Diversity prompts increased racial isolation

In a grassy downtown plaza, strolling musicians wearing glitzy cowboy outfits blast a mariachi song, while Spanish-speaking shoppers bustle between farm stands ...

The scene is an increasingly typical one in towns across California, where Hispanics are on pace to become the largest ethnic group next year. And Watsonville is but one of dozens of California communities where Hispanics outnumber whites ...

Spanish is spoken in most homes and businesses in town, and one out of five households is linguistically isolated, meaning no one over 14 speaks English.

Rising immigration hasn't made Watsonville more diverse; it is a community heading toward racial isolation, a growing phenomenon ...

Like most U.S. towns, Watsonville has been formed by waves of immigrants, Croats, Portuguese, Filipinos and Japanese, each arriving with their own language, customs and cuisine. The current surge of Hispanics has brought a Latin American influence.

"For me, downtown Watsonville is like being in a small Mexican town," said Oscar Rios, who was Watsonville's first Latino mayor. "Everyone speaks Spanish. The restaurants are Mexican. It's got a very different feel than a traditional American town" ...