Hilo, Hawaii is nearly 2,500 miles from the mainland of the United States and even further from Mexico, Central America and South America. But for Hispanics who move here, it can feel like familiar territory.
“What I love about Hilo culture is that it’s similar to Latin culture,” said Marlene Calderon, a retired accountant who was born in Panama and spent most of her life in California. “That’s why Hispanics like it here. With the culture here, they may have just met you, but they embrace you, feed you, love you, and pretty soon you feel like family. That’s how Hawaiians are. The cultures are very similar.”
Calderon, who moved here in 2012, is one of the Hawaiian transplants who is helping make Latinos the fastest growing ethnic group in the state.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the “Hispanic or Latino” population grew 40 percent between the 2000 Census and the 2012 American Community Survey. READ MORE AT FOX NEWS LATINO
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