Real Estate Trends and Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo (or the 5th of May) commemorates the Mexican’s army 1862 victory over France at the
Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War (1861-1867). It’s a relatively minor holiday in Mexico but has evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage in America, especially in areas with large Mexican-American populations. Cinco de Mayo traditions include parades, mariachi music and street festivals in cities and towns across Mexico and the U.S.

Since the 2000 U.S. Census, the Hispanic population of Pinellas County has surged, growing more than 71%. This figure tops that national growth of approximately 43% as well as the Florida rate of about 57%. The impacts of this growth are everywhere – from more books written in Spanish on public library shelves, to more signs printed in both English and Spanish, to growing congregations at churches offering services in Spanish. Pinellas may have to provide bilingual ballots for elections because of the increase. The school district is racing to help teachers prepare for more students who aren’t fluent in English.

St. Petersburg has the largest Hispanic population, approximately 16,215. Pinellas County census numbers show that among those who say they are Hispanic, about 20,000 identify themselves as Mexican, about 20,000 say they are Puerto Rican and about 8,000 say they are Cuban. Another group of around 20,000 respondents answered “other Hispanic or Latino,” meaning their country of origin might be the Dominican Republic, Spain or a Spanish-speaking Central or South American country.