Before Orianna Torre moved to Kissimmee two years ago from Venezuela, she and her family were very familiar with the area.

“We have come here a lot of times for like vacations, and that’s one of the reasons we know,” Torre told Spectrum News 13.

Trips to Disney growing up brought smiles to Orianna as a young girl. But now she’s learning how to become a journalist while attending Valencia College.

“When I go to Venezuela, I felt like journalism was not a good thing to do there because of the censorship. Here I found a new hope with what I want to do,” she said.

A UN report in 2019 estimated in March 2019, 94% of Venezuelans lived in poverty. By 2021, that same report says almost 20% of the population or about 5.4 million left their country.

Outside of Venezuela, Central Florida’s Hispanic and Latino communities are a mix of many cultures.

In Orange County alone, Puerto Ricans make up nearly 15% of the population, while residents who claim Mexican heritage and Cuban heritage each make up around 3% of the county’s population.

It’s one of the reasons many consider Florida a melting pot of Hispanic and Latino culture.

Felipe Sousa -Lazaballet immigrated to Florida from Brazil as a teenager. He is now the executive director of the HOPE Community Center in Apopa, serving about 6,500 Hispanic or Latin immigrants a year.

“We make sure that immigrants are an active part of our community, we make sure they are integrated. We make sure they have the resources they need to thrive and not just survive,” he said.

That means Felipe and his team help immigrants with learning how to become a U.S. citizen, as well as offer English Classes.

For Puerto Ricans living in Central Florida, the island’s proximity to Florida and the ongoing economic crisis, there are just some reasons for coming to the Sunshine State.

“There are opportunities for people to find jobs in different areas, and that is one huge reason people come. The second is definitely because there already is a big immigrant community here, which makes it easier for immigrants to arrive,” he continued.

The population of people from countries like Colombia, Venezuela, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic is also growing.

In 2010, Osceola County was about 45.5% Hispanic or Latino. In 2020, data shows that the population now leads the county at 54.3%.

“We love sun, and sunshine, and I think weather and the language, that’s what makes us feel more connected to Florida,” Torre said. “Caracas where I used to live has an incredible weather and I miss it so much but Florida is kind of similar, just a little hotter, haha.”

In 2016, the Hispanic Federation published a report on the largest Hispanic populations by state. Florida ranked third behind California and Texas.