In Jamaica Plain, residents push to rename sites to honor Latino heritage - Massachusetts

“The discarded newspapers dotting the sidewalk say, “El Planeta.” The bodegas down the street carry plantains and Soap Hispano. A travel agency has only one flight advertised in its window: a $429 trip to Santo Domingo. It is in this stretch of Jamaica Plain where Pedro Martinez still visits to pick up salsa and bachata CDs.

Once called Little Germany after the nationality of the many factory workers who lived there, it is now one of the most densely Latino sections of Boston. Already referred to by some as Boston’s Latin Quarter, several groups are pushing for official recognition, asking the city to rename a local park to reflect the culture of the area and change a half-mile stretch of Centre Street to Avenue de las Americas.”

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