Honduran Americans

The first Hondurans came to United States in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, in the 1820s, while the country, part of Central America, gained its independence from Spain and was founded as the republic of Honduras. All periods of conflict have led to minor waves of Honduran emigration to the United States. This was the case after the 1956 military coup.[2]

Hondurans immigrated to the United States in the 1960s, primarily to Miami, New York City, and Los Angeles. The main reason for Hondurans to leave their country was to escape poverty and to escape the military regime in hopes of establishing a better life in the United States.

U.S. roots of Honduran Emigration

The 1980s a period full of invasion of U.S. soldiers in Honduras. The United States government ordered hundreds of U.S. soldiers that were stationed at the nearby Palmerola Base during that period.

The United States involvement in Honduras is rooted in U.S. based banana companies. These companies transformed Honduras and exploited their people: "American companies “built railroads, established their own banking systems, and bribed government officials at a dizzying pace.” It is important to note that much of the wealth that was accumulated in Honduras was carried off to New Orleans, New York, and Boston. The conditions in Honduras worsened and much of the Honduran lands were being owned by U.S. companies. As a result, many Hondurans felt isolated in their own countries: "Honduran peasants “had no hope of access to their nation’s good soil". Due to the fact that the U.S. dominated much of the wealth and labor in Honduras, this caused sentiments of resentment, isolation, and anxiety as much of the native population had to deal with the reality of their economic situation. Furthermore, the United States is one of the main reasons that led to a huge migration of Hondurans to the United States. Moreover, leading to our nation's most debated issues in America: "illegal immigration".

Many Honduran-Americans are migrant farm laborers who first established themselves in the largest U.S. cities, in which they had support networks from the Honduran-American communities. In the late 1980s and 1990s, most Honduran Americans lived in New Orleans (50,000), New York City (33,000), Los Angeles (24,000), and Miami (18,000).[2] In 2000, Hondurans grew to be the third largest immigrant group from Central America.[3]

Usually, Honduran-Americans live in areas with high economic growth and demand for employment in construction, domestic services, and other industries. Many Honduran-Americans suffer discrimination, as other Hispanic groups do.

Honduran-American girls tend to spend more years in school than Honduran-Americans boys, in part due to pressure by their families on boys to start working at age 12 or 14. A total of 1,091 Honduran-Americans have a master's degree, 862 have other professional degrees, and 151 have a doctoral degree. The majority of these individuals are women.[2]

According to the 2010 United States Census there are 633,401 Hondurans living in the United States.[4] By 2011, the number of Hondurans estimated to reside in the United States by the Census Bureau's American Community Survey was 702,000.[5] In 2014, according to Pew Research, "60% of 573,000 Honduran immigrants in the U.S. are unauthorized".[6]

• Francia Almendárez – actress
• Renán Almendárez Coello – radio show host of the show El Cucuy de la Mañana
• David Archuleta – runner-up of American Idol Season 7
• Michael Benjamin (investor) – private investor focusing on Internet companies. He was a Republican candidate for the United States Senate in 2004.[7]
• Steve Van Buren – NFL Hall of Fame Running Back (Philadelphia Eagles)
• Bianca Del Rio – actor, comedian, costume designer, and drag queen.
• Brandon Escobar – wrestler
• Roger Espinoza – footballer who currently plays for Sporting Kansas City in Major League Soccer.
• Miguel Estrada – attorney who became embroiled in controversy following his 2001 nomination by President George W. Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He was the first Latino to be nominated to a high position in the judicial branch and would have been a potential Supreme Court nominee.
• America Ferrera – film actress (Real Women Have Curves, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Ugly Betty)[8][9]
• Michelle Fields – political journalist, Huffington Post contributor
• Brian Flores – Head Coach for the Miami Dolphins
• Henry Flores – professional American photographer who addresses modern pop culture
• Illich Guardiola – American actor
• Teofimo López – American boxer, World Heavyweight Champion 2019, son of hondura immigrants.
• Maximiliano Hernández – film actor (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Sicario, The Last Ship)
• Maity Interiano – journalist, entertainment reporter and television producer
• Skai Jackson – actress, grandfather from Roatan
• Carlos Mencia – comedian, writer and actor (The Mind of Mencia)
• Virginia "Ginny" Montes (1943–1994) – civil rights activist and feminist
• Rigo Nova – actor born in Honduras and co-founder of "Light for Honduras". His background is Engineering and Information Technology.
• Brina Palencia – American voice actress, ADR director, and singer primarily known for her work for Funimation Entertainment/OkraTron 5000.
• Satcha Pretto – journalist and TV news presenter
• Francia Raisa – American actress
• Taxstone – television and podcast personality
• Rocsi (Raquel Lisette Diaz) – 106 & Park Personality Rocsi
• Andres Serrano – American photographer and artist who has become notorious through his photos of corpses and his use of feces and bodily fluids in his work. He is of Honduran and Afro-American descent.
• Hype Williams – Billboard and MTV VMA award-winning music video and film director.
• Gerald Young – former Major League Baseball outfielder
• Daniel Zacapa – film actor (The Mexican, Seven, Odd Couple II, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind)
• José Zúñiga – film actor (24, Prison Break, The O.C)
• Kiara Ramirez
• Karina Guardiola-Lopez (Karina G-Lopez) – writer, actor (Live Big Girl, Jewtina Journals)[10][11]
• Jordy Zak – musician and model[12]

• Maxwell, William. "Honduran Americans." Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 2, Gale, 2014), pp. 345-355. online