Little Italy in Lower Manhattan is known for its high Italian population. Due to the high population of Italians in the region, Arthur Avenue in the Bronx is characterized by delicious Italian foods. Communities like the Italians exist in the United States due to immigration into the country in search of better-paying jobs, flee from unfavorable living conditions in their home countries, or search for quality education. Once a person migrates into another country, they tend to stay in areas with people who share similar ethnic backgrounds (Gabaccia 10-15). Once they settle in a commonplace, they hold on to their country’s culture and observe it occasionally. However, such patterns have been changing due to developments and interactions of people from varied ethnic backgrounds. For instance, Little Italy in Lower Manhattan has been diminishing gradually over the year due to structural developments and intermarriages between the Italians, people from other regions, and Americans.
It is easy for communities to preserve their culture and cultural practices, although they might easily be diluted by the new cultures they find in their new locations. In most cases, only the first generation of immigrants hold on to their cultural practices. The new generations only try to imitate the cultural practices they learn from their predecessors (Oliver 17). The intensity of the cultural practices diminishes from generation to generation because of the influence of the indigenous cultural practices that characterize each region. A new generation of people will only adopt the cultural practice that is widely practiced in the area where they live. Therefore, it will be easier for new generations among the Italian population to adopt the American culture than the Italian culture.
Works Cited
Gabaccia, Donna R. “Inventing “Little Italy” 1.”The Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, 2(4), 2007, P. 457-475.
Oliver, Lawrence J. “The Re-Visioning of New York’s Little Italies: From Howells to Puzo.”Melus, 9(5), 1987, p. 19-28.