MEXICALI BLUES: COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AMONG THE BAJA CALIFORNIA CHINESE Michael Jenkins A Thesis Submitted to the University of North Carolina Wilmington in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of History University of North Carolina at Wilmington 2011 Approved by Advisory Committee Eva Mehl Michael Huner Yixin Chen Chair Accepted by ______________________________ Dean, Graduate School TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iv Dedication ............................................................................................................................v Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1: Mexicali Blues ...................................................................................................7 Chapter 2: Home on the Range: The Chinese in Mexicali Life ........................................26 Chapter 3: Border Wars .....................................................................................................43 Conclusions and Goodbyes ................................................................................................57 Community Organizations and Integration ............................................................59 A Theory for Mexicali ...........................................................................................61 Bibliography ......................................................................................................................73 ii Abstract The Chinese began immigrating to Mexico before the establishment of the modern Mexican state. Spanish trading galleons, bound for the Philippines, linked Mexico to the East Asia, and brought the initial wave of Chinese immigration. In 1635, a group of Spanish barbers in Mexico City complained about competition from their Chinese counterparts. Initially a trickle, Chinese immigration increased in the 19th century, as economic modernization and expansion into the frontier created a demand for labor and investment opportunity. This brought Chinese workers from their homeland, and Chinese investors from the United States. After 1882, The Chinese Exclusion Act prevented Chinese immigrants from entering the US directly. Due to its proximity to the US and its economic opportunities, Northern Mexico, became an attractive alternative. This research will focus on a particular community in the Northwest: Mexicali, Baja California. In many respects, the Chinese community in Mexicali proves exceptional. Their role in the foundation of the city and its economic development, and the efforts of the various Chinese community organizations which shaped civic life placed the Mexicali Chinese into a unique position, unlike most other communities in the Diaspora. Using the aforementioned community organizations as an entry point, this thesis will explore the history of the Mexicali Chinese, and the factors that made them unique. iii Acknowledgements My most profound thanks go out to Dr. Paul Gillingham, whose enthusiasm for Mexico got me started down this path. This work, such as it is, would have been impossible without his friendship and guidance. I would like to offer further thanks to my committee, whose boundless patience and enthusiasm were vital to the completion of this work. Likewise, thanks go to Dr. David La Vere and Dr. Lisa Pollard, without whom our graduate experience would not have been as rewarding. The Department of History of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington is blessed a remarkable faculty, and I am grateful for the opportunities they offered. Special recognition goes to Dr. Michael Seidman, Dr. Glenn Harris, and Dr. Taylor Fain, who contributed so much to my graduate studies, in ways great and small. The wonderful folks on the staff of Randall Library were an invaluable resource throughout this research, and I owe them more than I can say. Amanda Gendreau’s enduring friendship was often the only thing that kept me hanging on, and I can only offer my eternal gratitude in return. Similar thanks must go out to the Port City Low Lifes—you know who you are—whose companionship offered the occasional and much needed respite from academic life. And, as always, my parents deserve all due credit and respect for showing me that it could, in fact, be done. iv Dedication My research would have been incomplete without the unique perspective and guidance of Dr. Andrew Clark, whose presence was sorely missed as my thesis moved toward completion. As such, it is dedicated it to his memory. v Introduction This thesis grew from an unlikely inspiration: a short article in a culinary magazine. The author offered a short piece of travelogue form the US/Mexico border, outlining the number and variety of Chinese restaurants in Mexicali, Baja California, the region’s unique fusion of Chinese and Mexican cuisine, and—briefly—the history of the Chinese in Mexicali. Their story seemed exceptional; a cursory review of the literature on the Chinese Diaspora failed to reveal a comparable community anywhere. This had not escaped scholarly attention. From the 1930s until the present, a considerable body of secondary literature has emerged both the city and its Chinese community. Exceptional in its history, geography, and economic development, Mexicali offers many points of entry for academic inquiry. Herein, I will attempt an original contribution to the historiography of the Chinese in Mexico. Structured as a case study, this thesis has an elusively simple goal: an exploration and elucidation of the factors which shaped Mexicali into a sui generis community for the Chinese in the Americas. This is necessarily a complex endeavor, requiring both a comprehensive review of the secondary literature and the use of primary sources, chiefly in Spanish. An accident of historical timing made the latter much easier. Settled in the early years of the 20th century, Mexicali developed something resembling modern urban life fairly quickly, including detailed maps, government records, and newspapers. These sources provide insight into the size and shape of the Mexicali Chinese community, and its role in political and economic life at the local and state level. They also help connect the Mexicali Chinese with the broader context of political and social events in Mexico and the US. The first chapter of this thesis presents the history of both Mexicali and, briefly, the Chinese in Mexico. The former is a relatively recent development, as the city was formally founded on March 14th, 1903. The latter has a much longer history than is commonly understood, as Chinese settlement in Mexico dates back to the 16th century, and the two nations share a colonial history due to the galleon trade to the Philippines. In comparing the two, the unique nature of Mexicali becomes apparent immediately. The Chinese settler who founded Mexicali took a very different path to the city than their counterparts across the rest of Mexico. Present from the beginning, they arrived in the Colorado River Valley due to a complex series of political and economic events, ranging from US immigration policy to international water rights and the agricultural development of Mexico’s last frontier. This portrait immediately situations the Mexicali Chinese as both a trans-national and a trans-border community, whose economic and social ties reached out to China and the United States as much as the rest of Mexico. It also establishes the way in which the Chinese were able to integrate relatively seamlessly with the non-Chinese in Mexicali. Their founding role in the community, economic position, and gender demographics led them to form a different set of relationships with both the native Mexicans and other immigrants. Finally, this chapter will also explore the theoretical frame which shapes this thesis and its approach to the material. Broadly this will entail a critique of the bodies of theory normally used to approach diaspora communities. In describing why the conventional theory is inappropriate for this research, we seek to understand both the limits of theory and shed further light on the nature of Mexicali. The second chapter focuses on a set of social mechanisms which enabled the Chinese to thrive in Mexicali. Community organizations among the Mexicali Chinese were key in the development of the community’s unique character and identity. Community organizations were responsible for bringing new immigrants to town, helping them to establish themselves upon arrival. These organizations moderated business practices and local politics, served as a point of 2 contact and a means of outreach between the Chinese and Mexican populations, and helped to shield the Mexicali Chinese from the anti-immigrant sentiment which arose all too often. One must note the variety of distinct community groups which filled these roles. While the most prevalent among them, the Asociación China or Chinese Association, emerged early and persists to this day, there were dozens of smaller groups filling various roles. These ranged from traditional Chinese organizations, based around a common surname or native place, to more contemporary groups brought together by business interests. In addition to addressing local