As the Latino population in Milwaukee continues to grow, so does the community’s influence on everything from culture to food to politics.
But as much as the evolution has been felt in urban places like Milwaukee, it is being felt even more strongly in some surprising places. Places like the small town of Curtiss, which is about 40 miles east of Eau Claire.
Milwaukee writer and photographer Barbara Miner explains the profound changes and what they meant in the August issue of Milwaukee Magazine.
“If the Latino population were not there, Curtiss would be dead,” Miner says. “The dairy farms would not function. Abbeyland Slaughterhouse would go under and schools would lose a significant portion of their student body.”
The Abbotsford school district is 40% Latino - a higher ratio than the City of Milwaukee.
“Despite how people might feel in their own personal attitudes, everyone recognizes the absolute importance of the Latino population to the social, economic survival of the area,” Miner says.
