Immigrant Entrepreneurs - Aprovecha Que El Manisero Llego

2008-02-06T04:17:17-08:00

Today as I sat a stoplight in Miami, I saw a Customs and Border Patrol officer buy a paper cone of peanuts from an older Cuban gentleman ("El Manisero"). I have watched the old guy sell products at this intersection for years. (Sometimes he sells mamoncillo fruit that is treasured throughout the Caribbean, or he sells oranges, limes or bottled water.)

I have been somewhat fascinated with informal sector businesses such as this local street vendors' since my college days when I took basic economics and a multitude of courses designed to educate students about so-called 'Third World' countries. What I find more fascinating than the actual concept of an informal economy however is the determination, ingenuity and resilience that emerges from necessity. The exchange between the immigration official and the peanut vendor got me thinking about the subject of Immigrant Entrepreneurs.

Determination, ingenuity and resilience are traits inherent in most of those who come to the United States. Not that everyone who emigrates to the U.S. does so only out of necessity but rather, the immigration process seems to necessitate a drive and determination that can be uniquely found in so many successful businesspersons and professionals who come from other countries. It is virtually impossible not to find these traits in the course of doing business in South Florida, a city, that at 60% immigrant, has one the largest percentage of immigrants of any city in the world according to a 2004 United Nations Human Development Report. Miami is just one of many places in the United States where the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs go well beyond the informal sectors and reach into billion dollar industries. In February of last year, the Center for an Urban Future published, A World of Opportunity: Understanding & Tapping the Economic Potential of Immigrant Entrepreneurs. The report does an excellent job documenting how immigrant entrepreneurs have become an increasingly powerful economic engine for New York and other American cities. The report concludes that immigrant entrepreneurs have the potential to provide an even bigger boost to these cities in the years ahead. Unlike Tom Tancredo, I don't consider my home town of Miami to be "Third World" in the derogatory sense but rather I cherish the determination and ingenuity that exists as a direct result of our immigrant population.

I hope to celebrate great immigrant business success stories in future blogs and I welcome your celebratory stories of Immigrant Entrepreneurs.

** (from Wikipedia)
The Peanut Vendor (original title: El Manisero) is a popular Cuban song in style usually known as Cuban rumba (the more correct name of the song's style is son pregón).

Maní, maní, maní…

Si te quieres por el pico divertir,

Cómprame un cucuruchito de maní.

El manisero se va, el manisero se va.

Me voy, te digo que me voy…

The arrangement of El Manisero by a Jewish emigrant to Cuba, Moisés Simmons ^[1] was recorded by a popular Cuban singer Rita Montaner in Havana in 1928. In 1930 the adaptation of Montaner’s version was recorded in New York by Don Azpiazu and his Havana Casino orchestra, sung by Antonio Machín^[2]. It was featured in the Hollywood film The Cuban Love Song (1931) and quickly picked by a dozen other orchestras in the United States and Europe. The song was a top hit on the record in 1931.

WELCOME TO SIX DEGREES OF IMMIGRATION

2008-01-16T18:08:00-08:00

We have created SIX DEGREES OF IMMIGRATION in response to the fear, phobia and hatred surrounding the "Immigration Debate" ---- There is plenty to be negative about on this topic, however being negative is just too easy. If you are an immigrant you can be angry about delays and backlogs and a multitude of other injustices; if you are anti-immigrant, the media and other blogs devote plenty of space to your vitriol and complaints---this won't be the place for that.

This blog is about exploring and celebrating the way that everyone's life is touched in a POSITIVE way by IMMIGRATION.

The challenge is to fight the urge to be fearful, phobic or angry, and instead to find SOMETHING related to the topic of immigration that has inspired or simply touched your life. If you simply can't help yourself from making a negative comment then your task is to NOT WRITE here but rather take action towards legislative change by contacting your legislator or aligning yourself with an organization that is committed to real immigration reform.

Six Degrees of Immigration

Immigrant Entrepreneurs - Aprovecha Que El Manisero Llego

WELCOME TO SIX DEGREES OF IMMIGRATION