name of Martin Sheen, in honor of the famous tele-
vision host Archbishop Fulton Sheen. Sheen be-
came a star with the success ofApocalypse Now(1979).
Two of his sons would also rise to fame in the 1980’s,
with Charlie Sheen retaining his father’s stage name
and Emilio Estevez keeping his birth name.
Geraldo Rivera, an investigative reporter at ABC’s
20/20, made huge ratings with his report “The Elvis
Cover Up.” In 1987, he started his own daytime talk
show, which ran for eleven years.
Gloria Estefan became a household name as her
band, Miami Sound Machine, had a number of hit
songs in the 1980’s and spun off several popular La-
tino artists, such as Jon Secada.
In athletics, runner Alberto Salazar broke rec-
ords at the 1981 New York Marathon (which he also
won three years in a row) and the 1982 Boston Mara-
thon, and he was part of the U.S. Olympic team in
1980 and 1984. Nancy Lopez was Ladies Professional
Golf Association (LPGA) Player of the Year in 1985
and 1988. Jose Canseco was the American League’s
Rookie of the Year in 1986 and its Most Valuable
Player (MVP) in 1988.
Religion Latinos generally considered themselves
Catholic, though increasing numbers were convert-
ing to Protestant religions. Like any population,
their relationships to the Catholic Church varied: As
with many local cultures within the Catholic world,
Latin Americans adopted indigenous religious prac-
tices that Rome considered superstitious. Politically,
many adhered to the movement known as liberation
theology, which was censured by the Vatican on sev-
eral occasions in the 1980’s. Nevertheless, the out-
ward trappings of Catholicism, along with some Na-
tive American and African religious practices, were
integral to Latino culture.
Catholic immigrants from various parts of Eu-
rope had emphasized assimilation into American
culture. They would start off in ethnic neighbor-
hoods and parishes, then gradually shed aspects
of their native culture and religion as each genera-
tion wanted greater acceptance in America. By the
1960’s, this trend had merged with interpretations
of Vatican II to inspire rejection of the so-called
Catholic ghetto, in which traditional Catholic devo-
tions, music, and artwork were cast aside by many
non-Latino American Catholics.
This was not the case with Latinos, who saw Ca-
tholicism, at least culturally, as an integral part of
Latinidad. While Catholics in the United States
would support Latino immigrants (both legal and
otherwise) in a spirit of brotherhood, anti-immi-
grant groups began reviving rhetoric that had been
used against Eastern European, Irish, and Italian im-
migrants in the early twentieth century.
Support for illegal immigrants tended to come
from progressive Catholics who had made a point of
shedding their own ethnic cultures since the 1960’s.
While they shared the quest for social and economic
justice, they were uncomfortable with the outward
practices of Latino Catholics. Conversely, more tra-
ditional and conservative U.S. Catholics, who might
not have agreed with the political causes of refugees,
welcomed their use of traditional prayers and devo-
tions. Devotions such as the Virgin of Guadalupe
came to be adopted as symbols for all American
Catholics, not just Latinos.
Many new Catholic lay movements that started
or expanded in the wake of Vatican II became cata-
lysts for merging of the two Catholic populations
through shared membership. Liberation theology,
Opus Dei, and the Cursillo were all movements that
started in Spanish-speaking countries and involved
some elements of Spanish language and culture that
were adopted by non-Latino Catholics.
Impact The trends in immigration and cultural
awareness greatly increased the role of Latino cul-
ture in the United States in the 1980’s. The number
of U.S. residents identifying themselves as racially
Hispanic would double between 1980 and 2000. Ac-
ceptance of Latino cuisine by the wider community
would result in salsa surpassing ketchup as the most
popular condiment in the United States by the early
1990’s. Illegal immigration would remain a topic of
national concern for decades. In 2003, the Census
Bureau would announce that Hispanics had sur-
passed African Americans as the largest minority
group in the United States.
Further Reading
Gonzalez, Juan.Harvest of Empire: A Histor y of Latinos
in America. New York: Penguin, 2001. A book deal-
ing with the history and impact of Latino immi-
gration to the United States.
Gutierrez, David, ed.Columbia Histor y of Latinos in
the United States Since 1960. New York: Columbia
University Press, 2004. A collection of articles pre-
senting the impact of Latinos on the culture of
the United States in the late twentieth century.The Eighties in America Latinos 577