There are many variations of the term "American" here. Some of these Hispanic people have been in this area before the U.S. was a nation. DP
The valley’s Hispanic residents broaden the definition of ‘American’
By Sarah L. Stewart
vailtrail.com: Deimi Bustillos is an American. The long-haired, big-eyed Avon Elementary student was born here eight years ago. She wears an Old Navy sweatshirt, loves “Harry Potter” movies and adores dogs so much she decided to write a school report about them.
Only one noticeable difference separates Deimi from what most would consider the “typical” American third-grader: She barely speaks English.
After spending her toddler years in the United States, Deimi moved to Mexico with her family and attended school there until returning to the valley in August. She now attends a daily native-language class, where she’s learning concepts in Spanish and gradually learning English with about a dozen other young, relative newcomers to this country.
Deimi is one of many Mexican-Americans in the Vail Valley who have just begun to call this nation home.
In the 1990 U.S. Census, 13 percent of Eagle County’s population was of Hispanic or Latino origin; by 2006, that figure had more than doubled to 27 percent. At Avon Elementary alone, 90 percent of the student body is Hispanic and more than 50 percent isn’t proficient in English, a stark contrast from the school’s demographics just a decade ago.
But new immigrants are far from the only Hispanic identity in the valley. Some Hispanic families have been here for centuries, before Colorado was a state and before the United States was a nation.
These two groups, while sharing some cultural characteristics, occupy opposite ends of the spectrum — from learning to establish a life in a new land to having claimed that land for generations. In doing so, they offer a glimpse within our own valley of the continually evolving story of what it means to be American.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.
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