 Chicago's Latino community, vibrant, colorful, diverse. Hello, I'm Chaplain Dean with the Chicago Police Department. This is the latest in a series of videos to expand your knowledge and understanding of the many diverse communities within our city. Having even a basic knowledge of a person's customs and culture enables police officers to conduct their duties in a more efficient and respectful manner. Chicago's Latino community comes from three main geographical areas, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America. Today we examine the people who come to Chicago from the Caribbean, most notably the islands of Puerto Rico and Cuba. The main way that the Cubans differ from the other Hispanic subcultures that are in Chicago is that most of the other subcultures came to the United States for economic reasons, whereas the Cubans came fleeing communism. And most of the Cubans that came to Chicago came as political refugees. And the number was probably 35,000, 40,000 in the 70s and early 80s. Then many of the Cubans slowly were moving back to Florida and the Cuban population in Chicago and in the metropolitan area diminished tremendously. And while the Cuban population still has a presence in Chicago, it continues to dwindle. The Puerto Rican population on the other hand continues to grow. Puerto Ricans now represent Chicago's second largest Latino community. Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States, so that it is its own country with its own identity, its own culture, but it belongs to the United States. Whether you're born on the island of Puerto Rico or here in Chicago, you're citizens of the United States. The heart of Chicago's Puerto Rican community is Humboldt Park. And the heart of Humboldt Park is a stretch of Division Street known as Pasea Borrecois, identified by gateway sculptures of the Puerto Rican flag. It's not necessarily an attempt to separate ourselves from, but it's really to create a gateway into the community so that both Puerto Ricans, second, third, fourth, fifth generation Puerto Ricans that are here can learn about themselves from their own vantage point but also at the same time non Puerto Ricans, non Latinos, can come in into this gateway and learn about the Puerto Rican community through its food, through its culture, the sounds. The more police and others learn about Puerto Rican culture, the less likely they are to buy into what some Puerto Ricans say are common stereotypes. Not all young people are possible affiliates or not all young people are gang members. So it's just a matter of plugging in for variables, right? Yeah, with young people that's the main thing and I think the police needs to remember that most young people are not involved in gangs. There's also a sense among Puerto Ricans that some police lack respect for their people and their culture. The lack of respect. People are fearful of calling upon the police to come over and help them because they feel when the police come to address any need that they have, they come with a suspicion with that particular individual who even calls the police to come over and serve them. My message, if there would be any message to the officers, and this is all officers across the board, is to find out about the Puerto Rican community and the easiest way is to come to Paso Boregoa, come to Division Street, find out what the food is about, come to some of the community activities. Summon the Humboldt Park communities think police are confused by the tradition of Puerto Ricans gathering outside their homes or storefronts. In Puerto Rico, that's how people socialize. People are accustomed to be outside in the island. They just walk out. They're friendly. The people get up in the morning, they walk out, they talk to the neighbors and most of the time they spend it outside, not inside their homes. If you go by Humboldt Park in the summer, you will see whole families out in front, multi-generational. The grandparents sitting down with the great grandparents as well as with the parents in the evenings or during the day. That doesn't necessarily mean they're just waiting for a customer or waiting for something to happen. They're just spending time together. That's a custom that we have in Puerto Rico. And the other aspect which is very interesting about the island is that you don't speak softly or quietly. You speak loud because you're outside. Everyone is around. So whenever you're talking, you call, Mira está muchacho, ven para acá. You're talking kind of loud. Puerto Ricans have great respect for their elders. Often, when talking to elders or people in a position of authority, young people will look down or away while speaking. People may be reluctant not to look in the eye, not because they're drunk or because their eyes are going to show that they have been smoking marijuana or something like that, but rather out of respect or fear. Language barriers exacerbate fear. Many Puerto Ricans are bilingual, but others speak limited English. Adults may depend on their children to translate. As a matter of fact, in many cases when we talk about language, sometimes children are the ones that help to translate. You can see maybe an older man or an older woman taking a child at 10, 12 years old to the bank to translate when they want to go to open an account. Although Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States, some things that are legal in Puerto Rico are not legal. In many cases, a good referral to a social service agency by the policeman will solve the problem. Arride and trying to take that person to the station and book that person and make that person feel that there is a criminal. For someone who doesn't understand what's happening, it's a chaotic situation, at least having the sense that this is a person who is not here to harm me or hurt me will somewhat ease the situation. We've covered some of the unique aspects of Chicago's Puerto Rican and Cuban communities. Remember, all of the people we encounter on a daily basis expect to be treated with dignity and respect. It is our hope that this video will serve to enlighten and foster a new awareness and understanding. Thanks for watching, and as always, stay safe.