{"id":174747,"date":"2026-04-24T10:29:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T10:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/174747\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T10:29:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T10:29:07","slug":"i-am-a-dutchirican-puerto-rican-mennonites-in-pennsylvania-dutch-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/174747\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I Am a Dutchirican’: Puerto Rican Mennonites in Pennsylvania Dutch Country"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania Dutch Country, which is famous for its horse-and-buggy farm communities of Amish and Mennonites, is less known for its Puerto Rican community. But from the flags waving in home windows to the smells of Puerto Rican food on busy streets, they\u2019re very much present in Pennsylvania Dutch Country. And in a nod to the region\u2019s name, they call themselves \u201cDutchiricans.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dutchiricans have been in the area for generations, and most of them have economic and religious ties to the Mennonite community, in particular. Mennonites vary in their strictness, but they are a similar group to the Amish and some adhere to a traditional way of life, including plain clothing, head coverings, limited education, and horse and buggy transportation. During World War II, Mennonites volunteered their time as \u201cconscientious objectors\u201d due to their pacifist beliefs. Instead of fighting on the battlefield, they built hospitals and schools in Puerto Rico. Years later, Puerto Ricans followed their Mennonite brethren back to Pennsylvania to work on their farms and factories. Many joined the Mennonite church and communities in the process. But as with any history, there were complications.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

For many Dutchiricans, moving to Pennsylvania Dutch Country in the mid-20th century meant adapting to an entirely new way of life, from clothing to food to the way you worshipped. Dutchiricans faced hardships, as well, with limited options for work advancement, housing, and even marriage between communities.<\/p>\n

In this episode, producer Sarah McClure explores Pennsylvania Dutch Country and spends time with one Dutchirican woman, Ramona Rivera Navedo, who shares her story. Ramona recalls her Dutchirican family history in detail, from her family leaving their barrio in Puerto Rico to her father working on Mennonite farms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dutchiricans like Ramona navigated the demands of assimilation to carve out their own space in Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Today, they\u2019re reclaiming their history in the Mennonite church \u2014\u00a0and beyond.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Featured image by Ramona Rivera Navedo.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Want to support our independent journalism?\u00a0Join Futuro+<\/a>\u00a0for exclusive episodes, sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes\u00a0chisme\u00a0on Latino USA and all our podcasts.<\/p>\n

This episode was produced by Sarah McClure and edited by Alejandra Salazar, with production support from Roxana Aguirre. Fact-checking for this episode by Roxana Aguirre.<\/p>\n

Special thanks to Drs. Guzm\u00e1n Zavala and Hinshaw, whose scholarly work helped shape the foundation of this story.<\/p>\n

Music Credits:<\/p>\n

Church Song
\u201cCaminamos en la luz de Dios\u201d
Performed by the congregation of Laurel Street Mennonite Church
Music Leader: Derrick Charles<\/p>\n

Outro Song
\u201cD\u00e9cima\u201d
Written and performed by Pastor Juan Gonz\u00e1lez
Recorded at Lancaster County\u2019s first Dutchirican exhibit (2017)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania Dutch Country, which is famous for its horse-and-buggy farm communities of Amish and Mennonites, is less known…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":174748,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[76744,78349,25088,78350,78351,28,78352,30,29,1471],"class_list":["post-174747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-amish","tag-dutchiricans","tag-latinos","tag-mennonite-church","tag-mennonites","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-dutch-country","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-puerto-rico"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}