(Dean) Chicago's Latino population is on the rise, with an influx of people well beyond just Mexico.

They are the immigrants from Central and South America.

(Dean) They represent more than a dozen different countries and cultures, but they share the same

desire: a desire to build better lives for themselves and their families.

(Dean) Hello; I'm Chaplain Dean with the Chicago Police Department.

(Dean) This is another in a series of videos to expand your knowledge and understanding

of the many diverse communities within our city.

(Dean) 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.

(Dean) Today, we look at Chicago's Central and South American communities.

(Jessica Jaramillo-Habeck) You have a lot of immigrants who come into this country with the same

mentality as any other person -- any Mexican, any Cuban, anyone else -- the mentality to grow, to be able to have the American dream, to own property, to be able to give back to their family.

(Ruben Cruz) They come from El Salvador, from Costa Rica, from Honduras, from Panama.

(Dan Alvarez) I'm finding more and more people from those countries, you know, El Salvador,

Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras.

(Nilda Flores-Gonzalez) There are some other countries, but in Chicago, it's mostly Guatemala and

Ecuador who are coming here.

(Dean) There are immigrants from all the Central American countries, but by far, the largest group

comes from Guatemala.

(Dean) There are more than 80,000 Guatemalans in Chicago.

(Eleazar Perez) They are looking for any opportunity they have.

(Perez) If they have to do dishes, landscaping, work in a factory, they look for family, obviously,

and friends from the neighborhood, or friends from the same village, to try to network with them,

and try to find resources that way that can help them find employment right away.

(Dean) Ecuadorians represent the largest South American population in Chicago.

(William Espinosa) They'd tell us this was the place to come over, to Chicago, because there was

so much opportunity, in terms of work and education, so we decided to sell our houses in Ecuador,

and we migrated here -- to stay here.

(Dean) Central and South America organizations say census numbers don't give an accurate account

of the immigrant population here.

(Dean) Salvadorians are one example of this.

(Daysi Funes) People aren't registering for the census, so here, the census says that it's only about

600 Salvadorians, but we know it's a fact, because of the people we serve in Central Romero plus

the consulate of El Salvador, it is about 60,000 Salvadorians.

(Dean) Central Romero is an advocacy center that works with Latinos from all over South and

Central America.

(Doris Cabrera) Well, you feel like -- if you are from Colombia, if you are from Ecuador, we feel

comfortable, because we know that we have something in common.

(Flores-Gonzalez) These are different countries, and so people have some differences, also, in terms of

language; there are linguistic differencesl there are differences in terms of food, in terms of music

that people prefer to listen to.

(Jaramillo-Habeck) There are many traditions, and very similar like any other Latin-American country,

family being number-one, sometimes other cultures might look at it as excessive, even, because

they're very, very close; family goes beyond anything and everything.

(Dean) Not all people from Central and South America speak Spanish.

(Dean) Brazilians, for example, speak Portuguese, and then there are indigenous languages.

(Perez) There are areas in Guatemala that don't speak Spanish at all.

(Perez) You go in certain area and you talk Spanish, you would think they'd talk back to you,

and they don't understand Spanish.

(Perez) So the indigenous who are migrating to the city are learning Spanish.

(Ivonne Sanchez) Guatemala has more than 25 ethnic groups with their own traditions

and their own customs.

(Dean) And even within the Spanish-speaking groups, there are a multitude of different dialects.

(Dean) So a Spanish-speaking immigrant from Bolivia, for example, may not understand

a Spanish-speaking police officer from Chicago.

(Funes) Be sensitive that we are not the same, even though we do speak Spanish, still,

a lot of them speak a dialect.

(Dean) The majority of Central and South American people are Catholic.

(Dean) Many blend Catholicism with native rituals.

(Espinosa) There's some candles, there's altars; we've very big on the saints.

(Sanchez) They have altars, sometimes they have figures of the Virgin Mary, or sometimes of Jesus.

(Perez) They carry maybe the little red beans, which are little sacks with red beans and black beans

in it, and rice, which is -- sometimes they fold it in aluminum.

(Perez) So when you first look at it, you think, "Are there drugs in there?"

(Perez) And what it is sometimes is they carry that to fend off bad spirits.

(Dean) Amuletas, or good luck pieces, may be worn or tucked into undergarments.

(Funes) A lot of people carry a little bag with a picture, a little incense, and a little stone, this is like your

lucky charm, and some people say, "Oh, what is that?" and they want to open it and see

that there's no drugs, but it's something that's for your own protection, your own spirit.

(Dean) This is a bag of Ruda.

(Dean) It's an herb that could easily be mistaken for marijuana.

(Dean) Ruta can be purchased in stores in the Latin American community.

(Dean) It is sometimes carried in small pouches, or stored in containers within homes.

(Funes) So people have little herbs in little bottles, like Coca-Cola bottles, they have these herbs

in the corners of the house; it's to bring the spirits in, it's a way of saying we're fine, we're doing OK.

(Funes) It's to bless our house.

(Funes) If somebody comes in and breaks your spirit-house, if you're very religious, it's like

if somebody comes to your house and breaks the ashes of your aunt.

(Funes) It's very disturbing, and people get upset about those things.

(Dean) People coming from rural areas of Central and South America may also have machetes

in their homes or their cars.

(Dean) Machetes are common farming tools.

(Dean) When interacting with people from Central and South American countries, Chicago police

should keep in mind many of these people may be extremely fearful of police.

(Maria Cardona) There is a feeling of distrust, because in the police institutions, there is a high level

of corruption.

(Louis Correa) I believe people that just got here, they don't know the language, so I believe

they feel fearful of the police, which I felt before when I was growing up.

(Dean) Others think Chicago police may have negative stereotypes about people from parts

of Latin America.

(Dean) Colombians, for example, think they are often perceived as being involved in narcotics trafficking.

(Cardona) The media has portrayed Colombians as drug dealers and terrorists, coming from

a dangerous country, an unstable political system.

(Cardona) If the Chicago Police Department overcomes, they will find people are good, with good

ethical values, good ethical morals, with high professional skills.

(Dean) And people from Central and South America may also be insulted if police make an assumption

that if they look Hispanic or speak Spanish, they must be from Mexico.

(Jaramillo-Habeck) In the beginning, when they would ask me, "Where are you from?" and I'd say,

"Oh, I'm from Ecuador," people would say, "What part of Mexico is that?"

(Perez) And they take a lot of pride in being Guatemalan, or Honduran, or Salvadorian; they take

a lot of pride in that.

(Perez) That's all they have, sometimes; they may not have wealth, but they have that pride.

(Dean) All of the people we encounter on a daily basis expect to be treated with dignity and respect.

(Dean) The people from Central and South America are no exception.

(Dean) It is our hope that this video will serve to enlighten and foster a new awareness

and understanding.

(Dean) Thanks for watching, and as always, stay safe.

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