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ALLENTOWN, PA – JUNE 24, 2011: Dennis Mendez, 39, smiles as he enters the dance floor at Candidas, a local bar in Allentown that has become a hotspot for the growing Hispanic gay community. "I think it took all these years for my family to realize who we are," Mendez said. "There's something that needs to be done. It's not about being strait, not about being gay. It's about being American."
As the population of second and third generation Hispanics increases dramatically in the United States, a new boldness can be sensed among Latinos in America, stretching far beyond the southern border states. Demographers in Pennsylvania say the towns of Bethlehem, Allentown and Reading are set to become majority-minority cities, where Hispanics comprise a bigger portion of the population than whites. As this minority population increases dramatically in the region, Latinos are inching closer to their own realization of the American Dream, while gradually shifting the physical and cultural landscapes of their communities.
As the population of second and third generation Hispanics increases dramatically in the United States, a new boldness can be sensed among Latinos in America, stretching far beyond the southern border states. Demographers in Pennsylvania say the towns of Bethlehem, Allentown and Reading are set to become majority-minority cities, where Hispanics comprise a bigger portion of the population than whites. As this minority population increases dramatically in the region, Latinos are inching closer to their own realization of the American Dream, while gradually shifting the physical and cultural landscapes of their communities.
