Hispanic population on rise in Ansonia
Víva Ansonia
Community adjusts to reflect dramatic rise in Hispanic population
By AMANDA CUDA
acuda@ctpost.com
When Ansonia resident Aide Jimenez de Lorduy first came to the Naugatuck Valley almost 10 years ago, she was one of relatively few residents of Puerto Rican descent.
"I stuck out like a sore thumb," said Lorduy, who grew up in New York and Puerto Rico. "Right now I sound like the Valley. Back then I sounded like New York. My accent was very thick."
But today, residents of Puerto Rican and other Hispanic backgrounds may feel less conspicuous.
According to the U.S. Census, the city’s Hispanic population has nearly tripled, from 474 in 1990 to 1,376 in 2000 — making up about 7 percent of Ansonia’s population of 18,554.
The recently released Census figures say 728 residents, like Lorduy, identify themselves as Puerto Rican.
Another 35 call themselves Mexican and 29 Cuban; 584 claim some other Hispanic background.
Compare that with the 1990 Census, in which 195 residents identified themselves as Puerto Rican, 20 as Mexican, 19 as Cuban and 240 as other Hispanic.
The increase follows trends in both Connecticut and the United States, which both reported a 50 percent increase in the Hispanic population from 1990 to 2000.
Tuning in Telemundo
Lorduy said she’s noticed the growing Hispanic population in Ansonia and other parts of the Valley. She said the communities seem to have taken the change in stride.
"I never thought in a million years you’d come to the Valley and find television channels like [the Spanish language networks] Univision and Telemundo," she said. "But the wonderful thing about the Valley is that they accept us with open arms."
Lorduy and her husband, Ricardo, had a hard time for a while, with myriad problems such as debts and a difficult pregnancy.
But they got through the tough times. Ricardo now works as an assistant network manager at Media Marketing Assessment in Wilton. His salary allows Lorduy to stay home with her four children, although she does some translating on the side for extra income.
She said she feels the Valley has adopted her. Born in New York, Lorduy and her husband, who is Colombian, came to Derby in 1993 from Bridgeport. In 1998, they moved to their current home on North State Street in Ansonia, where they live with their children and both of Lorduy’s parents.
Valley agencies respond
Lorduy said she’s grateful to Valley residents and agencies — including TEAM Inc., which runs the Head Start program Lorduy uses — for helping her family get back on its feet.
Head Start was a particular help, Lorduy said. She said all of her children have developmental delays and the agency helped provide her with aids such as an occupational therapist for her eldest son.
Lorduy now is vice chairwoman of Head Start’s policy council.
"They took me under their wing," Lorduy said of the Valley people. "I have nothing but pride for both Derby and Ansonia."
Other Valley towns have also seen an increase in Hispanic residents over the past 10 years. For instance, Derby’s Hispanic population — listed at 539 in the 1990 Census — is now at 950, and Shelton’s has grown from 880 to 1,326 in a decade.
A rainbow community
Ansonia’s growing ethnic diversity is reflected in other data from the Census.
For example, the Asian population has grown from 123 to 209, with the Asian Indian population, though small, almost quadrupling, from 31 to 114.
Ansonia also has the largest black population of the seven Valley towns, at 1,562 — up only slightly from 1,524 in 1990. That compares with a black population of only 449 in nearby Derby. In other Valley towns, the number of blacks currently ranges from 882 in Naugatuck to 38 in Beacon Falls.
The white population as a whole in Ansonia has dropped from 16,562 in 1990 to 15,867 in 2000. Still, whites make up 85 percent of the city’s population.
Incomes on the rise
The changing face of Ansonia over the past 10 years brought good news on the monetary front for families of all ethnicities. A considerable increase in household income came along with the generally good economic times of the decade.
According to the Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce, household income in Ansonia grew from $38,072 in 1990 to $52,369 in 2000.
There also has been a shift in industry in the city, with service and trade firms overtaking manufacturing as the city’s main industry.
Language barrier falls
Local service agencies said they have noticed the demographic shift among ethnic groups and are acting accordingly, for example, by adding Spanish language interpreters.
They came in handy recently, after fire destroyed the Latex Foam Products Inc. factory on West Main Street in Ansonia on May 14.
Several workers displaced in the fire spoke only Spanish, and state and local agencies provided interpreters to help connect employees with the help they needed.
One agency that used Spanish-language translators was the Birmingham Group in Ansonia. Birmingham employee Diana Turk provided interpreting services to a group of about six women. She said removing the language barrier helped the employees through what was already a tough time.
"It was sort of an effort to get these women — most of them Hispanic — in touch with services," she said. "It was hard for them to get details of what was being said to them in English."
TEAM, which is based in Derby, serves all the Valley municipalities. It also has recognized the changing needs of the community.
Director Rich Knoll said the agency has added more Spanish-speaking staff, and may soon add a bilingual member to its board of directors. Lorduy also has translated some of the agency’s documents into Spanish.
Knoll said this is an advantage, especially for Head Start parents, an increasing number of whom speak only Spanish.
"In the past, Spanish-speaking parents have wanted to say things, but couldn’t, because of the language barrier," he said.
Knoll said he thinks Ansonia’s changing demographics have much to do with the quality of life here. "Housing is affordable," he said. "And it’s fairly safe."
Even a local church has recognized the needs of Spanish-speaking residents.
Last October, Christ Episcopal Church, 56 South Cliff St., began holding Mass in Spanish twice a month. In November, the Spanish Mass became a weekly event.
As word of mouth has spread, the number of people attending the special Mass has grown from two to about 15 over the past nine months, said the church’s pastor, the Rev. Robert Harvey.
"The statistics were bearing out the fact that there was a growing Hispanic population," Harvey said. "There’s really no other place in the Valley that offers a Mass in Spanish."
Schools start programs
The increase in native Spanish speakers has affected the city’s schools as well.
An increasing number of Ansonia students speak English as a second language, said Assistant Supt. of Schools Susanne Murphy.
Currently, 116 students are enrolled in the English Language Learners program at the schools. Murphy said the majority of those students speak Spanish as a first language.
The number of Ansonia students in the program has nearly tripled since 1995, when 36 students were enrolled.
The demographic change also had an impact on the schools’ regular curriculum. Murphy said. When school resumes in the fall, there will be a full-time world language teacher at the high school and another teacher with the same specialty working part time at the middle school.
She said the district also is considering adding some separate classes in reading and writing for students who are native Spanish speakers.
And the district has put a stronger emphasis on hiring bilingual staff, Murphy said. "Unfortunately, they’re very hard to find," she said.
Murphy said less than 5 percent of school staff, administrators and support staff are bilingual.
However, Lorduy said most Valley agencies are making an effort to be more accessible to different ethnic groups. "They’ve heard our voice," she said.
Amanda Cuda, who covers
Ansonia, can be reached at
736-5440.
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