By Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer

Since the 1980s, Osceola County has seen steady growth of the Puerto Rican population; an increase so great, the area is home to one of the largest populations in the country.

Enter Simone Delerme, a Rutgers University Ph.D candidate who relocated from New York to Buenaventura Lakes to complete her doctoral dissertation on the Puerto Rican culture in Osceola County and the impact it has had on the residents, property values and the culture itself.

“You have, for the first time, Puerto Ricans and other Hispanics living in the suburbs,” Delerme said. “Osceola (County) has replaced New Jersey as the area with the second-highest population of Puerto Ricans, after New York.”

Delerme, 29, moved to BVL in June to begin two years of observation for what she hopes will become a textbook. She plans to study the tension between long-time residents and Puerto Ricans; new cultural practices such as using the garage for purposes other than storing cars; how Puerto Ricans, seeking the American Dream, have resorted to renting rooms out of their homes to pay the mortgage; and the impact of Puerto Ricans on the foreclosure crisis.

Delerme is especially interested in the foreclosure crisis and how Puerto Ricans may have contributed to it. Delerme has found a large concentration of Hispanic surnames in the foreclosure listings. She is currently working to verify how many are Puerto Rican.

She theorizes that Puerto Ricans may have been encouraged to lie about their finances or were not explained the terms of their loans correctly, which caused them to default on their mortgages.

In addition to research, Delerme is using both formal and informal interviews to document “what's happened to the county, how different people perceive the change and the desire for choosing Osceola,” she said. “The most interesting data comes from those informal conversations. As soon as I record, (long-time residents) don't want to be called racist; they say they're the minority now.”

State Rep. Darren Soto, D-Orlando, who represents most of BVL, said the area has become influential because Puerto Ricans tend not to vote along party lines and is fascinating because, in his experience, half the population is from the island and half are from New York and New Jersey.

"It will be interesting to see what is found. It's a long time coming," Soto, who is of Puerto Rican heritage, said.

Delerme grew up in Delaware, where she graduated from the University of Delaware with a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in liberal arts. A lifelong passion for teaching pushed her to attend Rutgers University, where she worked as a teacher's assistant. Currently, she is a research assistant for the university's Center for Race and Ethnicity. She lives in BVL with two roommates.

“Life in BVL is isolated, it’s quiet. That's part of the challenge,” Delerme said. “I'm curious about the area. It's work but its personal as well. It’s the challenge of melting the two.”

Although her father is Puerto Rican, Delerme said she always had a passion for wanting to know more about the culture and the people. She read books but noticed a negative portrayal of the U.S. territory. She hopes this project will stop some stereotypes.

“BVL was painted as a predominantly Puerto Rican area but I've found it’s more diverse,” she said. “I want to look at different segments of the population.”

After the project is completed and with her new title of doctor, Delerme said she plans to pursue a tenured teaching position at a university, perhaps focusing on anthropology or social science.