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Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
, Bajío Region,
Guerrero Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the popu ...
, Mexico City, Yucatan , langs = Mexican Spanish and
Asian languages A wide variety of languages are spoken throughout Asia, comprising different language families and some unrelated isolates. The major language families include Austroasiatic, Austronesian, Caucasian, Dravidian, Indo-European, Afroasiatic, Tur ...
, rels = Christianity (mainly
Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
),
Mahayana Buddhism ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...
, Hinduism , related =
Asian Latin Americans Asian Latin Americans or Latinasians are Latin Americans of Asian descent. Asian immigrants to Latin America have largely been from East Asia or West Asia. Historically, Asians in Latin America have a centuries-long history in the region, star ...
,
Asian Americans Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peopl ...
Asian Mexicans ( es, Mexicanos Asiáticos; Asiomexicanos) are Mexicans of Asian descent. Asians are considered the (fourth root) of Mexico in conjunction with the three other roots:
Native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...
,
European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
and African. Due to the historical and contemporary perception in Mexico of Asians as a distinct ethnic group in the country, this article focuses on Mexicans of South, East and Southeast Asian descent. For Mexicans of West Asian descent, see
Arab Mexicans Arab Mexicans are Mexican citizens of Arab ethnic, cultural and linguistic heritage or identity, who identify themselves as Arab. Some of Mexico's Arabs are of Lebanese, or Palestinian descent. The inter-ethnic marriage in the Arab community, ...
,
history of the Jews in Mexico The history of the Jews in Mexico can be said to have begun in 1519 with the arrival of ''Conversos'', often called ''Marranos'' or “Crypto-Jews,” referring to those Jews forcibly converted to Catholicism and that then became subject to the ...
and
Turks in Mexico Turks in Mexico ( tr, , es, ) comprise Turkish people living in Mexico and their Mexico-born descendants. The Turkish community is largely made up of immigrants or the descendants of immigrants, born in the Ottoman Empire before 1923, in the ...
.


History


Colonial era

The first record of an Asian in Mexico is from 1540; an enslaved cook originating from
Calicut Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...
bought by
Juan de Zumárraga Juan de Zumárraga, OFM (1468 – June 3, 1548) was a Spanish Basque Franciscan prelate and the first Bishop of Mexico. He was also the region's first inquisitor. He wrote ''Doctrina breve'', the first book published in the Western Hemispher ...
in Spain and subsequently relocated to Mexico. However, regular immigration did not begin until 1565 with the establishment of the
Manila-Acapulco Galleon fil, Galyon ng Maynila , english_name = Manila Galleon , duration = From 1565 to 1815 (250 years) , venue = Between Manila and Acapulco , location = New Spain (Spanish Empire) ...
(lasting until 1815), which economically linked Asia, the Americas and Europe. During those two and a half centuries, many Filipinos, Mexicans and others sailed to and from Mexico and the Philippines as sailors, crews, slaves, prisoners, adventurers and soldiers. Also on these voyages, thousands of Asian individuals (mostly males) were brought to Mexico as slaves and were called or , which meant "Chinese" and "Chinese Indian", respectively. Although in reality they were of diverse origins, mostly Filipino, but also including slaves bought from the
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
or captured through war like the
Moros In Greek mythology, Moros /ˈmɔːrɒs/ or Morus /ˈmɔːrəs/ ( Ancient Greek: Μόρος means 'doom, fate') is the 'hateful' personified spirit of impending doom, who drives mortals to their deadly fate. It was also said that Moros gave peo ...
(Muslim Filipinos), Malays, Javanese,
Bengalis Bengalis (singular Bengali bn, বাঙ্গালী/বাঙালি ), also rendered as Bangalee or the Bengali people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of S ...
, and other ethnic groups in smaller numbers, including
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
,
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of v ...
,
Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinhal ...
,
Cambodians The Khmer people ( km, ជនជាតិខ្មែរ, ) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Cambodia. They comprise over 90% of Cambodia's population of 17 million.
, Koreans and
Timorese Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western part. The Indonesian part, also ...
. This colonial grouping of Asians should not be confused with " chino", a
casta () is a term which means "lineage" in Spanish and Portuguese and has historically been used as a racial and social identifier. In the context of the Spanish Empire in the Americas it also refers to a now-discredited 20th-century theoretical f ...
term also used in New Spain to refer to individuals of mixed ancestry (primarily African and Amerindian). During the early period of the
Spanish colonization of the Philippines Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
, Spaniards took advantage of the indigenous (bonded serf) system in the Philippines to circumvent the and acquire Filipino slaves for the voyage back to New Spain. Though the numbers are unknown, it was so prevalent that slaves brought on ships were restricted to one per person (except persons of rank) in the "Laws Regarding Navigation and Commerce" (1611–1635) to avoid exhausting ship provisions. They were also taxed heavily upon arrival in
Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...
in an effort to reduce slave traffic. Traffic in Filipina women as slaves, servants, and mistresses of government officials, crew, and passengers, also caused scandals in the 17th century. Women comprised around 20 percent of the migrants from the Philippines. Filipinos were also pressed into service as sailors, due to the native maritime culture of the Philippine Islands. By 1619, the crew of the Manila galleons were composed almost entirely of native sailors. Many of whom died during the voyages due to harsh treatment and dangerous conditions. Many of the galleons were also old, overloaded, and poorly repaired. A law passed in 1608 restricted the gear of Filipino sailors to which consisted of a single pair of
breeches Breeches ( ) are an article of clothing covering the body from the waist down, with separate coverings for each leg, usually stopping just below the knee, though in some cases reaching to the ankles. Formerly a standard item of Western men's ...
, further causing a great number of deaths of Filipino sailors through exposure. These conditions prompted King Philip III to sign a law in 1620 forcing merchants to issue proper clothing to native crews. During this period, many Filipino sailors deserted as soon as they reached Acapulco. Sebastian de Piñeda, the captain of the galleon complained to the king in 1619 that of the 75 Filipino crewmen aboard the ship, only 5 remained for the return voyage. The rest had deserted. These sailors settled in Mexico and married locals (even though some may have been previously married in the Philippines), particularly since they were also in high demand by wine-merchants in
Colima Colima (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Colima ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Colima), is one of the 31 states that make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima. Colima i ...
for their skills in the production of (palm wine). A notable example of a slave is
Catarina de San Juan Catarina de San Juan (birth ca.1607/place unknown; death 5 January 1688, Puebla, Mexico) known as the China Poblana was an Asian slave who, according to legend, belonged to a noble family from India. She was brought to Mexico through the Spanish Ea ...
(Mirra), an Indian girl captured by the Portuguese and sold into slavery in Manila. She arrived in New Spain, became well known for her religious piety and eventually became associated with the " China Poblana". The estimate of the number of Asian immigrants during the Colonial era range from 40,000 to 120,000. By comparison, during the Colonial era, Mexico received about half a million Europeans and 250,000 Africans. These early individuals, the foundation of the , are not very apparent in modern Mexico for a few reasons: relatively small numbers, the widespread (racial mixing) of Colonial Mexico and the common practice of slaves to "
pass Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places *Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland * Pass, Poland, a village in Poland * Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see List of straits *Mountain pass, a lower place in a mounta ...
" as (the indigenous people of Mexico) in order to attain freedom. As had occurred with a large portion of Mexico's black population, over generations the Asian populace was absorbed into the general Mestizo population. Facilitating this miscegenation was the assimilation of Asians into the indigenous population. The indigenous people were legally protected from
chattel slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
, and by being recognized as part of this group, Asian slaves could claim they were wrongly enslaved. Many Filipinos (both free and enslaved) worked on coconut plantations in the Southwest. There are examples of free Filipinos who held land, including Andrés Rosales who owned twenty-eight coconut palms in 1619. Asians were active in the politics of
Colima Colima (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Colima ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Colima), is one of the 31 states that make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima. Colima i ...
; enough so that the position (Mayor of the Chinos) was created. In the years 1613 through 1620, several diplomatic missions occurred on behalf of Japan to the
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
in Rome, traveling through New Spain (arriving in Acapulco and departing from Veracruz) and visiting various ports-of-call in Europe. Although the final destination was not Mexico, this mission is viewed as the beginning of
Japan–Mexico relations Japan–Mexico relations are the diplomatic relations between Japan and Mexico. Both nations are members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, CPTPP, G-20 major economies, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the United ...
. They were led by Hasekura Tsunenaga, who was accompanied by more than one hundred
Japanese Christians Christianity in Japan is among the nation's minority religions in terms of individuals who state an explicit affiliation or faith. Between less than 1 percent and 1.5% of the population claims Christian belief or affiliation. Although formally ...
as well as twenty-two samurai under the
Hideyoshi Toyotomi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: Military Innovations that Changed the Cour ...
. A fight occurred in 1614 in which a Japanese samurai stabbed a Spanish soldier. This was witnessed and recorded by historian
Chimalpahin Domingo Francisco de San Antón Muñón Chimalpahin Quauhtlehuanitzin (1579, Amecameca, Chalco—1660, Mexico City), usually referred to simply as Chimalpahin or Chimalpain, was a Nahua annalist from Chalco. His Nahuatl names () mean "Runs Swi ...
, who descended from an
Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...
nobleman. Some of Tsunega's delegation would stay and marry with the locals. A notable case of free Asians working in an urban setting is the 1635 conflict between and Spanish barbers in Mexico City. The legal case resulted in the expulsion of the Asians from the city center, limit on their numbers to twelve and prohibition on adopting Asian apprentices. Nonetheless, a 1667 document from the
Real Audiencia A ''Real Audiencia'' (), or simply an ''Audiencia'' ( ca, Reial Audiència, Audiència Reial, or Audiència), was an appellate court in Spain and its empire. The name of the institution literally translates as Royal Audience. The additional de ...
details the attempt to limit the more than one hundred barber shops run by Asians without a license to twelve. Some (especially Filipinos who were Spanish subjects) held certain rights not afforded to most indigenous peoples (), such as carrying a sword/dagger or riding a horse. Examples exist of proving their standing to authorities in order to carry arms; such as the 1654 case of Marcos de Villanueva, arguing that his people helped quell a ''
sangley Sangley (English plural: ''Sangleys''; Spanish plural: ''Sangleyes'') and Mestizo de Sangley (Sangley mestizo, ''mestisong Sangley'', ''chino mestizo'' or Chinese mestizo) are archaic terms used in the Philippines to describe a person of pure o ...
'' rebellion in Manila. Others argued that carrying arms were a necessity when traveling through remote areas with merchandise. The most privileged Asians were the samurai that remained in Mexico from the Japanese envoys.


After Independence

Japanese immigration began in earnest in 1888 after the signing of a treaty to allow citizens of both countries the ability to travel to the other and establishing consulates. Mexico was the first Latin American country to receive organized Japanese immigration in 1897, with the first thirty five arriving to Chiapas under the auspices of Viscount
Enomoto Takeaki Viscount was a Japanese samurai and admiral of the Tokugawa navy of Bakumatsu period Japan, who remained faithful to the Tokugawa shogunate and fought against the new Meiji government until the end of the Boshin War. He later served in the Mei ...
, with the permission of president
Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori ( or ; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915), known as Porfirio Díaz, was a Mexican general and politician who served seven terms as President of Mexico, a total of 31 years, from 28 November 1876 to 6 Decem ...
. The very first settlement was based on coffee production but failed for various reasons including the fact that not all of the colonists were farmers and many became sick with tropical diseases. Many from this colony dispersed but there remains a small Japanese community in
Acacoyagua Acacoyagua Municipality one of the 122 municipalities of Chiapas, which in turn is one of the states of Mexico. As of 2010, the municipality had a total population of 16,814, up from 14,189 as of 2005. History The area is notable for being the p ...
, Chiapas. Modern Korean immigration to Mexico began in 1905. The first 1,033 Korean migrants settled in Yucatán as workers in henequen plantations. Asians, predominantly Chinese, became Mexico's fastest-growing immigrant group from the 1880s to the 1920s, exploding from about 1,500 in 1895 to more than 20,000 in 1910. It was common among male Asian immigrants to quickly marry local women in order to facilitate assimilation. To do so, they were baptized into the Catholic faith, adopting a Christian name in the process. By doing this, they achieved a stronger bond with the land and a stronger sense of social belonging. They also received greater economic, moral and labor support from their new extended Mexican families. At the same time, an anti-Chinese movement emerged during the
Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
and peaked during the Great Depression. This was in part due to resentment over the success of Chinese merchants and also fear of competition from Chinese workers willing to work for less pay. The most severe act of violence occurred in 1911. A massacre of over 300 Chinese in Torreón,
Coahuila Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico. Coahuila borders the Mexican states of Nu ...
, which was carried out by a faction of Pancho Villa’s army. It culminated in mass deportations in the 1930s, when nearly 70% of the country's Chinese and Chinese-Mexican population was deported or otherwise expelled from the country. Before World War II, the highest concentrations of Japanese and Japanese descent were in Baja California, followed by Mexico City and Sonora. Up until the war, the treatment of Japanese in the country and their descendants had been favorable, very different from the treatment of Chinese in the country. However, Japanese immigration was halted by WWII to near zero, and those who were in the country were faced with restrictions and relocation after Mexico broke diplomatic ties with Japan in 1941. Most Japanese citizens (especially the ones living in the Northwest) were forced to move to three interior cities:
Celaya Celaya (; ) is a city and its surrounding municipality in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, located in the southeast quadrant of the state. It is the third most populous city in the state, with a 2005 census population of 310,413. The municipality f ...
,
Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaj ...
and Mexico City. This was done so that they could not be used as a "
fifth column A fifth column is any group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. According to Harris Mylonas and Scott Radnitz, "fifth columns" are “domestic actors who work to u ...
" by the Japanese government. This treatment of ethnic Japanese is not in most accounts of Mexican history and is seldom taught in schools. While in China, the Chinese-Mexicans that had been deported campaigned to be allowed to return to Mexico, from the 1930s to the 1960s. There was some success with two repatriations; one in the late 1930s and another in 1960. After the end of the war, Japanese immigration to Mexico began again. From 1951 to 1978, this immigration was associated with Japan's economic growth, giving it money to invest abroad. A new smaller wave of Korean migrants also began to arrive in Mexico in the 1970s. Larger numbers of Koreans began arriving in the 1990s: according to South Korean ment statistics, the size of the community reached its peak in 1997 with around 19,500 individuals before falling to 14,571 by 2005.


Demographics

Of the 54,440 migrants granted permanent residency in 2013, 7,666 (14.08%) were Asian. 4,743 (8.71%) were Chinese, more than any other group except for Americans with 12,905 (23.7%). According to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, there are about 6,500 people of Indian descent living in Mexico as of December 2018, up from about 2,000 in March 2011. According to the 2011 report of South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on overseas Korean populations, 11,800 overseas Koreans resided in Mexico. It is also claimed that the descendants of early henequen plantation laborers alone might number as many as thirty thousand. In 1997, descendants of Japanese immigrants celebrated a century of Japanese immigration into Mexico, with an estimated 30,000 people of Japanese nationality or ethnicity living in Mexico. There are about 10,000 full-blooded Chinese in Mexicali, down from 35,000 in the 1920s. Marriage of these people with the general Mexican population is common. Nowadays, there are about 50,000 partial or full-blooded Chinese in the area. There are about 70,000 people of Chinese descent living in Mexico, as of 2008. Genomic studies indicate that about a third of people sampled from
Guerrero Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the popu ...
have Asian ancestry; with genetic markers matching those of the populations of Indonesia and the Philippines.


Culture

The strongest Asian influence on the
culture of Mexico Mexican culture is primarily influenced by its Indigenous inhabitants and the culture of Spain. Mexican culture is described as the 'child' of both western and native American civilizations. Other minor influences include those from other regio ...
happened during the colonial era, many aspects of which modern Mexicans may not be aware of. Notable Filipino contributions during this era include ''
tubâ Tubâ () is a Filipino alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm trees. During the Spanish colonial period, tubâ was introduced to Guam, the Marianas, and Mexico via the Manila Galleons. They remain popular in Mexic ...
'' ( palm wine) and possibly the
guayabera The guayabera (), also known as ''camisa de Yucatán'' (Yucatán shirt), is a men's summer shirt, worn outside the trousers, distinguished by two vertical rows of closely sewn pleats running the length of the front and back of the shirt. Typical ...
(from the barong tagalog). Filipino words also entered Mexican vernacular, such as the word for ''
palapa Palapa is a series of Communications satellites owned by Indosat, an Indonesian telecommunications company (formerly by Perumtel and then by PT Satelit Palapa Indonesia/Satelindo). Starting with the first in July 1976, at which time Indones ...
'' (originally meaning "coconut palm leaf petiole" in
Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Taga ...
), which became applied to a type of thatching using coconut leaves that resembles the Filipino
nipa hut The ''bahay kubo'', also known as ''payag'' (Nipon) in the Visayan languages and, is a type of stilt house indigenous to the Philippines. It often serves as an icon of Philippine culture. The house is exclusive to the lowland population of u ...
. Asian influence during the colonial era can probably best be seen in the
art of Mexico Various types of visual arts developed in the geographical area now known as Mexico. The development of these arts roughly follows the history of Mexico, divided into the prehispanic Mesoamerican era, the New Spain, colonial period, with the perio ...
. Among the various luxury goods that arrived on the Manilla Galleons were
lacquerware Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer. Lacquerware includes small or large containers, tableware, a variety of small objects carried by people, and larger objects such as furniture and even coffins painted with lacquer. Befor ...
, porcelains and
folding screen A folding screen, also known as pingfeng (), is a type of free-standing furniture consisting of several frames or panels, which are often connected by hinges or by other means. They have practical and decorative uses, and can be made in a variet ...
s. These items were meant for the New Spanish elite, but as these goods, especially textiles, became more common, they reached the masses. Chinese porcelain, especially the kind showing blue decoration on white, had an important effect on
Mexican ceramics Ceramics in Mexico date back thousands of years before the Pre-Columbian period, when ceramic arts and pottery crafts developed with the first advanced civilizations and cultures of Mesoamerica. With one exception, pre-Hispanic wares were not gl ...
. The ceramic industry in
Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
included decorative elements like the phoenix, peonies, chrysanthemums, pagodas and willows. Chinese artisans, and probably some Japanese, participated in the manufacturing of talavera. Folding screens were introduced from Japan, with Mexican-style ones produced called ''biombos''. The earliest of these Mexican made screens had Asian designs but later ones had European and Mexican themes. As well as the Asian-influenced artworks known as ''enconchados'', paintings that incorporated
mother-of-pearl Nacre ( , ), also known as mother of pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is ...
. The majority of the cargo on the Galleons were textiles which also had a profound influence on the
textiles of Mexico The textiles of Mexico have a long history. The making of fibers, cloth and other textile goods has existed in the country since at least 1400 BCE. Fibers used during the pre-Hispanic period included those from the yucca, palm and maguey plants as ...
; such as the paliacate and the change of material/decorative motifs of
rebozo A rebozo is a long flat garment, very similar to a shawl, worn mostly by women in Mexico. It can be worn in various ways, usually folded or wrapped around the head and/or upper body to shade from the sun, provide warmth and as an accessory to an ...
s. The
lacquerware Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer. Lacquerware includes small or large containers, tableware, a variety of small objects carried by people, and larger objects such as furniture and even coffins painted with lacquer. Befor ...
of Michoacan and Guerrero traces its origins to pre-Hispanic indigenous traditions and was heavily influenced by the cargo and artisans that were brought by the Galleons. The "''pajaritos de la suerte''", a common street performance in Mexico where a bird randomly chooses a fortune for the spectator may have Asian origins, possible sources include omikuji and a similar tradition from China existing since at least the 19th century. Chamoy is a variety of savory sauce and condiment; although the attribution for its introduction to Mexico is uncertain, it descends from the Chinese crack seed (西梅, ''xī méi'').


Filipinos

The Filipinos introduced many cultural practices to Mexico, such as the method of making palm wine, called "
tubâ Tubâ () is a Filipino alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm trees. During the Spanish colonial period, tubâ was introduced to Guam, the Marianas, and Mexico via the Manila Galleons. They remain popular in Mexic ...
". A genetic study in 2018 found that around a third of the population of
Guerrero Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the popu ...
have 10% Filipino ancestry. Christianized Filipinos comprised the majority of free Asian immigrants (''chino libre'') and could own property and have rights that even Native Americans did not have, including the right to carry a sword and dagger for personal protection. The loss of cultural identity of early Filipino migrants to Mexico is the result of several factors. The most significant factor being the use of the terms ''indio'' and ''chino''. In the Philippines, natives were known as ''indios'', but they lost that classification when they reached the Americas, since the term in New Spain referred to Native Americans. Instead they were called ''chinos'', leading to the modern confusion of early Filipino immigrants with the much later Chinese immigrants in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Another factor is the pre-colonial Filipino (and Southeast Asian) tradition of not having last names. Filipinos and Filipino migrants acquired Spanish surnames, either after conversion to Christianity or enforced by the ''
Catálogo alfabético de apellidos The Catálogo alfabético de apellidos ( en, Alphabetical Catalogue of Surnames; fil, Alpabetikong Katalogo ng mga apelyido) is a book of surnames in the Philippines and other islands of Spanish East Indies published in the mid-19th century. Thi ...
'' during the mid-19th century. This makes it very difficult to trace Filipino immigrants in colonial records. Filipinos mostly settled in the regions near the terminal ports of the
Manila galleons fil, Galyon ng Maynila , english_name = Manila Galleon , duration = From 1565 to 1815 (250 years) , venue = Between Manila and Acapulco , location = New Spain (Spanish Empire) ...
. These include
Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...
,
Barra de Navidad Barra de Navidad is a small town located on the western coastline of the Mexican state of Jalisco. It belongs to the municipality of Cihuatlán. The town of Barra de Navidad (Christmas Sandbar) with a population of 7000+ is a small farming and f ...
, and San Blas, Nayarit, as well as numerous smaller intermediate settlements along the way. They also settled the regions of
Colima Colima (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Colima ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Colima), is one of the 31 states that make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima. Colima i ...
and
Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...
before the 17th century, which were seriously depopulated of Native American settlements during that period due to the
Cocoliztli epidemics The Cocoliztli Epidemic or the Great Pestilence was an outbreak of a mysterious illness characterized by high fevers and bleeding which caused millions of deaths in New Spain during the 16th-century. The Aztec people called it ''cocoliztli'', Na ...
and Spanish forced labor. They also settled in significant numbers in the ''
barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish word that means " quarter" or " neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residential, commercial, industrial, etc.), social, a ...
''
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...
of Mexico City, although in modern times, the area has become more associated with later Chinese migrants.


Chinese

There are two major Chinese communities or "Chinatowns" in Mexico today:
La Chinesca La Chinesca is a neighborhood located in the Mexican city of Mexicali. The location is home to about 15,000 people of Chinese origin, historically the largest Chinese community in Mexico. However, as of 2012, this number was surpassed by Tijuana ...
in Mexicali and the
Barrio Chino Chinatowns in Latin America ( es, barrios chinos, singular ''barrio chino'' / pt, bairros chineses, singular ''bairro chinês'') developed with the rise of Chinese immigration in the 19th century to various countries in Latin America as contra ...
in Mexico City. Mexicali still has more Chinese, mostly Cantonese, restaurants per capita than any other city in Mexico, with over a thousand in the city. The Comunidad China de México, A.C., established in 1980, sponsors Chinese festivals, classes and other activities to preserve and promote Chinese-Mexican culture in Mexico City. ''Café de chinos'', which became popular in 20th century Mexico City, were run by Chinese Mexicans and offered an assortment of local and mixed cuisine .


Japanese

The
Liceo Mexicano Japonés ; ja, 社団法人日本メキシコ学院, Shadan Hōjin Nihon Mekishiko Gakuin, or , ) is a Japanese school based in the Pedregal neighborhood of the Álvaro Obregón borough in southern Mexico City, Mexico."At the Liceo: Where Two Cultures Me ...
in Mexico City was founded, in part, to preserve Japanese culture. There has been a notable influx of young Japanese artists into Mexico since 1978, who have settled mostly in Mexico City. They have come because they have found it easier to develop their careers in Mexico, as the art market in Japan is very small and very hard to break into. ''Cacahuates japoneses'' (lit. Japanese peanuts) are a popular snack in Mexico and were created by Japanese immigrant Yoshigei Nakatani (father of artist
Carlos Nakatani Carlos Nakatani (Mexico City 1934 – Mexico City February 2, 2004) was a painter, sculptor, cinematographer and writer, the son of a Japanese immigrant to Mexico, noted for his introduction of a snack simply called “Japanese peanuts” in Mexico ...
) in 1945. The majority of the Japanese Mexican community (some 90%) is Roman Catholic. Every year since 1949, hundreds of members of the community make the pilgrimage to visit the
Virgen de Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe ( es, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe ( es, Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions, which are believed t ...
in kimono.


Korean

Mexico City's Zona Rosa district has a Koreatown dubbed Pequeño Seúl (Little Seoul), filled with businesses established by new migrants. In the same neighborhood, the ''Escuela Coreana en México'', found its home in 2010 after two decades of occupying a variety of rented facilities. That year it was able to acquire its own premises thanks to US$850,000 donations by companies and other benefactors to the Asociación de Residentes Coreanos en México. Taekwondo was introduced to Mexico in 1969 by Dai-won Moon. With over 1.5 million taekwondo practitioners and 3,500 schools throughout the country, taekwondo is one of the most popular sports in the nation. Mexico has medaled in taekwondo at all Olympic Games since it became a full medal sport at the
2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
, and currently places fifth overall on the medal count for the sport.


Notable individuals

*
Ana Gabriel María Guadalupe Araujo Yong (born December 10, 1955), better known as Ana Gabriel, is a Mexican singer and songwriter from Guamuchil, Sinaloa, Mexico. She first sang on the stage at age six, singing "Regalo A Dios" by José Alfredo Jiménez. S ...
– Chinese Mexican – Singer *
Carlos Kasuga Carlos Kasuga Osaka (born 26 October 1937) is a Mexican businessman, philanthropist and public speaker. He is the founder of the Mexican division of the yogurt company Yakult, and he served as its director.García, Jerry. '' Looking Like the Enem ...
– Japanese Mexican – Businessman *
Jesús Kumate Rodríguez Jesús Kumate Rodríguez (13 November 1924 – 7 May 2018) was a Mexican physician and politician. He served as the Secretary of Health during the Presidency of Carlos Salinas de Gortari. Early life and education Kumate Rodríguez was born ...
– Japanese Mexican – Physician; former Secretary of Health *
Lyn May Lilia Guadalupe Mendiola Mayares (born December 12, 1952), better known by her stage name Lyn May, is a Mexican vedette, exotic dancer and actress. She was one of the most popular Mexican vedettes during the 1970s and 1980s, a popular sex symb ...
– Chinese Mexican – Entertainer *
Luis Nishizawa Luis Nishizawa (February 2, 1918 – September 29, 2014) was a Mexican artist known for his landscape work and murals, which often show Japanese and Mexican influence. He began formal training as an artist in 1942 at the height of the Mexican mu ...
– Japanese Mexican – Painter *
Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong (; 5 August 1964) is a Mexican politician who served as the Secretary of the Interior in the cabinet of Enrique Peña Nieto. He was Governor of Hidalgo until April 2011. Early life Born in Pachuca, Hidalgo, he is ...
– Chinese Mexican – Former
Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior may refer to: * Secretary of the Interior (Mexico) * Interior Secretary of Pakistan * Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines) * United States Secretary of the Interior See also *Interior ministry An ...
*
Sanjaya Rajaram Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram (1943–2021) was an Indian-born Mexican scientist and winner of the 2014 World Food Prize. He was awarded this prize for his scientific research in developing 480 wheat varieties that have been released in 51 countries. T ...
– Indian Mexican –
Agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the U ...
; creator of 480 types of wheat *
Zhenli Ye Gon Zhenli Ye Gon (born January 31, 1963 in Shanghai) is a Chinese-Mexican businessman currently under suspicion of trafficking pseudoephedrine or ephedrine precursor chemicals into Mexico from Asia. He is the owner and legal representative of Uni ...
– Chinese Mexican – Businessman; alleged drug trafficker


See also

*
Japanese community of Mexico City Mexico City has a community of Japanese Mexican people and Japanese expatriates that is dispersed throughout the city. Many Japanese persons had moved to Mexico City in the 1940s due to wartime demands made by the Mexican government. Multiple Japa ...
* '' The Chinese in Mexico''


References


Further reading

*Chang, Jason Oliver. ''Chino: anti-Chinese racism in Mexico, 1880-1940''. University of Illinois Press, 2017. *Garc’a, Jerry. ''Looking Like the Enemy: Japanese Mexicans, the Mexican State, and US Hegemony, 1897-1945''. University of Arizona Press, 2014. *Jingsheng, Dong. "Chinese emigration to Mexico and the Sino-Mexico relations before 1910." Estudios Internacionales (2006): 75–88. *Kim, Hahkyung. "Korean Immigrants’ Place in the Discourse of Mestizaje: A History of Race-Class Dynamics and Asian Immigration in Yucatán, Mexico." Revista Iberoamericana (2012). *Seijas, Tatiana. ''Asian Slaves in Colonial Mexico: From Chinos to Indios''. New York: Cambridge University Press 2014. *Slack, Edward R. "The Chinos in New Spain: A Corrective Lens for a Distorted Image." ''Journal of World History'' 20, no. 1 (2009): 35–67. *Vinson, Ben III. ''Before Mestizaje: The Frontiers of Race and Caste in Colonial Mexico''. New York: Cambridge University Press 2018. {{Overseas Asians * *