Wherein the author causes Apoplexy in every Liberal that sees this posting.

Where we have a typical whitewash of immigration problems by the AP.

Like most U.S. towns, Watsonville has been formed by waves of immigrants, Croats, Portuguese, Filipinos and Japanese, each arriving with their own language, customs and cuisine. The current surge of Hispanics has brought a Latin American influence.

"For me, downtown Watsonville is like being in a small Mexican town," said Oscar Rios, who was Watsonville's first Latino mayor. "Everyone speaks Spanish. The restaurants are Mexican. It's got a very different feel than a traditional American town."

..... Today, 82 percent are either immigrants, or descendants of immigrants, mostly from Mexico but also elsewhere in Latin America.

Yeah, no shit- and probably half of them are illegal.

Nahara Villalobos, 17, who will be a senior at Watsonville High School this fall, is determined to move up, educationally and economically. Her parents immigrated to California from Mexico about 25 years ago. Her father works on a mushroom farm and her mother is a housewife, caring for Nahara's disabled older sister.

Although she was born in the U.S., Nahara didn't learn English well until she was 9, and to this day she acts as her family translator at doctor appointments, signing leases, filling out contracts and tax forms.

When her family moved onto an all-white block five years ago, it was Nahara who had to explain to her father that neighbors were asking if he was an ex-con, and her mother if she was the housecleaner.

"You wouldn't believe the way the neighbors treated us," she said

.

So- you're telling me that your parents and the rest of your family have been here for a QUARTER of a CENTURY, and haven't learned English yet.
Are they too stupid, lazy or just don't need to because Liberals are making it so Balkanized that they don't have to even talk to an Anglo/Gring if they don't want to.
An ex-con? I wonder what kind of tats he is wearing?

BUT, wait- something good is on the way....

Hurst said many residents appreciate the Latino influence. "I think a lot of people would like to put the differences of race on the back burners and focus more on economic opportunity and celebrate the diversity of cultures that exist," he said.

As generations pass, towns like Watsonville will become more Americanized, but at the same time some parts of Mexican culture are already weaving into the U.S. fabric, said University of California, Irvine sociologist Susan Brown.

She points to salsa, which long ago surpassed ketchup as the nation's leading condiment. And Brown said American icons like hot dogs and hamburgers are actually the legacy of a wave of more than 5 million German immigrants more than a century ago.

"This Mexican wave is a big group," said Brown, "but we forget that a huge, huge number of Germans came, and we've absorbed them."

maybe you Liberals can start putting race on the back burner because I'm getting tired of having it thrown in my face for everything.

But...GERMANS gave us hot dogs and hamburgers :-) ...They also buckled down and actively tried to become assimilated into America.