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Uruguayan Americans (, or ) are
Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...
of
Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
an ancestry or birth. The
American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...
of 2006 estimated the Uruguayan American population to number 50,538, a figure that notably increased a decade later. Since Uruguay experienced large waves of European immigration from the 19th century until the mid-20th century, and approximately 93% of the country’s population is of European descent—mainly
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
,
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
,
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
and Portuguese—many Uruguayan Americans identify not only with their national heritage, but also with their families’ countries of origin.


History

The history of Uruguayan emigration to the United States is very recent. Before 1960, Uruguayan living conditions were favorable, with many job opportunities, good education and a good healthcare system. The few Uruguayans that left the country migrated to other Argento American countries such as
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
. For this reason, Uruguayan emigration to the United States was low during that period. After 1960, welfare in the life of Uruguay fell. This was due to the emergence of serious economic and political problems after World War II, particularly money crises and unemployment during the decades of the 1960s and 1970s. Moreover, Uruguay was ruled by an oppressive military regime for approximately a decade starting in 1973. All this led to a major Uruguayan emigration, which included large numbers of well-educated professionals and the young. This migration also contributed to a social security crisis, as the population aged and young working people migrated to other countries. This grew the burden on the country's financial resources. Of the Uruguayan immigrants from 1963 to 1975, most were young; only 14.3 percent of the migrants were over 40 years old. The continued unemployment problem of the late 1980s developed yet another impetus for the youth of Uruguay to seek employment and new lives in other countries. Some of them went to the United States, but the majority of Uruguayan emigrants continued to migrate to Argentina.Every culture of World
by Jane E. Spear. Retrieved November 14, 2011, at 22:31 pm.


Culture and socioeconomics

Most Uruguayans find it easy to adapt to life in large cities in the United States, thanks to the cosmopolitan lifestyle they are used to in Uruguay. Uruguayans in general have a multilingual exposure that makes English not an obstacle for adaptation in American society. In addition, the high value that is given to higher education has led many Uruguayan students to migrate to the United States to continue their University studies there.


Demographics

According to the 2010 census on the Uruguayan descent population in the U.S., there are about 56,884 people of that origin. The majority of Uruguayans that migrated to the United States arrived in the 1960s and 1970s. It is estimated that, between 1963 and 1975 (when the country's economy suffered a huge drop), 180,000 Uruguayans left the country. Later on, between 1973 and 1985, during the period of oppressive military control, 150,000 Uruguayans left Uruguay. And, in 1989, only 16,000 of these citizens had returned to their native country. When these two figures are added together, the migration figure stands at approximately one-tenth of the population of Uruguay. Although in the 1990s Uruguayans constituted 43 percent of all immigrants to the United States originating from Latin America and the Caribbean, they only made up a small part of the large U.S. Latino population. Most Uruguayan immigrants established themselves in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, and
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
. Two other remarkable centers for Uruguayan American population are
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, and
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
.


The states with the largest population of Uruguayans (Source: 2010 Census)

# - 14,542 (0.1% of state population) # - 10,902 (0.1% of state population) # - 6,021 (less than 0.1% of state population) # - 4,110 (less than 0.1% of state population) # - 2,708 (less than 0.1% of state population) # - 2,566 (less than 0.1% of state population) # - 2,317 (less than 0.1% of state population) # - 1,594 (less than 0.1% of state population) # - 1,294 (0.1% of state population) # - 1,282 (less than 0.1% of state population) # - 1,181 (less than 0.1% of state population)


The cities with the largest population of Uruguayans (Source: 2010 Census)

#
New York, NY New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...
- 3,004 (less than 0.1%) #
Elizabeth, NJ Elizabeth is a city in and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.N ...
- 2,553 (2.0%) #
Miami, FL Miami is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a population of 6.14 million, is the second-largest metropolitan ...
- 1,040 (0.3%) #
Miami Beach, FL Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and ...
- 958 (1.1%) # Leominster, MA - 824 (2.0%) #
West Orange, NJ West Orange is a suburban township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from the 2010 census count of 46,207, which in turn ...
- 733 (1.6%) #
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
- 697 (less than 0.1%) # Fitchburg, MA - 650 (1.6%) #
Houston, TX Houston ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat of Harris County, as well as the principal city of ...
- 642 (less than 0.1%) #
Newark, NJ Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area.Orange, NJ The City of Orange (known simply as Orange) is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 34,447, an increase of 4,313 (+14.3%) from the 2010 census count of ...
- 445 (1.5%) # Hackettstown, NJ - 498 (0.4%)


Notable people

* Bruno Fonseca - (1958 – 1994) American artist who shifted between abstract and figurative styles and worked in both painting and sculpture. His father, Gonzalo Fonseca, was also a Uruguayan sculptor. * Joseph Jacinto "Jo" Mora (1876 – 1947), Uruguayan-born cartoonist, illustrator and cowboy who lived with the Hopi *
Emir Rodríguez Monegal Emir Rodríguez Monegal (28 July 1921 – 14 November 1985), born in Uruguay, was a scholar, literary critic, and editor of Latin American literature. From 1969 to 1985, Rodríguez Monegal was professor of Latin American contemporary literatur ...
- (1921 – 1985) Uruguayan scholar, literary critic, writer and publisher of Latin American literature *
Miguel Terekhov Miguel Terekhov (August 22, 1928 – January 3, 2012) was a Uruguayan-born American ballet dancer and ballet instructor. Terekhov and his wife, Yvonne Chouteau, one of the Five Moons, a group of Native American ballet dancers, founded the School ...
- (1928 – 2012) Uruguayan-born American ballet dancer and ballet instructor. *
Alejandro Zaffaroni Alejandro Zaffaroni (February 27, 1923 – March 1, 2014) was a Uruguayan serial entrepreneur who was responsible for founding several biotechnology companies in Silicon Valley. Products that he was involved in developing include the birth contr ...
(1923 - 2014), Uruguayan-born serial entrepreneur in the biotechnological field *
Fede Álvarez Federico Javier Álvarez Mattos (; born February 9, 1978) is a Uruguayan filmmaker. He is best known for directing the films ''Evil Dead (2013 film), Evil Dead'' (2013), ''Don't Breathe'' (2016), and ''Alien: Romulus'' (2024). Early life Álvare ...
– filmmaker *
Jonathan Del Arco Jonathan Del Arco (born March 7, 1966) is an Uruguayan American actor and gay rights and political activist. He is best known for his role as Hugh the Borg in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and '' Star Trek: Picard'', and for his series reg ...
– Uruguayan-born American actor *
Miguel del Águila Miguel del Águila (born September 15, 1957) is an Uruguayan and American composer of classical music. He has been nominated three times for Grammys and has received numerous other awards. Life American composer Miguel del Águila (also spe ...
– Uruguayan-born multiple Grammy nominated American composer *
Fernando Clavijo Fernando Caetano Clavijo Cedrés (January 23, 1956 – February 8, 2019) was a Uruguayan-American soccer defender and former head coach of the New England Revolution and Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. He played three seasons in the ...
– Former soccer player *
Natalia Cigliuti Natalia Cigliuti ( ; born September 6, 1978) is an American Actor, actress, best known for her roles as Lindsay Warner on ''Saved by the Bell: The New Class'' and as List of All My Children characters#Anita Santos, Anita Santos Warner on ''All M ...
-– American actress * Carlos Eduardo Espina - Uruguayan-born American activist *
Fernando Espuelas Fernando Espuelas (born August 6, 1966) is an American entrepreneur, author, and journalist. Espuelas is one of the pioneers of the consumer Internet. He is the co-founder (along with Jack Chen) and first CEO of Starmedia, the first pan-Latin ...
– Uruguayan born, American naturalized entrepreneur, author, media personality and philanthropist *
Diego Fagúndez Diego Santiago Fagúndez Pepe (born February 14, 1995) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy. Early life Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Fagúndez moved with his family ...
(born 1995 in Montevideo) – professional soccer player for the
New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...
of
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
*
Francisco Fattoruso Francisco Fattoruso (born August 10, 1979, in Las Vegas, Nevada) is a Uruguayan musician and bass player. He is the son of Hugo Fattoruso and María de Fátima Quinhões, both of them musicians. He has played with several artists such as: Ru ...
– musician born in Las Vegas, Nevada, son of
Hugo Fattoruso Hugo Fattoruso (born 29 June 1943) is a Uruguayan composer, arranger, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. As well as developing a career as a soloist, he has participated and performed in many different genres: Trío Fattoruso (with his son Fran ...
* Pepe Fernández – Uruguayan former soccer player. *
Caio Fonseca Caio Fonseca (born 1959) is an American painter. He is the son of the Uruguayan sculptor Gonzalo Fonseca; the artist Bruno Fonseca was his brother, and the writer Isabel Fonseca is his sister. Life and work Fonseca grew up in the West Villag ...
– American painter. He is brother of Bruno Fonseca * Isabel Fonseca – writer *
Enrique Graf Enrique Graf (born 1953) is a Uruguayan-American pianist. Biography Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Graf began studying piano at the age of four with his mother. He then studied at the Falleri-Balzo Conservatory. After winning all of the nationa ...
– musician * Gabriela Hearst – fashion designer *
Jorge Majfud Jorge Antonio Majfud Albernaz (born September 10, 1969) is a Uruguayan–American professor and writer. Early life Majfud was born on September 10, 1969, in Tacuarembó, Uruguay. He is of paternal Lebanese descent of the Christian faith, as h ...
– writer, professor at
Jacksonville University Jacksonville University (JU) is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Located in the city's Arlington (Jacksonville), Arlington district, the school was founded in 1934 as a two-year college and was known as Jacksonvill ...
* Martín Núñez – soccer player currently playing for Minnesota Stars FC in the North American Soccer League. the Florida State Final Four MVP and the Miami Herald Player of the Year as he led the team with thirty-four goals. * Pedro Piedrabuena – American professional three-cushion billiards player * Daniel Pontet
Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
an-born artist working in the U.S. *
Tab Ramos Tabaré "Tab" Ramos Ricciardi (born September 21, 1966) is an American former soccer player and coach. Over his thirteen-year professional career, Ramos played as a midfielder in Spain, Mexico, and the United States. The first player to sign wi ...
– former soccer player, whom also served as co-assistant to U.S. team coach
Bob Bradley Robert Frank Bradley (born March 3, 1958) is an American association football, soccer coach, who most recently managed Norwegian football team Stabæk Fotball, Stabæk fron 2023 - 2024. A native of New Jersey and graduate of Princeton Universi ...
from 2007 to 2011. *
Gabe Saporta Gabriel Eduardo Saporta (born October 11, 1979) is an American musician and entrepreneur. From the years 2005 until 2015, he was the lead vocalist and founder of the electropop band Cobra Starship. On November 10, 2015, after nearly ten years an ...
– vocalist of bands Midtown and
Cobra Starship Cobra Starship is an American dance-rock band from New York City, New York, formed in 2005 by Gabe Saporta. He recorded the first album as a solo project, ''While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets''. Saporta later enlisted guitarist Ryland Bl ...
* Pedro Sevcec – television reporter who works for America TV / Miami in the United States * Martin Sorrondeguy – singer of bands
Los Crudos Los Crudos is an American hardcore punk band from Chicago, Illinois active from 1991 to 1998 and from 2006 onward. Comprising all Latino members, the band paved the way for later Spanish-speaking punk bands in the United States and helped to ...
and
Limp Wrist Limp Wrist is an American punk rock band, who formed in 1998. Featuring members of Los Crudos, Hail Mary, Devoid of Faith, By the Throat, and Kill the Man Who Questions, the band plays short, fast hardcore punk, hardcore music, and covers them ...
, the founder of the DIY record label,
Lengua Armada Discos Lengua Armada Discos is an American punk and hardcore independent record label run by Limp Wrist/Los Crudos frontman and prominent figure in both the straight edge scene and the queercore scene, Martin Sorrondeguy. It features such bands as Loo ...
, documentary film director and a prominent figure in both the
straight edge Straight edge (sometimes abbreviated as sXe or signified by XXX or simply X) is a subculture of hardcore punk whose adherents refrain from using alcohol, tobacco, and other recreational drugs in reaction to the punk subculture's excesses. Some ...
scene and the
queercore Queercore (or homocore) is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifically ...
scene. He is a Uruguayan born and American raised. * Carlos A. Vegh – Uruguayan academic economist and Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland. * Agustín Viana – American-born, Uruguayan professional soccer player *
Rafael Viñoly Rafael Viñoly Beceiro (1 June 1944 – 2 March 2023) was an Uruguayan-born architect based in New York. He was the principal of Rafael Viñoly Architects, which he founded in 1983. The firm has offices in New York City, Palo Alto, London, Ma ...
– Uruguayan architect living in the United States *
Ida Vitale Ida Vitale (born 2 November 1923) is a Uruguayan poet, translator, essayist, lecturer and literary critic. Life She played an important role in the Uruguayan art movement known as the 'Generation of 45': Carlos Maggi, Manuel Flores Mora, Á ...
– prolific writer from Montevideo who played an important role in the Uruguayan art movement "Generation of 1945". *
Adrian Vallarino Adrian Fabio Vallarino Chiossi (born July 19, 1968) is an Uruguayan television and film, producer and director, journalist and cinematographer. Vallarino's career started at the early age of 12 during the 1980 Mundialito, where he worked as a came ...
– TV and Film producer and director born in Uruguay working in the United States. * Ricardo López – a stalker who attempted to murder the Icelandic singer Björk.


See also

* List of Uruguayan Americans * White Latino Americans *
White Latin Americans White Latin Americans () are Latin Americans of total or predominantly European diaspora, European or West Asia, West Asian ancestry. Population with majority (or unique) ancestry of European settlers who arrived in Americas, the Americas duri ...
* Americans in Uruguay *
United States–Uruguay relations Relations between the United States and the Uruguay traditionally have been positive, based on a common outlook and emphasis on democratic ideals. History In historical perspective, starting in the 1890s Uruguay took the lead in reaching out ...


References


Further reading

* Spear, Jane E. "Uruguayan Americans." ''Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America,'' edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 4, Gale, 2014), pp. 475-483
online
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External links


Uruguayan-American Foundation (UAF)
{{Demographics of the United States +
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...