Those who came - Chinese

Los que llegaron - Chinos

In the last years of the nineteenth century and the first decade of the twentieth, 30,000 Chinese working class immigrants came to Mexico fleeing poverty and political instability, from southern China (Canton) or the United States. In the US, the Chinese were hired by various U.S. companies to build railroads and work in mining and agriculture. As less work was needed Americans began to reject them, until in 1904 was issued a law banning their entry into that country, so that they fled into Mexico, especially in Baja California. It is estimated that the number of Chinese laborers in that area had fluctuated between seven and eight thousand. At that time the presence and influence of Chinese was so great Mexicali was called "the little Canton" and the neighborhood of the old commercial center of the city is still known as "chinoiserie".

Currently residing in the capital some 9000 Chinese, and nationwide totaling approximately 14,000 overseas Chinese and 40,000 Mexicans of Chinese origin, mainly located in Mexico City, Tijuana, Mexicali and in the state of Chiapas.

Video is in Spanish

Chinese food in Mexico City

I found this on a Food in Mexico City Blog and it makes me want to go.   What I miss in small coastal towns is a variety of food options.   Well this should get you started if you are in the "big city".

The young chef, Luís Alfonso Chiu is the son of immigrants from Canton. He grew up in the deco/colonial house, now converted into the restaurant. But the family feeling continues. As chef Chiu presides over the kitchen or mingles with clients his proud parents, Alfonso and Patricia, quietly run the ship.

Chef Luís recounted how his grandparents, who arrived here during the Mexican revolution, had been ‘asked to leave’ during the growing anti-Chinese movement of the ‘20’s and ‘30’s (astute business people, the Chinese were resented by the Mexican upper classes). His parents were born in China but the lure of Mexico remained and they immigrated--lucky for us. The chef grew up here, is as Mexican as mole, but loved the food of his ancestors, so he went back to Canton and Shanghai to study cooking.

Asian Bay Restaurante

Av. Tamaulipas 95 (between Vicente Suarez & Campeche) Condesa
Open Monday - Thursday: 12:00 -10:30 pm
Friday, Saturday 12:00 -11:30 pm
Sun:12-9 pm
Tel. 5553-4582

The Chinese Clock

This monolithic timepiece, on Calle Bucareli in the Colonia Juarez in Mexico City, is known as “the Chinese clock.” It is a replica of one that was given as a gift to the Mexican people by the Emperor of China in 1910, to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the Mexican Revolution. Anti-Chinese hooligans destroyed it in 1913. The replacement was set in its place in 1921.

From David Lida - The Chinese are coming

The old Parian on Mexico City's Zocolo

Mexico City's Parian that sold goods from Asia

Over much of the 17th century, the Plaza became overrun with market stalls. After a mob burned the Viceregal Palace in the 1690s, the Plaza was completely cleared to make way for the “Parian”, a set of shops set in the southwest corner of the Plaza used to warehouse and sell products brought by galleons from Europe and Asia. This was opened in 1703.

On the 4th and 5th of December 1826, Lorenzo de Zavala and General Jose Maria Lobato led a mob of soldiers, artisans, and hooligans attacking the Parian. They robbed and burned it shouting “Death to the Spaniards!” “Long live Lobato and those with fury!” A number of merchants died and most were ruined. President Santa Anna finally had the Parian demolished in 1843. This left the Plaza bare again.

Model in the Mexico City Subway


Old drawing

El Parian de Filipinos en Mexico

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

Mexico: Chinese Community Celebrates New Year

Se prepara comunidad China en México para recibir el Año de la Rata

Cuadernos de Silicio [es] describes the events surrounding preparations for the Chinese New Year in Mexico City, and that 2008 corresponds to “the Year of the Rat,” a year that members of the Chinese community think “could be favorable for having a lot of children, as it is characteristic of this animal”, he reports.

Mexico City - True to its tradition, the Chinese community in Mexico will be ready to receive the Lunar New Year from 7 to February 10 in Chinatown, the holiday that binds the embassy of the People's Republic of China in Mexico organizing a grand parade.

Traders who are members of the Chinese district of Mexico City since 1980, organized in conjunction with the Delegación Cuauhtémoc and Territorial Historic Center of Mexico City, this event marked by the burning rocket, as well as the traditional dancing lions and Chinese dragons .

There will also be exhibitions of martial arts (kung fu) and other disciplines as tai chi, which involves the management of energy in the body, as well as traditional Chinese dances and fashion shows of traditional Chinese costumes, among others.