Fleeing a hostile communist regime that would take control there, waves of refugees flooded out of South Vietnam during the fall of Saigon in 1975. Many poured into the U.S. with thousands temporarily settling at Camp Pendleton near Oceanside. This military base happens to border Orange County, which was then considered to be staunchly conservative, anti-communist, pro-capitalist, and growing fast, the perfect cultural landscape and political stew to attract these refugees. As thousands of Vietnamese people took that small step north, more thousands followed in epic chain migrations from around the nation and the world. The results transformed middle-class suburban landscapes in the heart of the OC that were previously stereotyped and even ridiculed.
Even within this most diverse state where rapid change is a way of life, it would be difficult to find human landscapes that have so drastically changed in just more than 40 years. Though San Jose attracted the largest number of Vietnamese Americans (more than 100,000) within any city limit in North America, the largest Little Saigon belongs to Orange County, especially within the cities of Garden Grove, Westminster, and on the west side of Santa Ana. Into the early 1970s, these were places where White and a few other Asian and Pacific Islander families dominated the population, but with increasing numbers of Latinos closer to the west side of Santa Ana. Back then, it would have been difficult to find a person with Vietnamese ancestry there. Just more than 40 years later, they often dominate the cultures in these neighborhoods.
[mapsmarker map=”2″]Today, in this place that was once stereotyped as a lily white monoculture, you can sense the diverse human landscapes – the signage, languages, and cultures – speaking to you and they are often Vietnamese. You can especially experience this on Bolsa Avenue between Magnolia and Brookhurst, but the changes have rippled far out into Santa Ana and other nearby communities as this enclave continues to expand and gain wealth. This expansion has recently displaced Latino families that once dominated the west side of Santa Ana. You will see the old South Vietnamese flag everywhere, a symbol of lasting solidarity against the current Vietnamese communist government that has recently been opening up to the world. And you can see these determined efforts to relive and recreate a past, both real and imagined, especially among the elderly Vietnamese people who escaped more than 40 years ago.
Within these landscapes are more stories that illustrate how California’s past, present, and future connects to the world and vice versa. You will also find thousands of stories that speak to the unequaled diversity that is a main theme throughout our California geography publication and project. In this case, you might enjoy properly pronouncing and eating a delicious bowl of Vietnamese soup known as Pho in the many restaurants that may be adjacent to American fast food franchises.
