When Chinese were smuggled into El Paso

Leon Metz: When Chinese were smuggled into city from Mexico
Leon Metz / Special to the Times
Posted: 06/22/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT


Nowadays, if one wanders through Concordia Cemetery, as I do on occasions, there is one site that we can observe through the iron gate -- but can't enter. And I'm referring to the Chinese Cemetery section.

This area is one of the best-kept secrets in the city, a national historic treasure, and yet one of the least-known and least-visited historical areas in El Paso.

We know when the first Chinese arrived, and that would have been 1881 with the arrival of the first railroad in El Paso. The Chinese helped build that railroad, but after reaching the city, they were stranded -- and subsequently deported.

So since the Chinese were denied legal entry into this country, they commenced slipping in by way of Mexico, and thereafter walked north.

During this period a resident Mexican could cross north across the international line with no delays and no papers. Hence, the initial U.S. Border Patrol arose. In popular and local parlance, they were usually referred to as "Chinese Immigration Agents."

But a few Chinese were already here. By 1890, El Paso had an official population of 11,120 residents and 312 were Chinese.

Most of the Chinese lived south of Overland Street, usually in hotels, restaurants, laundries, alleys or in railroad cars where they were often employed. And since most Chinese were men, such things as Chinese family units were essentially nonexistent.

A Chinese information bureau arose at 200 S. St. Louis Street.

Chinese merchandise stores, like American general stores, were usually placed where people could gather, exchange gossip, discuss news and hold meetings. In 1889, the City Council minutes mentioned an El Paso population of 11,069 residents, of which 7,846 were anglos, 2,069 were Hispanic, 810 were black, and 344 were Chinese. During that same year, four Chinese grocery stores opened in the city.

By 1892, the Chinese population had risen to 500, practically all illegally entering the U.S. by way of Juárez. Although some did not remain for any length of time, a great majority of them found El Paso employment with the railroads, or in restaurants, saloons and so forth.

During that same year, El Paso had 15 laundries, 13 of which were Chinese. Twelve Chinese druggists easily found employment. A Baptist Chinese mission opened at 412 San Antonio Street.

And before long, the Chinese had one particular dominant monopoly in town, the laundry business. During 1889, El Paso sported 18 laundries, all but one operated by the Chinese.

But during this period of years, 1870-1910, stories constantly and steadily arose of tunnels under the Rio Grande, and tunnels meandering through various areas and regions, houses and businesses. The only reason for these tunnels was to smuggle Chinese into the country.

Therefore, there used to be -- and perhaps still is -- a home in Sunset Heights known as the "Turtle House." It allegedly has a tunnel leading down and under the city, particularly under the Downtown subdivision of Chihuahuita, and by some a accounts, under the Rio Grande.

I've been in the Turtle House (in the presence of owners, of course), and have opened that entrance door and saw what looked like a totally black tunnel. I was offered an opportunity to crawl inside, but I chickened out.

Up until that particular instant, I never fully realized that I was claustrophobic. So I lost my chance, perhaps, of resolving one of the most interesting and intriguing historical puzzles and mysteries regarding El Paso's remarkable and historic past.

Leon Metz, an El Paso historian, writes often for the El Paso Times. E-mail: cmetz48888@aol.com

El Paso Times article

From Manila to Mexico

GEMS OF HISTORY
From Manila to Mexico
By Go Bon Juan

When people talk about the galleon trade between Manila and Acapulco (1565 to 1815), much attention is placed on the trade itself, its economic significance, and, to a certain degree, its cultural influence. Little attention is given to the movement of people, especially of the ethnic Chinese.

In volume 2 of the five-volume work entitled Five Thousand Years of History of China and Foreign Cultural Exchange from China’s World Knowledge Publishing House, section six of chapter 10 narrates the settlement of the Chinese in Latin America.

According to documents that date back to around the late 16th century and first half of the 17th century, Chinese merchants, artisans, sailors and helpers arrived in Mexico and Peru to do business or work there, through the Manila galleon trade.

Since Spanish colonizers monopolized the trade between the Philippines and Mexico, the Chinese who went to Latin America had to pass through Manila. Consequently, they were called Manila Chinese. They were mostly merchants, serfs and sailors.

In the late 16th century, in order to develop and exploit Latin America, the Spanish colonizers ordered and allowed Chinese artisans to enter Latin America. Thus, thousands of Chinese artisans, including weavers, tailors, carpenters, masons, blacksmiths, jewelry smiths and barbers were continuously transferred from Manila to work there.

Not only that, as it was said that there were some Chinese sailors on the Manila galleon who could not bear slave labor and the torture they suffered from the Spanish colonizers. Thus, they often escaped when the galleon reached the Acapulco port and settled down across Latin America. It was estimated that in the middle of the 17th century, Manila Chinese who moved to the Americas were about 5,000 to 6,000.

Persecution also encouraged the Chinese to catch the galleon out of Manila. There were periodic mass expulsions, plus five massacres during the 17th and 18th centuries when 70,000 to 80,000 Chinese were killed.

This is the role played by Manila in the history of the Chinese in Latin America. It is safe to say that the forefathers of the Chinese in Latin America, especially those in Mexico, were Chinese from the Philippines or the Manila Chinese.

Manila Times Article

The Chinese Community in Mazatlan - Part 2

THE CHINESE COMMUNITY IN MAZATLAN:

A JOURNEY FROM PAST TO PRESENT
(PART 2 - The present generation)
By May Q. Wong

While few are comfortable talking about how their families were affected by the backlash of anti-Chinese legislation in Sonora between 1929 and 1931 which forced a mass exodus of families, Juan Chong, a second generation Chinese-Mexican born and raised in Mazatlán, is an exception. Francisco Chong, his grandfather, came to Mazatlán in the 1920s from Hong Kong.

Again - I was asked by May to not use the whole article. Please follow the link

Pacific Pearl article part II

The Chinese Community in Mazatlan - Part 1

THE CHINESE COMMUNITY IN MAZATLAN:

A JOURNEY FROM PAST TO PRESENT (PART 1)
By May Q. Wong

Imagine strolling the Plazuela Machado, watching families socializing, kids playing…but wait… the faces look more Asian than Mexican! If you were here in the late 1920s, you would have seen more Chinese than Americans or Canadians. Chinese faces may be rare here now, but they have graced this part of the hemisphere since the 1600s when the “Manila Galleons” plied the luxury trade route between the Spanish ports of Manila and Acapulco.

I was asked by May to not use the whole article so here's a link -

Pacific Pearl article Part I

2007 sees colorful Chinese cultural events in Mexico

By Lisa Fournier
www.chinaview.cn 2007-12-17 10:09:24

MEXICO CITY, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Marking the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Mexico, 2007 has seen a series of colorful and exciting cultural and artistic performances by Chinese artists, such as the "Experience China in Mexico" events and several major Chinese shows during the Cervantino Festival in Guanajuato in October.

During the "Experience China in Mexico" festival, which ran from July 20 to Aug. 18 in Mexico City, about 23,000 people watched four major Chinese shows in the City Theatre and in the city's central square, the Zocalo, according to the local culture department.

The shows, "My Dream", "Shaolin Kung Fu", "Heavenly Beauty of Chinese Music" and "Traditional Clothing and Formal Dress from Chinese Dynasties and Ethnic Minorities," attracted great interest from the Mexican audience, offering them a glimpse of a totally different and fascinating culture by way of music, action and fashion shows.

The festival "was an excellent experience and a magnificent opportunity to reevaluate the culture of that country (China)," said Elena Saenz, director of the city's People's Cultures Museum, which hosted the China Craft Treasures exhibition.

While Mexico City hosted China's traditional culture shows, the Oct. 3 to Oct. 21 Cervantino Festival in the central city of Guanajuato showed off the charm of China's contemporary culture, performed by Jilin Song and the Dance Ensemble, the Chinese National Ballet, the Beijing Modern Dance Company, the National Theatre of China and the Sichuan Puppets Group. The festival also hosted the 50-piece Contemporary Chinese Ceramics Show and the Chinese Shadow play for Mexican children.

Some 180 tons of equipment were shipped to Mexico in six containers for the show.

"We overcame the language barriers with subtitling. There were memorable presentations which those of all sensibilities enjoyed, because the language of art is universal," said Cervantino director Mini Caire.

"The Guanajuato shows were a rich and representative selection of China's current art: that of a millennia-old country going through thousands of changes while fighting every day to preserve its traditions," she added.

According to Mexican art experts, 2007 is a model year in China-Mexico cultural relations, with some 700 Chinese artists having passionately showcased their work in various Mexican cities, helping the Mexican people to get to know more about ancient and modern China.


Editor: Sun Yunlong