There is a Polish diaspora in Mexico. According to the 2005

intercensal estimate In demographics, an intercensal estimate is an estimate of population between official census dates with both of the census counts being known. Some nations produce regular intercensal estimates while others do not. Intercensal estimates can be ...

, there were 971

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

citizens living in Mexico. Furthermore, by the estimate of the

Jewish community Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, there may be as many as 15,000 descendants of Jewish migrants from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

living in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Migration history

The first Poles arrived in Mexico during the French intervention in Mexico. In May 1942, Mexico declared war on Germany. To show solidarity with the Polish people, Mexico accepted in 1943 over 2,000 Polish refugees including 1,400 Polish orphans to settle in the state of Guanajuato in central Mexico. After the war, many of the refugees remained to live in Mexico.Hacienda Santa Rosa: a Polish Refuge in Mexico
/ref> Many members of the Polish Jewish community trying to immigrate to the United States were refused entry; not wanting to return to Europe they requested asylum in Mexico, some ships were diverted to the Mexican territory and entered them through ports of Tampico, Veracruz and Puerto Progreso. A large part of the Ashkenazi Jewish community in Mexico was born in the Polish territory. When Poland adopted a communist government, a second wave of Polish immigrants arrived in Mexico, who fled their government and again asylum was given to numerous Polish citizens, they built a generation of Mexican Poles born in Mexico. A numerous Polish-Catholic community in Mexico also arose due to the persecution by the Polish communist government. The Polish community from Mexico are the third largest community in Latin America, after

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

; They are currently one of the largest communities of Europeans in Mexico, they are a very prominent community in the arts, science, economy and politics of the country.

Polish-Mexicans

Notable Polish Mexicans

File:Henryk Szeryng (1964).jpg,

Henryk Szeryng Henryk Szeryng (usually pronounced ''HEN-r-ik SHEH-r-in-g'') (22 September 19183 March 1988) was a Polish violinist. Early years He was born in Warsaw, Poland on 22 September 1918 into a wealthy Jewish family. The surname "Szeryng" is a Poli ...

, violin concertist. File:Arquitecto Abraham Zabludovsky Kraveski.JPG, Abraham Zabludovsky, architect. File:Poniatowska, Elena -MBFI 01.jpg,

Elena Poniatowska Hélène Elizabeth Louise Amélie Paula Dolores Poniatowska Amor (born May 19, 1932), known professionally as Elena Poniatowska () is a French-born Mexican journalist and author, specializing in works on social and political issues focused on th ...

, journalist and author. File:Xawery Wolski.jpg, Xawery Wolski, sculptor. File:Erika Dobosiewicz (1).JPG, Erika Dobosiewicz, violin concertist. File:Ludwika Paleta in 2017.jpg,

Ludwika Paleta Ludwika Paleta (; born Ludwika Paleta Paciorek on November 29, 1978 in Kraków, Poland) is a Polish- Mexican actress. Early life and career Paleta was born in Kraków, Poland in 1978. When her father, the musician Zbigniew Paleta, was off ...

, actress and model.

Notable Mexicans with Polish origins

File:Ripstein-2.jpg,

Arturo Ripstein Arturo Ripstein y Rosen (born December 13, 1943) is a Mexican film director and screenwriter. Considered the "Godfather of independent Mexican cinema", Ripstein's work is generally characterized by "somber, slow-paced, macabre melodramas tackling ...

, film director. File:Enrique Krauze.jpg,

Enrique Krauze Enrique Krauze (Mexico City, September 16, 1947) is a Mexican historian, essayist, editor, and entrepreneur. He has written more than twenty books, some of which are: ''Mexico: Biography of Power'', ''Redeemers'', and ''El pueblo soy yo'' (''I a ...

, historian, essayist, critic, producer, and publisher.

Athletics

* Helen Plaschinski, Mexican former Olympics freestyle swimmer for Summer 1980 of Polish descent. * Angelica Zawadzki, Mexican sprint canoer of Polish descent.

Artist/Musician

, Polish-born Mexican violinist and composer. *

David Ostrosky David Ostrosky Vinograd (born December 1, 1956) is a Mexican actor, active since 1984. Early life Ostrosky was born in Mexico, and is of Jewish descent. His father, Pedro Ostrosky, is Lithuanian Jewish from Kyiv, Ukraine, and his mother ''Gu ...

, Mexican actor to Polish mother. *

Eva Maria Zuk Eva Maria Zuk (24 December 1945 – 27 February 2017) was a Polish- Mexican piano concertist. She was raised in Caracas, New York City and Mexico City . She began music studies with her mother at the age of 4. Education By age 6 she had her f ...

, Polish-born Mexican piano concertist. * Fanny Rabel, Polish-born Mexican artist. * Zbigniew Paleta, Polish-born Mexican violinist and composer for telenovelas and the Cinema of Mexico. * Pawel Anaszkiewicz, Polish-born Mexican artist. *

Tamara de Lempicka Tamara Łempicka (born Tamara Rosalia Gurwik-Górska; 16 May 1898 – 18 March 1980), better known as Tamara de Lempicka, was a Polish painter who spent her working life in France and the United States. She is best known for her polished Art D ...

, Polish-born Mexican Art Deco painter. * Basia Batorska, Polish-born Mexican painter and graphic artist.

Movies/television/media

Dominika Paleta Dominika Paleta (born Dominika Paleta Paciorek October 23, 1972 in Kraków, Poland) is a Polish-Mexican actress. Life and career Paleta's career has included roles in several telenovelas, most notably '' La usurpadora'' (1998). Other productio ...

, Polish-born Mexican actress. * Ludwik Margules, Polish-born Mexican theatre, opera and film director. *

Kristoff Raczyñski Kristoff Raczyński (born June 9, 1974)Televisa Networks"Kristoff , Telehit" Mexico City, 16 July 2009. Retrieved on 2011-09-11 is a Russian-born Mexican actor, film producer, screenwriter and TV host of Polish descent. His career began in the l ...

, Russian-born Mexican actor, film producer, screenwriter and TV host of Polish descent. * Maya Mishalska, Polish-born Mexican actress, violinist and TV presenter. *

Alicja Bachleda-Curuś Alicja Bachleda-Curuś (pron. ; born 12 May 1983) is a Mexican-born Polish actress and singer, who has appeared in films including ''Trade'', '' Ondine'' and ''Pan Tadeusz''. Early life Bachleda-Curuś was born in Tampico, Mexico. She is the ...

, Mexican-born Polish actress and singer. *

Helen Kleinbort Krauze Helen Kleinbort Krauze (born in Białystok) is a Polish-born Mexican Jewish journalist who worked for over five decades as an interviewer, features and travel writer and columnist. She was first with ''Novedades'', later with ''El Heraldo de Méxi ...

, Polish Jewish-born Mexican journalist. * León Krauze, Mexican journalist, author and news anchor of Polish descent. * Arleta Jeziorska, Polish-born Mexican actress of films and telenovelas. *

Alfredo Ripstein Alfredo Ripstein (Alfredo Ripstein Aronovich) (December 10, 1916, Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico — January 20, 2007, Mexico City) was a Mexican film producer of European-Jewish descent. He is credited with helping shape Mexico's film industry in the ...

, Mexican film producer to Polish Jewish father. *

Mauricio Kleiff Mauricio Kleyff (March 14, 1931 – March 23, 2010) was a Mexican screenwriter best known for writing the scripts of the television programs '' El show de los Polivoces'' and ''Los Beverly de Peralvillo ''Los Beverly de Peralvillo'' is a Mexic ...

, Mexican screenwriter of Polish descent. * Lore Graniewicz, Mexican-born actress of Polish descent. * Prince Hubris, Mexican-born performance artist of Polish descent.

Literature

* Anna Zarnecki, Polish writer, pinter, activist and politician. *

Rodolfo Usigli Rodolfo Usigli (November 17, 1905 – June 18, 1979) was a Mexican playwright, essayist and diplomat. He has been called "the father of Mexican theater" and "playwright of the Mexican Revolution." In recognition of his work to articulate a nati ...

, Mexican playwright to Italian father and Polish mother.

Politics

* Salomón Chertorivski Woldenberg, Mexican politician and economist of German and Polish descent. * Julio Boltvinik Kalinka, Mexican academic and politician of Polish descent. * David Goldbaum, Mexican surveyor and politician to Polish Jewish father of German and Polish descent.

Science

Sara Topelson de Grinberg Sara Topelson de Grinberg (assumedly born in the beginning of 1945) is a Polish-born Mexican architect. Biography Topelson is born to a Russian father and a Polish mother. Her family fled Nazism to Mexico, when she was three months old.Eugenia ...

, Polish-born Mexican architect to Russian father and Polish mother. *

Jerzy Rzedowski Jerzy Rzedowski Rotter (born December 27, 1926) is a Mexican botanist. His focus is on Mexican floristics, taxonomy, and ecology. Education and personal life He was born in Lwów, Poland (now in Ukraine) to Arnold and Ernestyna (nee Rotter) Rzed ...

, Polish-born Mexican botanist. *

José Woldenberg Isaac José Woldenberg Karakowski (born 8 September 1952) is a Mexican political scientist and sociologist who served as the first president of the Federal Electoral Institute and currently works as director of ''Nexos'' magazine. Early life W ...

, Mexican political scientist and sociologist to Polish father and Lithuanian mother. * Arturo Warman, Mexican anthropologist to Polish Jewish parents.

Miscellaneous

* Moisés Kaiman, Polish-born Mexican Rabbi for the Jewish Community of Monterrey, Mexico. * Arturo Antonio Szymanski Ramírez, Mexican prelate of the Roman Catholic Church of Polish descent.

References

External links

Mexico and Poland: Centuries of Cultural Relations
{{Ethnic groups in Mexico European Mexican

Immigration to Mexico Polish diaspora in North America Mexico–Poland relations Ethnic groups in Mexico