Posted: Friday, August 8 --- 3:30pm

"I think we all know why. We all want to live in Madison. It is a great place to live, learn, play. And Latinos are no exception," said Peter Munoz with Centro Hispano. "This is a great place to be."

According to Munoz, the influx of Latinos to America is due to failed economic policies in South America. Their push to Madison is due to the opportunity our city presents. It's hard to know how many Latinos live in Dane County, but Munoz puts the number at 100,000.

"For me it was like a dream to come here to do some studies and work," stated Juan Carlos Reyes.

Reyes came to Madison from Mexico three years ago. He now is the Executive Director of the Latino Chamber of Commerce.

"Madison for me it is a progressive, futuristic, multicultural city," added Reyes. "They are open to diversity, tolerant and supportive."

He also says Madison doesn't often check immigration status.

"They are very respectful," he added, "until someone gets in trouble with the law."

Julieta Gavilanez moved to Chicago from Ecuador 15 years ago. After visiting Madison late last year she figured it was time to move here. And she did five months ago.

"I used to live in Chicago, but Chicago right now is so saturated with people," she said. "This is a very peaceful city. My neighbors, the places I know, the shopping, you can walk no matter the hour. I am fascinated with the city and I am very happy here."

Madison is also attractive to Latinos because it has numerous organizations catering to them. A few are Centro Hispano, the Latino Chamber of Commerce, and Latino Support Network.