Elkhart County Latinos live in a parallel community as they forge a place here

By Tim Vandenack, published 5/15/16

ELKHART Erwin Macedo, between his shift at work and school, peers down the street from the stoop
of his south Elkhart house.
We were the first Hispanic people on the street. Now all of a sudden, if you take a good look, theres a
whole bunch of Hispanics, he said. It used to be white people around the neighborhood. Little by little,
they moved.
U.S. Census Bureau figures prove Macedo right.
Elkhart and Goshen have experienced sharp Hispanic increases dating to the 1990s, and south Elkhart
now has one of the most concentrated Latino populations in the county. Yet, the magnitude isnt always
apparent. Judging by the racial breakdown of political leadership in Elkhart County, the Latino hold on
power isnt commensurate with their share of the population, for one thing.
Whats more, many, while involved in the broader Elkhart County community, maintain deep roots in the
tight-knit Hispanic community, in part because theyre more comfortable speaking Spanish or feel more of
a cultural connection.
I can kind of see the Hispanic people doing their own little thing, said Macedo, who works in a factory
and studies at Ivy Tech Community College. He moved to his Carlton Drive home, in a modest
neighborhood south of Lusher Avenue, when he was 5. His parents, natives of Mexico, brought him from
California where he was born.
Viewed one way, the Hispanic neighborhoods and the growing number of businesses and organizations
catering to the population suggest segregation and division.
Viewed another way, the Hispanic grocery stores and Spanish-language radio stations are the function of
a diversifying community, the response to a need. They have their formal function and a less obvious one
giving Latinos a support system forums to exchange information about how to maneuver in this new
place.
I would interpret it as a sign of institutional growth and institutional preservation, said Luis Fraga, codirector of the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame. By giving Latino newcomers
outlets to meet and share their experiences, the entities geared to the population can serve as a
wonderful mechanism of furthering integration.
Ask Latinos in Elkhart County whether they feel as though theyre truly part of the community, and their
answers will vary based on a variety of factors their age, how long theyve lived here and their
economic and educational circumstances, and how much they interact with non-Latinos.
Here are some of their stories:
***
Karen Lopez, born in Mexico and brought to Elkhart by her parents as a young girl, is seated behind the
counter at K-Lo Bazar, a shop in a strip mall at the southwest corner of Benham and Lusher avenues.
Shes an Indiana University South Bend sophomore studying business. When shes not in school, she
runs the store with her mother, Maribel Gutierrez. Her dad works in a factory.
My dream is to get through college, and I want to take the business to another level. I want to be able to
expand it and grow, Lopez said. The store offers party decorations, first communion dresses, mascara
and more, geared to a Latino clientele.
Her mom and dad came to the United States from Mexico in search of a better life. Steady work. Enough
to give their kids Karen and two siblings more than they had.
Her moms family never had napkins growing up in Mexico and fruit was a rare commodity, Lopez said. As
such, Gutierrez a factory worker until opening K-Lo Bazar in 2014 makes it a point to keep both in
stock at their Elkhart home.
Now her dreams fulfilled, Lopez said, and the next step is making the business grow. I have to take it
further. She did all the hard stuff of leaving her family behind.

***
Adolfo Sigala-Flores, brought here by his parents from Mexico and raised in Middlebury, wont be
stopped.
His father didnt come here for an adventure. He came to work, Sigala-Flores said. Now a student at Ivy
Tech Community College in Elkhart, he aspires to be a family physician.
Were here to fulfill our dreams, be what we want to be, Sigala-Flores. We dont stop. We keep on
moving forward. We find a way to overcome obstacles.
That doesnt mean there arent struggles.
Sigala-Flores and several other students from the Latino Student Alliance at Ivy Tech, most born in
Mexico, are sitting in a common room at the school, talking about being Latino, the challenge of being
immigrants, the difficulties of forging a place here. President Obamas Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals program provides a means for some younger undocumented immigrants to attain lawful status, a
means to legally work and study here, but its hardly a cure-all.
Karina Barron, a U.S. citizen born of Mexican parents, has her foot in each culture but doesnt feel
completely accepted by either. I feel I dont belong anywhere, she said.
When her grandmother in Mexico died, her mother couldnt travel there to pay her final respects because
shes undocumented. Its heartbreaking to see. ... Im a citizen, but everything that affects my parents
because theyre undocumented, I feel too.
***
Longtime residents recall there once was just one grocery story in Elkhart geared to the Latino market.
Though there are others, El Paraiso still sits at the corner of Prairie Street and Lusher Avenue.
Now, says Nacho Zepeda, who runs the Goshen-based Spanish-language radio station WKAM-AM, there
are 13 such grocery stores around Elkhart County. He should know: The radio station keeps tabs on the
businesses that cater to Latinos as potential advertisers.
Were here, integrating, growing, not only as workers but as investors, he said, seated in the radio
stations studio, where he still does some occasional deejaying. Despite the obstacles we face, it doesnt
stop us from achieving the American Dream.
There are 200 Hispanic-owned businesses stretching into St. Joseph County and other adjacent counties,
everything from construction firms and beauty shops to mechanics garages and night clubs. Moreoever,
demand for labor remains strong, judging by the inquiries from temp agencies trying to recruit workers.
I have four or five agencies desperate to get workers. They ask us, How do we do it? he said.
***
Flags of El Salvador and the United States fly outside a womans Elkhart home.
She doesnt give her name, worried the rampant gangs in the Central American nation where she came
from will somehow catch wind, somehow retaliate from so far away. But shes got a strong
message: Give them the death penalty, all the gang members.
The vast majority of Latinos in Elkhart County have roots in Mexico. Central America, chiefly El Salvador,
Honduras and Guatemala, account for the next biggest slice.
It can be tough here for an undocumented immigrant, the woman said: no work papers, no means to get a
drivers license and get around. But its worse there. She came to the United States 30 years ago, when
the Salvadoran civil war raged. Now the war in the tiny nation is with the street gangs.
You keep your head down when walking the streets in El Salvador. You dont smile, dont want a gang
member to misinterpret, think youre laughing at him. Here theres a bit more respect for people. There,
theres no respect for anybody, she said.
***
Driving the streets of Elkhart, Royer Bello hears a lot.

Because undocumented immigrants here cant get drivers licenses, shes started a transport service. She
typically works 4 to 6 a.m. and 1 to 4:30 p.m., taking people mainly Salvadoran and Honduran women
to their factory jobs, then taking them home. In the course of the day, the woman originally from the
Mexican state of Guerrero gets an earful.
Theyre always complaining about the supervisor. They treat them bad. They demand production and
they only pay $8.50 (an hour), Bello said between driving stints late one morning, looking tired. The
supervisor says, Youre illegals! You just have to work! Its hard.
Bello said her service is needed because many dont want to risk getting ticketed for driving without a
license, possibly falling on the radar of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. In fact, some
walk or bike to work in the worst weather to avoid the possibility of arrest for driving without a license.
Ive seen people when theres snow, walking in the dark, she said.
***
Filiberto Ocobachi, originally from Mexico, and eight other adult students are practicing their English,
learning the basics of U.S. history at the same time.
One hundred senators are in the Congress, said one.
Lincoln was the president during the Civil War, said another.
Alaska is the largest state, said another.
Theyre all Latino immigrants, completing a class at LaCasa Inc., a Goshen nonprofit agency that helps
immigrants become U.S. citizens. Afterward, Ocobachi, who lives in Ligonier and works at a Goshen
manufacturer that supplies the automotive industry, says he wouldnt want to be anywhere but northcentral Indiana.
This is home and were not going anywhere from here, said Ocobachi, who goes by Felix. He knows the
mayor and the chief of police, and greets them when he sees them.
Indeed, he chokes up when asked whether he feels more affinity to Mexico or the United States. He still
returns to visit family back in the northern state of Sonora. These days he usually goes alone because his
Mexican-American wife from Texas and three U.S.-born kids, who all speak Spanish and English, are no
longer interested.
It kind of feels bad to say I feel more connected here than Mexico, but its the honest truth. Its the honest
truth. This is the country that provided a lot for me and I guess Im happy here, he said.