Latino Georgians constitute one of the key groups influencing demographic change in the state, making up about 10 percent of all Georgians—and reflected through their influence on everything from the arts to political race.
In this special edition of “A Closer Look,” host Ross Scott kicks off a series about Georgia’s Latino community during Hispanic Heritage Month, with guest panels covering identity, politics, music, healthcare health care, etc.
Victor Mariachi is an Atlanta-based hip-hop artist who writes about his Latino identity in most of his lyrics. (Daniel Razer/WABE)
Research from the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute found that Latinos are the youngest of Georgia’s major racial and ethnic groups, with a median age of 26, 10 years younger than the statewide median.
“This is a great opportunity for all of us to think about giving, think about purchasing power, and think about education,” said Gigi Pedraza, executive director of the Georgia Latino Community Fund. “You have a young man who is already bicultural, and probably bilingual, and it’s also a huge voting bloc… Frankly, we can decide the election.”
Pedraza was also joined by Dr. Roxana Chicas, assistant professor at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, and Atlanta-based hip-hop artist Victor Mariachi, whose music was featured throughout the program.
