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Hispanic/Latino Heritage
In Buffalo & Erie County
         The Hispanic/Latino population of the Buffalo metropolitan area according to the 1990 census was approximately 16,000 people (about 4.9% of the total population). This population is concentrated in the Lower West Side, South Buffalo and Lackawanna. The Lower West Side is regarded as the center of the Hispanic/Latino Community. This is the area roughly delineated by Porter Avenue (north), Elmwood Avenue (east), Virginia Street (south) and the Niagara River (west).
          Initial large migrations of Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and other people of Spanish-speaking origin to Western New York were supported by a fairly reliable job market both in the rural areas (canneries, granaries, farms) and in the urban industrialized centers (in the steel mills, railroads, ships and factories).
          The first migration of Hispanics/Latinos into the Buffalo area were Spaniards. They concentrated in Lackawanna and formed the Spanish-American Club in 1924. They also formed Las Amigas Leales and Los Buenos Vecinos.

                            **Courtesy of http://www.wnylrc.org/dhp/ethnic/hshispan.htm
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