James E. McGreevey
Governor

William D. Watley
Secretary of Commerce

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Karen Wolfe - 609.292.2523

LATINO’ FLAVORS ARE EVERYWHERE IN NEW JERSEY

Special Latino Visitors Guide Makes Them Easy to Find

Trenton, N.J. (June 30, 2003)—Within New Jersey's 8.4 million population, approximately 1.1 million (13 percent) are of Hispanic heritage, according to the 2000 U. S. census. This vibrant community has grown 51% since 1990 and its culture is very much alive in towns throughout the state through festivals, culinary fare, cultural and sports activities, welcoming visitors to come and share in the experience.

“New Jersey has a vast multicultural community," said Nancy Byrne, executive director of New Jersey Commerce's Office of Travel & Tourism. "We have found that visitors to the state are interested in experiencing unique cultures and New Jersey is proud to share its Latino heritage with the world."

The New Jersey Latino Visitors Guide, also published in Spanish, is available from the New Jersey Office of Travel & Tourism, and details all the state’s sights, sounds and products of this dynamic culture, especially strong in Latino neighborhoods of Union City, Newark, Perth Amboy and Vineland.

The Latin mode becomes especially pervasive in New Jersey from mid-September to mid-October, starting September 15, to celebrate anniversaries of independence for five Latin American countries – Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. The next day, September 16, marks Mexican independence and September 18 marks that of Chile.

Along with calendars of events, listings of museums, restaurants, theaters, sports and separate directories for each of the state’s six tourism regions, "the guide includes little-known, fascinating facts about the state’s Latino population," says Byrne.

For instance:

Puerto Ricans were the first Hispanics to settle here, arriving just after the Spanish American War in 1898. A bust of Luis Munoz Rivera, father of the first elected governor of Puerto Rico, is in Newark’s Washington Park.

The Rionda clan left their devastated Cuban sugarcane plantations at the end of the 19th century and built a palatial estate in Alpine with a fortune made as sugar brokers on Wall Street.

Two enclaves for immersion into Latino culture – dining, shopping, clubs, crafts, music, literature — are Newark’s Ironbound, representing Spanish and Portuguese cultures, while Bergenline Avenue, from North Bergen north to West New York and Union City, showcases cultures of Cuba, Columbia, El Salvador, Mexico, Peru and Spain

Teatro Si, based in Newark Symphony Hall, presents plays reflecting Hispanic cultures in both Spanish and English. Segunda Quimbamba Folkloric Center in Jersey City, the only group of its kind in the state, is dedicated to preservation and awareness of Bomba and Plena, two music and dance traditions from Puerto Rico’s African heritage. Rutgers Center for Latino Arts and Culture in New Brunswick preserves and promotes the various Latino cultural traditions through exhibitions, performances and published papers.

As far back as 1913, Cubans have had recognized baseball teams, starting with the Long Branch Cubans playing in the minor league on the Jersey Shore. The 1940 New York Cubans played in East Orange.

The Latino Guide and a wealth of other information and maps are free from the New Jersey Office of Travel & Tourism and may be requested either by toll-free phone or from the website. Contact the New Jersey Office of Travel & Tourism, at 800-VISITNJ (847-4865); or check the website at www.visitnj.org

New Jersey encompasses less than 9,000 square miles, but it's surprisingly diverse, combining the best of metropolitan sophistication with rural farmlands, rivers and mountains - all accessible within a few hours. Six tourism regions comprise the Shore, Greater Atlantic City, Southern Shore, Delaware River, Skylands and the Gateway. Ocean beaches stretch 127 miles, from Cape May Point to Sandy Hook. Vast expanses of forever-green acres are exemplified in the 70,000-acre Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and 1.1-million-acre Pine Barrens Reserve. There are mountains for skiing and climbing; trails for hiking, towns for shopping and culture. While super highways, express buses, trains and ferries provide quick and direct access into New York City and Philadelphia, back roads wind through historic hamlets, farmlands and pristine forests. Along the way are botanic gardens, historic architecture, museums, sporting events, gaming casinos and kids' action parks. New Jersey is a vacation destination for the best days of your life!