This article sketches the principal migration waves from Cuba to the United States during the twentieth century, especially since 1959, and traces their historical background in the nineteenth century. The author focuses on the changing socioeconomic characteristics of the migrants over time as well as their spatial distribution within the United States. He shows that, throughout the past four decades, the émigrés have become more and more representative of Cuban society with regard to income, occupation, and education (but not so much with regard to race or color and region of origin – they are still predominantly white and urban). The second part of this article analyzes the differences and similarities in the settlement patterns of Cubans in Miami, West New York-Union City, San Juan, and other cities. In particular, the author argues that it is a mistake to take the ethnic enclave in Miami as the prototype for the experiences of all Cubans in exile. The last section of the essay briefly examines the socioeconomic profile of the Cuban population in the United States and concludes that stereotyped images of its material success have little basis on academic research. Instead, Cuban-Americans face many of the same challenges as other recent immigrants in the United States and elsewhere. Among these challenges is the question of developing a hybrid cultural identity that maintains transnational linkages to the home-land as well as to the adopted country.

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Como citar: Duany, J. (1999). Cuban communities in the United States: Migration waves, settlement patterns and socioeconomic diversity. Pouvoirs dans la Caraïbe, 11, 69 – 103. https://doi.org/10.4000/plc.464