NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

AS A TWELVE-YEAR-OLD WHO HAD JUST ARRIVED IN MONTANA, I REMEMBER FEELING IMMENSE JOY WHENEVER I SAW A FACE THAT RESEMBLED MINE"TRIGUENA, BRUNET, AND A BIT LOST." REGARDLESS OF THEIR AGE, AS LONG AS THEY SHARED MY HISPANIC ESSENCE, I WANTED TO BE THEIR FRIEND. HOWEVER, NOW THE TABLES HAVE TURNED, AND I EXPERIENCE THAT SAME HAPPINESS AND JOY NOT JUST ONCE A YEAR BUT EVERY DAY AS I WALK AROUND MY LOCAL WALMART AND GAS STATIONS AND GREET MANY LATINOS GOING ABOUT THEIR DAILY LIVES, JUST LIKE ME. WITNESSING MONTANA GAIN DIVERSITY THROUGH LATINIDAD HAS GIVEN MY FAMILY AND ME A SENSE OF BELONGING TO A SPACE THAT WE ONCE FELT WASN'T OURS.

ALTHOUGH MOST INDIVIDUALS IN THE UNITED STATES WOULD NOT ASSOCIATE LATINOS WITH MONTANA, THE LATINO COMMUNITY PLAYS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE STATE, PARTICULARLY IN GALLATIN COUNTY WHERE THE LATINO POPULATION CONTINUES TO GROW EVERY DAY. MOREOVER, LATINOS ARE ONE OF THE BIGGEST ECONOMIC DRIVERS IN MONTANA AS A WHOLE.

IN CONTRAST TO OTHER STATES LIKE CALIFORNIA, WHERE SPACES EXIST THAT ARE FULLY STRUCTURED AND DESIGNED FOR THE NEEDS OF THE LATINO COMMUNITY, PLACE-MAKING IN MONTANA MAY LOOK DIFFERENT. NONETHELESS, THIS DEMOGRAPHIC DOES NOT LET THE LACK OF EXTERNAL SPATIAL AWARENESS PREVENT THEM FROM LIVING IN LATINIDAD. INSTEAD, THEY VOICE THEIR OPINIONS THROUGH THEIR DAILY JOBS, ORGANIZED BAILES, AND PURSUING THEIR ENTREPRENEURIAL DREAMS.

THIS WORK IS DEDICATED TO THE IMMIGRANT LATINO COMMUNITY OF MONTANA THAT HAS SEEN ME GROW UP FROM THE DAY I ARRIVED THERE AS A TWELVE YEAR OLD TO THE WOMAN I AM TODAY.

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