The arrival of Chinese in Mexico
On February 16, 2008, Marcelo Ebrard, then Mexico City mayor, inaugurated the "Chinese Arc" on Independencia Street at Mexico City downtown. (Photo: JUAN BOITES / EL UNIVERSAL )
The presence of Chinese migrants in Mexico dates
back to 1565, when the first ship known as "Nao de China" (Manila
galleon) docked in Acapulco, laden with silk, porcelain and spices, among other
goods.
The vast majority of those
who arrived in the country never returned to their homeland, because the
Spanish Crown allowed them to settle in Mexico.
Even though there is written
testimony that the first contact of Mexico with Chinese people dates back to
the sixteenth century, when the Manila galleons sailed the Pacific Ocean, it
was until the late nineteenth century when Chinese were brought to Mexico as
workers. At the time, they were called "working machines".
Historians say that in 1890,
500 Chinese came to Mexico to build the railway of Tehuantepec and after four
years, a Chinese nationalized Mexican living in Mérida planned to bring 200,000
of his fellow countrymen.
By 1895 there were 897
Chinese in Mexico and by 1910, the number increased to 30,000. However, 30
years later it dropped to under 5,000.
During the Mexican
Revolution, the Chinese community was victim of harassment, including a
massacre in Torreón where hundreds of them were killed.
The community also faced
evictions, despoilments and confinements. They were shot in Monterrey and in Sonora,
they were confined to oriental neighborhoods, marginalizing them as it happened
with Jews in Europe.
Also, the Chinese people who
tried unsuccessfully to cross to the United States through Baja California
started to settle in different states of Mexico.
Historian Francisco Ibarlucea
says that in 1925, Chinese people living in Mexicali and Tijuana moved to
Mexico City after the Mexican Revolution, where they opened laundry shops and
cafes.
In the 1940's the first
restaurant called "Shan Ghai" opened on the alley of Las Damas (now
Dolores Street) and became the foundation of Mexico City's Chinatown, where the
start of the Chinese Year continues to be celebrated with parades.