Compare and contrast the Latino populations on the East Coast with those on the West Coast, including their nations of origin and what circumstances brought them to the United States.

Today, approximately 60 million Latinos live in the United States, primarily in large cities and in the southern and western states of the country. Now, Latino populations vary markedly from region to region. This, taking into account that Latin America extends from Mexico to Argentina, implies a series of demographic, ethnic, social and cultural differences between the citizens of each of these countries, which implies that the Latino community is not a homogeneous group. These demographic differences are evident in the areas where each subgroup of Latino nationalities is based.

Thus, the western region of the country, mainly California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico, is populated by Latinos of predominantly Mexican origin, which is explained by the geographical proximity and historical connections of these states with that country, from which they formed part until 1848. In a much smaller proportion, this area also receives Central American migrants (Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador, mainly), who enter the majority on foot, illegally, along the southern border with Mexico, generally escaping of the horrible living conditions they have in their respective countries.

The Midwest area, mainly the big cities like Chicago, have high percentages of Latin population, which begins to decrease as they move away from the cities. In these cities, the majority of the Latino population is of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Colombian or Dominican origin, and it is generally about populations that have migrated for labor reasons, given the distance with their countries (for a Mexican worker with economic needs it is much more easy to cross the border on foot than to take a plane, for example).

The northeast of the country follows the same pattern of migratory population as that of the Midwest, with the difference that the proportion of Mexicans decreases, and that of Puerto Ricans and Dominicans increases, perhaps influenced by the fact that these cities are located in the Atlantic Ocean, just as the entire Caribbean islands.

Lastly, the southern zone has a very different migration pattern: the proximity to Cuba has an absolute influence on the Latino population in Florida, where half of the Latinos are of that descent. A large proportion of the other half includes Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Colombians, Brazilians, Ecuadorians, and Venezuelans. In this region, the motivation of the migrants is very heterogeneous: thus, many Cubans and Venezuelans escape from the political situation in their countries, while many Brazilians and Argentines of the upper classes come to Florida to do business.