The story of Americans learning Vietnamese to advance

Thousands of Latinos work in Vietnamese restaurants in California. To advance, they must understand Vietnamese language and culture.

Nearly 25 years ago, Roberto Torres moved from the Mexican state of Guerrero to Orange County, California, to work as a dishwasher at a Vietnamese restaurant. He was part of a wave of immigration from Vietnam and Mexico that was transforming downtown Orange County, where Asians and Latinos make up the largest percentage of the population.

Roberto worked at Song Long restaurant. After many years, he became the head waiter.

“Hello, sir. What would you like to order today?” Roberto greeted a well-dressed couple from Santa Ana.

Although many Latinos work in Vietnamese restaurants, Roberto is one of the few who leaves the kitchen to interact with customers.

Roberto Torres prepares a meal to order in the kitchen of Song Long restaurant. Photo: Los Angeles Times

During his modest “ascent,” he saw how the Asian and Latino communities came together to change the economic and cultural life of Orange County.

Nearly 145,000 Vietnamese and more than 344,000 Latinos lived in Westminster, Garden Grove and Santa Ana — the three cities that make up Little Saigon — between 2010 and 2014, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Despite their political differences — Vietnamese tend to be Republicans, while Latinos tend to be Democrats — the two communities work together to address the region's labor shortage.

Vietnamese retail activities are thriving, but traders cannot recruit enough compatriots due to the sharp decline in the number of immigrants from Vietnam in recent years.

So immigrants from Mexico and other Latin American countries saw Little Saigon as a gateway to the retail industry, even if they had to start from the bottom.

“The flow of Vietnamese migrants has virtually stopped. Shop owners and businesses have to find workers elsewhere. So they continue to hire Latin American immigrants.

“Latinos are willing to take low-paying jobs. The number of immigrants from Latin America is constantly increasing, so hiring is always easy,” said Linda Vo, a professor of Asian American studies at the University of California, Irvine.

The workplace is not a level playing field. Vietnamese are always the boss, while Latinos are limited to lower positions. Roberto may move up the ladder, but many other Latino workers never make it out of the kitchen or the dishwasher.

“Vietnamese people also start in similar positions, but only in the early years. Most of them work for relatives or friends, so they have more opportunities for advancement,” Vo explained.

Vietnamese and Latinos (primarily Mexican) began to make up the majority of the population in central Orange County in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Initially, most Vietnamese settled in Westminster, while Latinos settled in Santa Ana. Over time, the lines between the two communities blurred.

Vo said some Vietnamese people start life in the United States with some advantages. Some know English and are well-educated in their home country.

A 2010 survey found that the average annual income of Vietnamese in Orange County was about $64,000, much higher than the $56,000 of Latin Americans.

Mexican immigrants work in all kinds of restaurants in Southern California and beyond. But even in Asian restaurants, they are rarely seen.

For an employee like Roberto Torres, being a head waiter means being well-versed in Vietnamese language and culture. Customers often test his language comprehension.

“I spoke to him in Vietnamese, asking him to read the names of the dishes on the plate. He actually understood what I said,” said Mai Hoang, a diner.

Will, Mai Hoang's younger brother, confirmed: "Every time I come here, that guy welcomes me. He always serves me exactly what I order."

Using two mobile phones for work, businessman Vince Doan said he was not surprised by Roberto's ability to speak Vietnamese.

“Since we settled in Southern California, I guess there is going to be cultural exchange. Now everyone here understands other cultures,” Doan confided.

According to Zing