Purpose Statement

Immigration is a topic that could be seen as a positive or negative discussion. This is being written, not as a way to change your opinions on immigration or its policies, but to give you a better understanding of the people behind the word "immigrant." As a proud child of immigrants, I have made a vow to put the discussion of immigration in a better light. Not only did my family come here to make a better life for themselves, just like those who came from Europe to work in the Steel mill all those years ago, but we also came to make an impact in our community. Now it is more important than ever to have the topic of immigration be discussed by those who will not demoralize it. 

CF&I

The Colorado Steel & Iron played a huge role in cultivating the cultural melting pot that is Pueblo. From Italian, German, Dutch, Spanish, Mexican, and other Latin countries, Pueblo has earned the melting pot title. CF&I once had 40 different languages being spoken by the people they employed. They had a newsletter titled Camp and Plant to communicate with their employees and some of the languages the articles were released in were German, Spanish, Italian, and Slovenian.

Gagliano's

Gagliano's Italian Market and Deli has been a staple store in Pueblo's history for over 100 years! They are an iconic family-owned grocery store that was founded by "hard-working immigrants" as stated by Vince Gagliano who is the current owner of the restaurant. The proper way to pronounce their name is "Galiano" and when the family first arrived they spoke a Sicilian dialect of Italian. The neighborhood where the Gagliano's had their business was in the Bessemer neighborhood. That's where a majority of Italians lived, with the Slovenians being on the other side of Mesa Hill. There was a plethora of foreign-language newspapers with some of those being La Voce Del Popolo, Coloradeno, Pueblske Novice, and Abruzzo-Molise.

Cultural Collision

Mexican Influence

In Colorado alone there are over 216,688 individuals whose birthplace is in Mexico. Out of those over 200,000 Mexican migrants and immigrants, a whole new culture was cultivated and we are fortunate enough to see one being created in Pueblo, Colorado. Pueblo itself comes from a Spanish word that stands for a village, or it could even represent home. In a Mexican community, when they are referencing their "Pueblo" they are talking about the place that they grew up, which was usually a ranch or very small village. The general area where these communities reside on Pueblo is either the Salt Creek area or the Lower Eastside.