ABSTRACT
It is intriguing to think of the way in which "La Macarena," a little dance tune from Spain, so aptly captured the spirit of the Latino vote in the 1996 United States presidential election. In Puerto Rico, it was the unofficial campaign song of the pro-statehood incumbent governor. The interesting aspect of the Latino vote in New York in 1996 was that, unlike Macarena, Latinos didn't do much playing around, sticking with their old boyfriend, President Bill Clinton. In Puerto Rican and other Latino districts in New York, Clinton attracted a record 90 percent of the vote, only slightly exceeded by that of African Americans. The major group conducting voter registration campaigns in the Latino community in New York and other parts of the Northeast was the Hispanic Education and Legal Fund, based at the Health and Hospital Workers Union, Local 1199, headed by Democratic Party leader Dennis Rivera. In 1996, over two-thirds of New Yorkers were registered Democrats.
