Let’s take a break from my incessant whining about my very flat wallet shall we?
Last Monday, I think it was, Laura and I took off in the Chi Chi for a three hour desert trip to Northern Coahuila. Through the maquila filled pueblo/rancho of San Pedro, the vast expanse of flat desert nothingingness, and finally (or so we thought) to the tourist-dependent oasis of Cuatro Cienegas (four blind women) with it’s handful of upscale restaurants and hotels … and on the otherside of the train tracks, a chalky, colorless grid of crumbling adobe shacks bandaged with rusty iron roofing and PVC pipes sticking out like splinters.
Believe it or not, I’d had a desire to see San Pedro, Coahuila for quite some time. Though I think it might be older than the much larger city of Torreon, it is now nothing more than an agricultural satellite. Well, agriculture used to be the heart of their economy … it’s pretty obvious that landowners these days are eager to sell their lots to foreign investors who are even more eager to find dependable, cheap labor. And in San Pedro there is plenty of it. On the way back – straight out of a 1930’s socialist propoganda movie – we passed by a maquila just as the workers were coming out … by the hundreds. Each one walking out with their Wal-Mart bought bicicyle and obediently showing some sort of identification, attached to a lanyard around their necks, to the security guards at the gate. A small sign – almost unnoticable – said the plant was responsible for making fertilizer. I’m not sure exactly how fertilizer is made, but I can’t imagine it’s work anyone would call ‘fun’. I didn’t recognize the name of the company, but I never do. That’s something I learned while giving English classes to the same types of companies: cheap labor is always kept well apart from valuable brand names.
But it’s not fetishism of the working class that had me interested in San Pedro; it was the Chinese. Chinese immigration has a long, complicated, and even tragic history in Northern Mexico, but you never read anything about it – neither in Mexican nor American academia. Which is precisely why it’s grabbed my attention. Whenever I’m around someone who seems well-informed on regional history, I always ask about the Chinese community and though responses are vague, San Pedro has been brought up a few times as a center of Chinese immigration during the Porfiriato when the cross-country railroads were being constructed.
Laura told me that after Pancho Villa and his revolutionary army began attacking the Chinese – who he claimed were hoarding wealth and ripping off the peasantry – in the 1910’s and 20’s, many of them retreated to San Pedro as a low-key refuge. So I guess, as we approached the small town, I expected a sort of San Francisco-like Chinatown. But it is no such thing. San Pedro is just like any other rural municipality along la libre (the non-toll – and usually pot-holed – highways of Mexico): a church, a plaza, a handful of streets, and an emmigration problem. But not one decent place for the Latin American variant of chow-mein. The late 19th century, early 20th century population of Chinese-Mexicans seems to have been completely integrated into what is today, a very mixed national gene pool.
One of Laura’s best friends is one-quarter Chinese. Her cousin is also one-quarter Chinese. “Huh, yeah, I guess I see it,” is always the reaction, but you’d never guess it otherwise. Walking around Monterrey though, every day I’d come across facial features that were undoubtedly Chinese. But I always felt like the only one who noticed or paid any attention to it. As a liberal American, am I hyper-aware of ethnicity, I’d ask myself. So I started pointing people out to Laura who were obviously part Chinese and she would almost always respond with, “yeah, I guess so, I never really noticed.
A common complaint – not just at the dinner table, but in the media as well – is that recent Chinese immigrants (“pinches chinos“) are stealing the jobs of working and middle class Mexicans. I always make a point to say that many working and middle class Americans say the same thing about Mexican immigrants, but it seems to always go by unnoticed.
I asked Laura if there was overt racism in Mexico against Chinese-Mexicans [PDF – spanish]. She said no, but then remembered a popular saying: chino cochino (literally: Chinese pig, but more like, ‘dirty Chinese’). She said that Chinese immigrants were viewed as dirty and unkempt and that the saying has endured on today. Whether that is racism or Memin Pinguin-like playfulness, I guess, is in the eye of the beholder.
One thing I am sure of though, is that there is a gigantic shortage of research on the Chinese (and Arab for that matter) experience in Mexico. I’d be extremely curious to see genealogical data of Northern Mexico to find out just what percent of Northern Mexicans today have some Chinese ancestry.
In fact, though I doubt I could do any one thing for more than two years, I think it would be a gas to get a Ph.D. in history with an in-depth dissertation on Mexican-Chinese history and then go back into working for a cafe.
Jeff Barry, by the way, has a pretty interesting post on another unknown immigration history – the Irish in Argentina. (Believe it or not, Chile’s independence liberator was an Irish immigrant).
Weird … not what I thought I’d write about at all, but so it goes.
Oso, I’m afraid the male/female ratio in history might not be what it’s like in education. Still, this seems like you could actually go somewhere with it. Maybe there are some clear answers as to why so many people think I’m Asian even though my family is not from northern Mexico. Do you know anything about Chinese in Guanajuato or in Zacatecas?
I also think you are on to something here. May I suggest anthropology as a disciplinary avenue for your potential research. It would be an excellent way to combine archival research with ethnography.
I have also been fascinated by the assimilation (or perhaps pseudo-assimilation or quasi-assimilation would be better terms) of immigrants to Mexico. My most recent discovery was the Korean immigration to Yucatan. It was also during the Profiriato period and they went to work in the Henequen plantations there. The population has either assimilated or they moved off (most of them to Cuba) so that there is not even one Korean restaurant in Merida (I had dreams of trying habanero kimichee – oh well).
I have heard of Prof. Tsuda’s book (remember I wanted to be part of the immigration workshop at UCSD a while back). I am going to have to pick it up and read it. I have heard many tales of Peruvian and Brazilian Japanese going back to Japan only to be severely discriminated against and having identity crisises.
In any case, if you do decide to persue this, let’s talk. Perhaps we could develop a collaborative project.
that sounds like a fascinating topic. also, isn’t there something in mexico known as la china poblana? i’m not sure what it is tho. anyway, my father’s family is from rosita, coahuila and i have heard my grandmother mention the chinese families in her town. i believe they even have a restaurant there still. my mother went to it and reported back that she didn’t like having saltine crackers served with her food but the restaurant owners told her it was what the locals liked. and just a few days back my grandmother was telling me how a chinese man in the town had wanted to marry her older sister and the thought had completely horrified her sister. i also had an aunt that talked about her grandfather being chinese–it was very obvious in her features and my cousin (her son) was nicknamed tokyo by the kids in the neighborhood when we were younger.
I did an in depth research for two years about the history of la china poblana… turns out that she was a princess from india who became a slave and entered mexico as a slave. The people of mexico loved her for her kindness, beauty and generosity. She would give them food, gifts and song and dance. The people of mexico named her La China Poblana… the asian chili
I tripped out in seventh grade when I met and ethnic Chinese kid who had immigrated from Guatemala. I met some Japanese and other Chinese kids who grew up in Peru and Argentina, respectively. It was weird to me that they spoke better Spanish than me. The Tsuda book looks like something I’d check out if I wasn’t so busy enjoying my summer.
A good bet for a good (at least to you) female to male ratio are Masters in Social Welfare/Work programs.
Somehow itunes is picking up your PDF file in lieu of podcasts, how neat!
Very interesting post, I have several Mexican-Chinese friends from Mexico City as well as a Brazilian-Japanese friend who recently moved back to Japan so I am very aware of all of this. Though I wonder if all this analysis somehow imposes on us Latinos the gringo way of seeing things, that “hyper-aware sense of ethnicity”. The fact that Chinese and other minorities have more or less disappeared into the Mexican population signifies something, I don’t know whether this is good or bad. It would be a matter of seeing where do minorities feel more integrated throughout the generations, in the US or Mexico?
Oh, and that WHITE oso on your new design cracks me up, could you please write the word gringo under it? It would mislead less readers š
I am working on that banner š
I think that Latinos already know how it feels to have more or less disappeared into another culture, I mean, most Latinos are mestizos, right? So we already know what it feels to have our prior identities ( Indian, Spaniard, Jewish or Chinese ) blended, the question is, why doesn’t or didn’t this organically happened in the US? Why do whites ( most of them ) stay white and why do Latinos stay Latinos? Why do Chinese who stay in Mexico become Mexican and not Chinese-Mexicans? It’s crazy but it seems that Mexico’s ignorance about its minorities actually creates something positive, not perfect, but far better than the racial tensions that our model nation ( US ) has created with all its racial awareness.
This post blows me away. You out do yourself posing all these questions. Perhaps, it’s that I’m completely inept of the Mexican region aside from my family’s history. Even then, I’ve lost most of that because my grandparents are gone. I don’t know what I am aside from mix of Spanish and Indian blood, but as you say, you can’t help but notice ethnicity. Is there a reason too many people tell me I don’t have “Mexican facial features”? Why do people often mistake me for Asian, Indian or of some Arab?
Yes, you bring up so many incredible issues I hope to read more about here or makes me want to fucking ask more about my family’s history. Yes, my mother’s father is part Spanish (no wonder her side of the family is white, blue eyed kin) and that’s about it. But what of the rest? I’m writing an essay on identity issues between the men in my family, and this just opens doors for me to do more with. Damn. Damn, genial.
I was completely unaware (once again I show my ignorance) that there was Chinese immigration that was never documented. I am aware there are much French, Spanish, and German in Mexico and a lot of them with Arab decent. If it’s not prevelent in Monterrey, do you think it’s prevalent in D.F ?
My good friend Patti, when I first met her in college, I thought, “This girl’s arabic.” And so I spoke to her in English. Then one day she says a word to me in Spanish. I do a double take, she talks with this cantito style that I’ve heard before, I just couldn’t peg.
“I do have arab decent on my dad’s side,” she said, “but my family were born in Argentina.”
I recently finished a non-fiction anthology, with writing by a variety of nf writers. In it is an essay by Alan Cheuse. He’s a Jewish writer who wrote an award-winning piece for the San Diego Weekly Reader (piece called “Tacos & Manna”)regarding the Jewish community living in Tijuana. He wrote about the Jewish historical background that stems to the “annals of the Mexican nation.”
Cheuse, writes:
Three lines?! Why does this happen? Why does a country hide part of their identity?
Incredible post, that raises more questions and definately makes me think. I think it’s the coffee tambien. š
oso, thanks for clearing up the whole poblano thing for me. yes, my parents are planning on returning to mexico in the next couple of years. i’m not sure if they will be headed to nueva rosita or a town closer to the border like piedras negras.
speaking of ‘racial’ tensions in mexico because they do exist out there. you just have to look to see who is on tv to see how much european features are valued. i have an aunt that always suggests that i cut or lighten my hair because i look too ‘india’, talk about self-hatred. anyhoot, discrimination existing in mexico was confirmed just a few years back when i visited family in reynosa, i was struck by the attitude towards the migration of veracruzanos to their area. my cousin told me that they spoke funny, that they were always in the news for crimes and that they were nothing but trouble. i thought to myself, i think that is exactly what they think of all us del otro lado.
Hmmm, I dated an ethnically Chinese, Mexican. Everyone called him El Chino. He was physically Chinese (not at all culturally) looking but wasn’t sure how his family had “gotton” to mexico.
The history of the presence of the chinese population in Mexico, even though it was so significant, has been sadly undocumented. The presence of asian population came sinnce the 18th century, although it was some contacts sinnce the 7th century, due to the “Nao de China”.
It is true that about 100 years ago this oriental migration came to Mexico to cities such as Torreon, Mexico City, Mazatlan, but undoubtedly its presence by thousands was in Baja California. Cities such as Tijuana and Mexicali, in fact, had its chinatows. The one in Mexicali was the largest in Latin America. 19 out of twenty were chinese inhabitants in that city. Befere they arrived, Mexicali was only some shacks scarced in the desert. Actually, the chenise immigrants setled the city, created the commerce activity, the recreational spots, as well as the opium dens and many of the brothels which atracted a lot of American tourists during the prohibition of the alcohol.
The Mexican government made a lot of many from Chinese immigration by receiving taxes from commerce and for individual who enter the country. Mexicali and Tijuana receive a large migration because of many of them were deported from San Francisco and others simply came there to wait and try to cross to California.
For sure, today, in is the largest Chinese community in Mexico; any study over the Chinese migration to Mexico must include the city of Mexicali, B. C.
Sadly, the Mexican people have never understood the importance of this community -perhaps because Mexicans, even, have not unnderstood their own etnicity. It is hard to see that the receiving country never has valued the abitily, the skills and productivity of this people.
Sorry because the bunch of errors, but my first language is spanish.
Good Luck in Your Project!
In Mexicali was there ever a store or shop called THE CHINESE-MEXICAN MERCANTILE CO.? (CompaƱia Chino-Mexicano de Mercancias). I know it’s a long shot and off the wall but if anyone knows I would appreciate it.
Jose Luis,
I really appreciate your comment. There is no doubt that I need to take a trip to Mexicali one of these weekends and do some research.
Jerry,
That will be part of my research.
re: comment on Chinese-Mexican Mercantile Co. That company was started by my great grandfather, Lew Hing in the 1916 in Mexicali. It consisted of a cotton planatation of 4,000 acres and a store. Workers were conscripted from China, transported on the China Mail Steamship Lines, offloaded in San Francisco and traveled directly to Mexico by rail. You can google Lew Hing for more information.
Recently I have become interested in the demographics of Mexico. I read up on the people of Chinese descent in Mexicali and I find it to be very interesting.
My maternal grandfather, Kee Cio Wong, established a small store in either Torreon or Mapimi. He married my maternal grandmother Pascuala Nava and had a large family including my mother.
Neighbors hid him during the chinese massacre of May 13-15, 1911 and he and his family fled the revolution and settled in of all places, Helena, Montana. My mother was the youngest of the children and she was born there. Unfortunately, he soon died. He was buried in Canton. His family traveled on a boat. His widow remained a short time in Helena but returned to Torreon.
I still have family in Torreon as well as Monterey.
Although I am only 1/4 Chinese and the rest Mexican, I still look Chinese. I am fluent in Spanish, which throws a lot of people off. My daughter;s mother is Mexican and my daughter still has Asian feautures. Strong genes I guess.
Randy W. Medina
Pasadena, California
To Oso, I just wondered wether you did more research on the Chinese in Mexico. During the official expulsion of the Chinese by the North Mexican states in 1931, my Father was sent as consule to Nogales by the Chinese Embassy in Mexico, to oversee the situation. Chinese fled to the US border. Most were given free passage by the US,to Hong Kong.some with their Mexican family. By late 1930s few Chinese remained. My Father married a Mexican. Was sent to Chiapas were I was born. The Chinese in the South were not persecuted. We had a peaceful life there. After six years he was sent to Kingston Jamaica were the Haka Chinese needed representation. It has amazed me how despite persecution the Chinese have been able to thrive under difficult circumstances. A good web site is, “The Gold Mountain through Our Parents Eyes,” under, Historical Perspectives, I have donated some info & photos about my family. I would like to receive any info about Tapachula Chiapas & the Chinese in the 30s & 40s.there were many wealthy Chinese coffee plantation owners, their descendents went abroad to study & never went back to Chiapas. I will soon write a memoir, being in my 70s it would be the right time!
E. Medina Wong,
Fascinating. Stop back by and tell us when that memoir is finished OK?
To Oso, I wrote to you about the eviction of the Chinese from Nogales back in 2007. I mentioned I was writing a memoir about my Fathers involvement, as consule, in Mexico, Kingston Jamaica, plus our experiences during the Communist takeover in China and our final refuge to America. I am seeking
a literary Agent, or publisher for the book. The book is 300 pages
including photos.
Interesting discussion, really. I just wanted to make you notice a small mistake: you confuse the word “ciega” (blind woman) with “ciĆ©naga” (swamp). This town is in a swampy area, hence its name.