the first annual convention of the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, held in Orlando. Founded by Julio Fuente, the chamber had over 7,000 members from across the state and ten affiliated chambers from various Floridian cities.
Padilla, María T. 2001. Minorities’ TV Presence Draws Fire. Orlando Sentinel 31 January: D-1. Padilla coveres the National Puerto Rican Coalition’s request from NBC not to show an episode of Law & Order focusing on the quagmire that occurred after the 2000 Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City. The author, a Central Florida Puerto Rican, provides her reflection on the issue.
______. 2001. Puerto Ricans Stream Into Central Florida. Orlando Sentinel 24 May: A-1. Padilla looks at both the Hispanic and Asian communities and how the ethnic minorities developed from 1990 to 2000. She states that there was a 182 percent increase in the Puerto Rican population in Central Florida.
[ 291 ] Postal, Leslie, and Tania de Luzuriaga. 2004. Teaching English to Puerto Ricans Is Put to Test. Orlando Sentinel 26 April. Postal and de Luzariaga discuss the debate raging in Florida’s school systems over teaching English to non-native speakers. Puerto Ricans in Central Florida are at the forefront of the debate due to their prevalence in the region and their history throughout the United States with learning English through public schools.
Puerto Rico Herald. 2004. Puerto Rican Vote May Determine Presidential Election. 5 March. Retrieved from
Ramos, Víctor Manuel. 2006. Between 2 Worlds. Orlando Sentinel 5 February: A-1, A-16. Ramos analyzes young Puerto Ricans in Central Florida struggling to find their identity between two cultures, their Latin American roots and their Floridian surroundings.
______. 2005. Events Honor Hispanic Heritage. Orlando Sentinel 16 September: B-3. Ramos reports on the emerging Latin American Studies program at the University of Central Florida, which began hosting various events throughout Hispanic Heritage Month. The events ranged from art exhibitions to musical concerts and dances.
______. 2004. Hispanics Emerge as Area’s Top Minority. Orlando Sentinel 1 October: A-1, A-10. Ramos highlights the fact that Hispanics have become the largest minority in Central Florida, and the article further explains the significance of the Latino population in the region.
______. 2006. Hispanics Pump $16 Billion into Central Florida Region. Orlando Sentinel 3 March: 1, 17. Ramos indicates that Hispanics have not only increased the population numbers of Central Florida, but the economic growth as well. It was estimated that Hispanics’ contributions to the region’s economy would reach past $20 million within two years.
______. 2005. Radio Tunes in Cultural Uproar. Orlando Sentinel 4 February: A-1, A-17. Ramos covers the conversion of the oldies station 100.3 FM to “La Rumba,” a Spanish language radio station that played primarily salsa, merengue, and reggaeton music. The station’s conversion led to an angry reaction from former station listeners.
Sabulis, Thomas. 1981. Mid-Florida Gets More of Latin Accent. Orlando Sentinel 3 May: A-1. Sabulis writes about the increasing Hispanic population in the greater Orlando region. He also writes about the issues with the census used in Orlando in 1970. The article also covers the issues with the 1970 Census regarding Hispanics who speak English as their first language.
[ 292 ] Santos-Berry, Laura. 1981. Latin Presence Grows in Orlando. Orlando Sentinel 12 a nnot ted December: A-1. Santos-Berry discusses the increase in Latin population and its accompanying impact on the region. Her article includes a look at the origins of the migrating Puerto Ricans: “And unlike South Florida Latins who came mainly from Cuba, Hispanics are arriving in Orlando from all directions – Puerto Rico, Central America, the northeastern United States and South Florida, especially Miami.” b i liogr a phy Silva, Mark. 2001. Jeb Bush Pursues Orlando’s Hispanics. Orlando Sentinel 24 August: A-9. Silva mentions Gov. Jeb Bush aimed to gather support from Central Florida’s Puerto Rican community by holding fund-raising events in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and visiting Orlando on several occasions to garner favor from the Hispanic group.
______. 2002. Church Sanctuary Is Center of Political Battleground. Orlando Sentinel 13 August: B-1. Silva reports on how Centro Cristiano Restauración was the church Gov. Jeb Bush chose to visit during his campaigning for reelection. Centro Cristiano Restauracion was an east Orlando evangelical church whose congregation was predominantly Hispanic.
Story, Louise. 2001. Hispanos de Osceola son como un gigante soñoliento. El Sentinel, 11 August. Story talks about the high numbers of Puerto Ricans residing in Osceola County and in Kissimmee specifically, as well as their lack of representation in the local government. Several local Puerto Ricans claim that it simply a matter of time until Puerto Rican voter participation explodes.
Thomas, Ken. 2004. Florida Hispanics Targeted During Upcoming Elections. Havana Journal 9 March. Retrieved from < http://havanajournal.com/cuban_ americans/entry/florida_hispanics_targeted_during_upcoming_elections/ >. Thomas covers the shift in Puerto Rican political preferences in Central Florida. Puerto Ricans typically voted for Democratic candidates, until they aided Gov. John “Jeb” Bush in 1998 and State Rep. John Quinones in 2002. The latter’s district is within Osceola County.
Secondary Sources
Published Works
Boswell, Thomas D. 1998. Implications of Demographic Changes in Florida’s Public School Population. In Creating Florida’s Multilingual Global Work Force: Educational Policies and Practices for Students Learning English as a New Language, eds. S. H. Fradd and O. Lee. Tallahassee, FL: Florida Department of Education. Retrieved from
[ 293 ] Duany, Jorge. 2006. Más allá de ‘El Barrio:’ la diáspora puertorriqueña hacia la Florida. Nueva Sociedad 201 (Jan-Feb): 73–89. Studying the recent influx of Puerto Ricans to Florida, Jorge Duany identifies the socioeconomic characteristics, race, identity, political affiliations, and cultural practices of the demographic. This work is in Spanish.
Flores Dumont, Luis A. 2009. Suburbios soberbios: Apuntes sobre la condición contemporánea de emigración puertorriqueña a Orlando. Polimorfo 1: 40–5. Flores Dumont contrasts Puerto Rican and Central Floridian suburbs. Puerto Rico’s suburbs remained stagnant for over fifty years while suburbs in Central Florida epitomize the American Dream for many Puerto Ricans, a dream that could not be found in a residential space on the island. The essay is a part of a collection that focuses on Puerto Ricans in Orlando. Featured in the first issue of Polimorfo, it is published in both Spanish and English.
Lamba Nieves, Deepak. 2009. Un verano en Orlando: Reflexiones sobre un viaje. Polimorfo 1: 26–31. Lamba Nieves summarizes the Puerto Rican migration toward Orlando. The essay begins with a brief overview of Puerto Ricans moving to Florida, with Puerto Ricans relocating to Orlando as a means to escape the overpopulation caused by Operation Bootstrap. The essay is a part of a collection that focuses on Puerto Ricans in Orlando; it is featured in the first issue of Polimorfo and has been published in both Spanish and English.
López Dinardi, Marcelo. 2009. …exit 75B…¡esa era!, ¡Mierda, nos pasamos!... Polimorfo 1: 18–25. López Dinardi argues that many Puerto Ricans moved to Orlando believing that Orlando was a better city as opposed to living in a Puerto Rican city. The essay compares Orlando’s urban expansion, schooling options, and neighborhood safety to the island. The essay is a part of a collection that focuses on Puerto Ricans in Orlando. Featured in the first issue of Polimorfo, it is published in both Spanish and English.
Oliver Didier, Oscar. 2009. Un breve escape al urbanismo del súper-pretexto. Polimorfo 1: 32–9. Oliver Didier analyzes how the cities of Dubai and Orlando epitomize escapism for visitors, and presents “the urbanism of the pretext.” He argues vis-à-vis Orlando that this deception is not only institutionalized, but also embraced by Puerto Ricans who visit or move to the city, thus becoming the superlative pretext: “a super-pretext.” The essay is a part of a collection that focuses on Puerto Ricans in Orlando and is featured in the first issue of Polimorfo. It is written in both Spanish and English.
Olmedo, Irma M. 1997. Voices of Our Past: Using Oral History To Explore Funds of Knowledge within a Puerto Rican Family. Anthropology & Education Quarterly 28(4): 550–73. Olmedo discusses oral histories she took with Puerto Rican family members who reside in Orlando, chronicling their journey and the reasons why they came. She uses it as an example of how teachers can use oral histories in the classroom to teach students about (im)migration and social processes.
[ 294 ] Sánchez, Luis. 2009. The New Puerto Rico?: Identity, Hybridity, and Transnationalism a nnot ted within the Puerto Rican Diaspora in Orlando, Florida. Saarbrücken, Germany: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller. A book version of Sánchez’s dissertation. Sánchez explores the Puerto Rican population in Orlando in context, showing how the Puerto Rican migration to Florida affected the greater diaspora. Sánchez further analyzes the identity of Puerto Ricans born in Orlando; and how they fit into puertorriqueñidad, or “Puerto Ricanness.” b i liogr a phy Whalen, Carmen Teresa. 2005. Colonialism, Citizenship, and the Making of the Puerto Rican Diaspora: An Introduction. In The Puerto Rican Diaspora: Historical Perspectives, eds. Carmen Teresa Whalen and Víctor Vázquez- Hernández. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. In this introductory essay, Whalen overviews the Puerto Rican diaspora from the turn of the nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth century. Whalen mentions factors that led to Puerto migration to the U.S. mainland, including statistics that cover the state of Florida.
Dissertations, Theses and Reports
Byrant, Ronald M. 1983. Images of Puerto Rican Parents and Anglo-American Teachers Toward Five Bilingual Elementary Schools in Orange County, Florida.” Ed.D. diss. Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton. Through a study conducted in Orange County, Bryant gathered the perceptions Puerto Rican parents held toward five bilingual schools their children were enrolled in, and compared it with images held by the Anglo-American teachers who taught at the schools. Byrant concludes there were no major differences.
Cardona Meléndez, Cynthia. 2007. The Emergence of Central Florida’s Puerto Rican Community. M.A. thes., University of Central Florida. Cardona Meléndez’s thesis covers how Puerto Ricans underwent the same issues other immigrant groups suffer when arriving in the United States. The end of the manuscript covers the developing Puerto Rican community in Orlando, based primarily on interviews from local Puerto Rican key figures.
Concepción Torres, Ramón Luis. 2008. Puerto Rican Migration, Settlement Patterns, and Assimilation in the Orlando MSA. M.A. thes., Binghamton University. Concepción Torres establishes four Puerto Rican enclaves that developed in the past three decades, formulating reasons why Puerto Rican migration increased in the Orlando metropolitan area. He analyzes Puerto Ricans’ income, education, household type, occupation, and language spoken at home and how these characteristics factor into their success in the Orlando metropolitan area.
Duany, Jorge and Félix V. Matos-Rodríguez. 2006. Puerto Ricans in Orlando and Central Florida. New York: Centro de Estudios Puertoriquenos. Duany and Matos-Rodríguez build off their preliminary summit report, “Puerto Ricans in Orlando and Central Florida: A Preliminary Assessment.” The report expands on the history of the Puerto Rican migration to Central Florida, the changing settlement patterns, and shifts in both socioeconomic statuses and political affiliations. The authors further analyze the changes in Puerto Rican identity throughout the region.
[ 295 ] They conclude with potential new research prospects. It can be found at:
Eichenberger, Susan E. 2003. Where Two or More Are Gathered: The Inclusion of Puerto Ricans in Multiethnic Latino Parishes in Southeastern United States. Ph.D. diss. University of Florida. Through much primary research, Eichenberger discusses the newly formed Puerto Rican population in southeastern states in catholic parishes in the United States. She utilizes Orlando as a case study for her research.
Navarro, Lydia E. 2004. Lost Identity and Silent Voices: The Academic Struggles of At-risk Puerto Rican Students in Central Florida. Ed.D. disss. University of Central Florida. Navarro’s dissertation focuses on Puerto Rican students (both self-identified as Puerto Rican American and Puerto Rican only) enrolled in Central Florida public schools: how they define themselves, what language they prefer, and what support they received. Students who were interviewed expanded on their struggles with language and grade retention.
Reyes-Blanes, Maria E. 1996. Puerto Rican Mothers of Young Children with Disabilities: A Comparison between Families Living in Puerto Rico and Families Living in Florida. Ph.D. diss. University of Florida. Reyes-Blanes looks at Puerto Rican mothers with children with disabilities, 55 from the island and 39 from Florida, and compares how they fare against each other regionally. Reyes-Blanes concludes that there are no significant differences; however, there is a perceived notion that mothers in Puerto Rico receive greater aid and support.
Sánchez, Luís. 2008. Puerto Rico’s 79th Municipality?: Identity, Hybrdity and Transnationalism within the Puerto Rican Diaspora in Orlando, Florida. PhD. diss. Florida State University. Sánchez explores the Puerto Rican population in Orlando, showing how the Puerto Rican migration to Florida affected the greater diaspora. Sánchez analyzes the identity of Puerto Ricans born in Orlando; and how they fit into puertorriqueñidad, or “Puerto Ricanness.”
Silver, Patricia. 2007. Stories from Puerto Rican Orlando: Documenting a Migration in Progress. New York: Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños. Silver provides a preliminary research report on the Puerto Rican migration to Orlando, overviewing multiple variables, such as class, gender, and race. She goes into details of the multiple factors behind Puerto Ricans’ rationale to move toward Central Florida and concludes with several directions for future research.
Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce: Hispanic Summit Papers & Presentations Every summer from 2004 to 2007, the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce held the Hispanic Summit, with speakers submitting data and studies on Hispanics in the Central Florida region. Many of the reports specifically focused on Puerto Ricans, who make up 50 percent of the Hispanic population in metropolitan Orlando. While many scholars and researchers presented at the summits, only certain of the papers and presentations are available online on the Greater Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce website
[ 296 ] article “Puerto Ricans in Orlando and Central Florida: A Preliminary Assessment,” a nnot ted which is available online through the Orlando Hispanic Chamber of Commerce website
De Jesús, Anthony and Daniel W. Vazquez. 2007. Exploring the Education Profile and Pipeline for Puerto Ricans Hispanics in Central Florida. Orlando: Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce.
De Jesús and Vazquez look at the educational statuses of both Hispanics in b i liogr a phy general and Puerto Ricans in specific, including the specific statistics: educational attainment, enrollment, standardized testing scores, and drop-out rates.
Duany, Jorge and Felix V. Matos-Rodríguez. 2004. Puerto Ricans in Orlando and Central Florida: A Preliminary Assessment. Orlando: Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce. This report is the first scholarly work to address the factors attributed to the shift in the Puerto Rican diaspora toward Central Florida. The authors review various newspapers and scholarship that address the growing Puerto Rican presence in the region. They discover that Puerto Ricans began migrating in greater groups to Deltona in Volusia County through real estate companies such as the Deltona Corp. and the General Development Corp. in the late 1960s.
Fishkind & Associates. 2006. Hispanic Communities of Central Florida: Economic Contributions to the Region. Orlando: Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce, February. The private firm, Fishkind & Associates, Inc., developed a presentation that reports the economic growth and trends for the United States and Central Florida, along with the Hispanic contribution to the economy in the region by looking at Hispanic population growth, employment, and education statuses.
[ 297 ]