In mid-September every year, a wave of independence day celebrations begin for various Latin American countries. On the 15th, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica celebrate, while later in the month, it’s Mexico’s and Chile’s turn.
The festivities also kick off National Hispanic Heritage Month in the U.S., celebrating the country’s 64 million Hispanic residents, who make up 19% of the population, compared to 17% of Connecticut’s share, the 11th-highest in the country, according to Census estimates and based on their definition of “Hispanic.”
Hispanics were the fastest growing group in the state, according to an analysis by the Connecticut Mirror last year, and they make up over a third of the population in eight towns.
Connecticut’s Hispanics have been celebrating over the past few weeks with various events around the state, and this weekend will see the Puerto Rican Day parade and Festival del Coquí celebration in Hartford, where Puerto Ricans account for 74% of Hispanics, compared to 79% in New Britain and almost half in the entire state. Puerto Ricans are the largest Hispanic group in 124 Connecticut towns.
The next-largest Hispanic group in Connecticut is the Mexican population, making up 10% of the share and being the largest group in 18 towns. Their largest showing is in the town of Norwalk, where nearly 5,000 Mexicans live.
Every other group makes up less than 10% of the state's Hispanic population, but they still boast thousands of residents. There are about 25,000 Guatemalans in the state, accounting for only 4.1% of Hispanics in Connecticut, but they also make up about a quarter of all Hispanics in Stamford, with almost 9,000 residents. And Ecuadorians, which account for only 5.8% of Connecticut Hispanics with over 35,000 residents, make up a third of all Hispanics in Danbury, with 8,300.
Other groups having at least 10,000 estimated residents include Dominicans, Colombians, Peruvians, Cubans and Hondurans.