History of Mexican Americans in Houston
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The city of Houston has significant populations of Mexican Americans, Mexican immigrants, and Mexican citizen expatriates. Houston residents of Mexican origin make up the oldest Hispanic ethnic group in Houston, and Jessi Elana Aaron and José Esteban Hernández, authors of "Quantitative evidence for contact-induced accommodation: Shifts in /s/ reduction patterns in Salvadoran Spanish in Houston," referring to another large Latino group in Houston, stated that as of 2007 it was the most "well-established" Hispanophone ethnic group there.[1] Houston is the third city for Mexican immigrants after Chicago and Los Angeles.[2]
History
Beginning and immigration in the early 20th century
When Houston was first settled in 1836, some
Mexican migration into Houston increased with the expansion of the railroad system and the installation of
In the early 20th century the population further increased due to several factors. The 1910
By 1930 Houston had about 15,000 Mexicans. This was almost twice as many as the 8,339 first and second generation Eastern and Southern European immigrants in Houston. Treviño said that the Mexican American community "took root in a society that had been historically black and white but one that increasingly became tri-ethnic— black, white, and brown[...]"[12] He added that "In a city that considered them nonwhite, Mexicans stood out even though their numbers were smaller than those in such places as San Antonio and Los Angeles."[12]
José F. Aranda, Jr. of Rice University, who reviewed the book The Church in the Barrio, wrote that historically Mexican immigrants "found the racial landscape particularly unwelcoming" because Houston was not in proximity to the, at the time, larger Mexican American communities in Texas.[13]
Scholars of Mexican-American studies say that, in regards to Houston's Mexican-American population, the "immigrant era" ended in the 1930s.[14] As the Great Depression affected Houston, City of Houston officials accused Mexican Americans of being economically harmful and launched raids into their communities.[10] Local and federal interests, which included American-born ethnic Mexicans, had feared that the Mexican population would try to escape the economic problems by attempting to obtain public relief, so they pressured Mexican immigrants to leave Houston.[15] Many Mexican-Americans did not receive federal benefits meant to alleviate the effects of the Great Depression.[10] At that time the immigration wave ended and about 2,000 Mexicans left Houston during the Depression era.[15] Several Mexican-American organizations, such as the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and the Sociedad Mutualista Obrera Mexicana, provided relief services to the community during that era.[10]
Immigration in the late 20th century and 21st century
In the late 1970s and early 1980s tens of thousands of Mexicans arrived in Houston due to increased economic opportunities from an increase in the oil business.
Mexican immigration in Houston fluctuated due to the
In 1990, there were 132,596 Mexican immigrants in Houston, making up 69% of the 192,220 foreign-born Hispanic residents of Houston. That year, 46% of all immigrants to Houston were Mexican.[17] In 1990, in Harris County, and the median household income of ethnic Mexicans was $22,447 and 6% of its ethnic Mexican population had a bachelor's degree or higher education. Nestor Rodriguez wrote that the percentage of those with a bachelor's degree or higher illustrates "a major educational disadvantage" and "partly explained the low median household income".[16]
From 1990 to 1997 the number of Mexican immigrants in Houston increased by over 110,000. In the 1990s the burgeoning economy, a decline in the Mexican economy, and thousands of legalized immigrants filing family reunification petitions encouraged additional Mexican immigration. During the decade an increase in anti-immigrant sentiments, the anti-hiring undocumented immigrant laws and a new law passed in 1996 that restricted immigration had, in the words of Nestor Rodriguez, "lessened the explosive energy that characterized Mexican undocumented immigration in the 1970s and 1980s."[16]
In the 1989 book
As of 2007 most of the Hispanic and Latino political power in Houston consists of Mexican Americans.[19]
By 2007 many wealthy Mexican citizens escaping crime and kidnapping moved their families to Houston. Houston's air transport links to Mexico and the lower prices of luxury houses compared to other American cities made it attractive to wealthy Mexicans.
By June 2012 the Yo Soy 132 movement in Mexico spread to Houston, using the hashtag #YoSoy132-Houston.[22]
Media history
Some of the earliest Mexican-American newspapers in Houston included El Anunciador, La Gaceta Mexicana, El Tecolote, and La Tribuna.[23]
Religious history
Historically many Mexican immigrants to Houston came from areas where folk religion was common, and this conflicted with existing American Catholicism.[24]
In 1910 there were no Mexican Catholic churches in Houston. Some Mexicans were excluded from attending Anglo Catholic churches. Mexicans who did attend found themselves discriminated against.
As time passed, additional churches established by Mexicans opened, and as some neighborhoods became majority Mexican the churches became Mexican churches.[24]
In 1972 the Catholic church leaders and lay Hispanics in Houston participated in the Encuentro Hispano de Pastoral ("Pastoral Congress for the Spanish-speaking"). Robert R. Treviño, author of
Geography
As of 2007[update] many wealthy Mexicans living in Houston prefer to live in gated communities with private security patrols as the environment is similar to that of wealthy neighborhoods in Mexico. Royal Oaks Country Club is among those communities.[20]
As of 2017[update] about 10% of the residents of
Pasadena and Galena Park are suburbs with a large Mexican population in Houston.
Organizations
As of 2001[update] Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans (AAMA) is the largest advocacy group for Hispanics in the Houston area. It was established in 1971, also making it the oldest such group, on the premises of the Ninfa's restaurant.[29]
The Sociedad Mutualista Benito Juárez, a mutual aid society was established in Magnolia Park in May 1919. Salon Juárez, built in 1928, is a 48 feet (15 m) by 80 feet (24 m) two story building that served as its meeting house. According to Stephen Fox, who specializes in the history of architecture, this is the city's first ethnic Mexican-oriented public building not made for religious purposes. Due to financial problems during the Great Depression the society no longer managed the building after 1932. After multiple changes in ownership, the physical plant began to suffer from maintenance issues in the 1980s and 1990s because the old roof was removed but a new roof was not put on it.[30] Because the owner had not paid $20,000 in back taxes, the building was to be sold in a July 6, 2004 auction, but the taxes were paid before the auction occurred, so the owner kept the property.[31] The Greater Houston Preservation Alliance classified it as an endangered building.[30]
Education
In the 20th century, when schools were legally segregated by race (the
Beginning in the 20th century were some ethnic Mexican-majority elementary schools in Houston; the first school with a majority ethnic Mexican student body was Lorenzo de Zavala Elementary School in
An increase in the Hispanic presence of public schools in Houston began in 1937. After the 1960s many of the secondary schools began to change from being mostly Anglo to mostly Hispanic.[35]
AAMA operates George I. Sanchez Charter Schools.[29]
Diplomatic missions
From 2001 to 2021 the
Transportation
As of 2007[update] there were at least 20 flights per day from Houston to Mexico City and about 20 daily flights to other Mexican cities, making up about 40 flights total.[20]
Politics
In 1969 Lauro Cruz was elected in the Texas House of Representatives in District 23, making him the first Mexican American in what author Mikaela Garza Selley described in Houston History Magazine as a "major political position".[40]
Cuisine
Felix Tijerina established the restaurant Felix's while also becoming involved in Mexican-American activism. Selley stated that his restaurant "became "the most recognized Mexican American business success story in Houston.""[40] Felix's and Molina's Cantina served Tex-Mex catering to Anglo customers.[40]
Selley described four restaurants as "long-standing Houston institutions whose political involvement remains as well-known as their house special-ties."[40] These four are Andy's Café, Doneraki Authentic Mexican Restaurant, Merida Mexican Café, and Villa Arcos Taquitos.[40] Jesse and Sadie Morales named their restaurant Andy's Café after their son; it was established in 1977. According to the Morales's grandson, Anthony Espinoza, the restaurant is the Tex-Mex style as both founders had been born and raised in Texas and were accustomed to American cuisine.[41] Doneraki, established by Cesar Rodríguez, had tacos al carbon inventor Don Erakio as its namesake.[40] Rafael and Olga Acosta established Merida Mexican Café in 1972.[42] Villa Arcos was established in 1977 by Velia Arcos Rodríguez Durán.[43]
Others:
Recreation
By the 1940s Mexican-American sports clubs, including baseball clubs, had been established. Mexican-American businesses helped sponsor the baseball clubs; Mexican-Americans playing baseball in Houston began by the 1920s. The Latin American State Tournament is a Mexican-American tournament for men's softball. Félix Fraga created it by the 1940s. The team at one time only included Hispanics and Latinos, and the managers asked for birth certificates so potential players could prove they were of Hispanic or Latino origins. Some white persons not of Hispanic origins tried registering under falsified Spanish family names to become players.[4]
In media
The 2011 novel What Can't Wait by Ashley Hope Pérez is about a Mexican-American teenage girl torn between the demands of her family and her ambitions for the future.[44][45]
Notable Mexican-Americans
- Mario Gallegos, Jr.- Democratic politician in the U.S. state of Texas.
- Marcario García - Resident of Sugar Land and member of the military
- Refugio Gómez
- Jim Goode - Restaurateur of partial Mexican descent[46]
- Vanessa Guillén - Soldier and murder victim[47]
- Ninfa Laurenzo (Maria Ninfa Rodriguez Laurenzo) - Founder of Ninfa's
- Lydia Mendoza
- Rick Noriega
- Ben Reyes
- South Park Mexican (Carlos Coy) - rapper, founder of Dope House Records, felon
- Chingo Bling (Pedro Herrera III) - rapper and producer
- Felix Tijerina - Restaurateur, activist, and philanthropist
- Roman Martinez basketball player in Mexico for Soles de Mexicali and the Mexico national team
- Carol Alvarado - representative for Texas' 145th state house district
- Gwendolyn Zepeda - author (father was Mexican American)[48]
See also
- Demographics of Houston
- History of the Central Americans in Houston
- History of the Mexican-Americans in Texas
- Hispanic and Latino Americans in Texas
- Tex-Mex cuisine in Houston
- Magnolia Park, Houston
- Mexilink
- Ninfa's
- Taqueria Arandas
Notes
- ^ Aaron and Hernández, p. 335. "Finally, the Mexican community in Houston represents the oldest and most well established Spanish-speaking group in the area,[...]"
- ^ "Why Chicago is Still the No. 2 U.S. City for Mexican Immigrants". Bloomberg.com. 9 October 2014.
- ^ a b Treviño, p. 15.
- ^ a b c d Santillán, et al, p. 9.
- ^ a b c Rodriguez, Nestor, "Hispanic and Asian Immigration Waves in Houston," p. 31.
- ^ Treviño, p. 26.
- ^ a b c Treviño, p. 32.
- ^ Contreras, Ramiro (2021). "Mexican Inclusion and Exclusion in Houston, Texas from 1900-1940" (Dissertation). University of Houston. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
- ^ a b Treviño, p. 28.
- ^ a b c d e Esparza, p. 2.
- ^ a b Garza, Natalie, p. 15.
- ^ a b Treviño, p. 29.
- Journal of Southern History, Feb, 2008, Vol.74(1), p.224(2) - Available at JSTOR: Cited page: 224
- ^ a b Walsh, Robb. "The Authenticity Myth." Houston Press. October 26, 2000. Retrieved on November 16, 2009.
- ^ a b c Rodriguez, Nestor, "Hispanic and Asian Immigration Waves in Houston," p. 32.
- ^ a b c d Rodriguez, Nestor, "Hispanic and Asian Immigration Waves in Houston," p. 34.
- ^ a b c Rodriguez, Nestor, "Hispanic and Asian Immigration Waves in Houston," p. 33.
- ^ Rodriguez, Nestor, "Undocumented Central Americans in Houston: Diverse Populations," p. 4.
- ^ Garza, Cynthia Leonor. "Latinos' political power hasn't matched growth." Houston Chronicle. Sunday August 19, 2007. 2. Retrieved on November 22, 2011.
- ^ a b c Meyer, Eugene L. (2007-09-16). "For Rich Mexicans, Parallel Lives in U.S." The New York Times. p. 1111. Retrieved 2017-07-16.
- ^ Moreno, Jenalia. "Monterrey residents finding an escape in Houston." Houston Chronicle. September 18, 2010. Retrieved on September 20, 2010.
- ^ Rangel, Gustavo (2012-06-28). "Mexicanos en Houston quieren elección limpia en su país". La Opinión. Retrieved 2016-08-28.
- ^ a b Esparza, p. 3.
- ^ a b Rosales, Francisco Arturo (Arizona State University). "The Church in the Barrio: Mexican American Ethno-Catholicism in Houston" (review) The Catholic Historical Review, 2007, Vol.93(3), pp.727-728 [Peer Reviewed Journal] - Available at JSTOR. Cited page: 728: "Unfortunately, religious practices of the immigrants often clashed with the modern Catholicism that emerged in the United States in the nineteenth century. Many came from priest-scarce regions where rituals and even theology were maintained at the folk level. Consequently, ecclesiastical leaders dismissed the new arrivals as ignorant of Church teachings. Nonetheless, the Church accommodated Mexicans within an expanding structure of churches. Some like Our Lady of Guadalupe were new, while others became Mexican as previous parishioners abandoned buildings to the newcomers as they became the majority in central Houston congregations."
- ^ a b Treviño, p. 9.
- ^ a b Garza, Natalie, p. 17.
- ^ Treviño, p. 10.
- Washington Times via Associated Press as "Some Mexican residents in Texas feel unwelcome, return home," date June 4, 2017. Spanish version: "Atraídos antes por The Woodlands, ahora los mexicanos deciden regresar a su país"
- ^ a b Evans, Marjorie (2001-09-20). "Group expanding to meet growing Hispanic population". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2019-04-14.
- ^ a b Cutler, p. 36.
- ^ Cutler, p. 36-37.
- ISBN 1603447180, 9781603447188. p. 33(Google Books PT14).
- ^ ISBN 0520958535, 9780520958531. p. 96.
- ISBN 0520958535, 9780520958531. p. 95.
- ^ San Miguel, p. 219.
- Consulate-General of Mexico. Retrieved on July 27, 2009. "Dirección: 4507 San Jacinto St. Houston, Texas, 77004"
- ^ "Area Maps Archived 2011-10-09 at the Wayback Machine." (Map 1, Map 2) Greater Southeast Management District. Retrieved on May 22, 2009.
- ^ a b Begley, Dug (2019-12-16). "Mexican consulate moving to southwest Houston to make way for downtown freeway rebuild". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
- Houston Business Journal. Retrieved 2019-12-17.
- ^ a b c d e f Selly, p. 30.
- ^ Selly, p. 33.
- ^ Selley, p. 31.
- ^ Selley, p. 32.
- Project MUSE.
- ^ "WHAT CAN'T WAIT." Kirkus Reviews. February 1, 2011. Posted online on January 26, 2011. Retrieved on November 7, 2015.
- Emmis Communications, August 1992. Volume 20, No. 8, ISSN 0148-7736. Start p. 46.
- ^ Okolie, Stefania (2020-07-07). "New mural pays tribute to Vanessa Guillen in her neighborhood". KTRK-TV. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
- ^ "100 Things Meme." Gwendolyn Zepeda. Retrieved on February 19, 2016.
References
- Aaron, Jessi Elana (ISBN 9027218617, 9789027218612.
- Cutler, Leigh. "Salon Juárez" (PDF). The Houston Review. 3 (2): 36–37. - Profile
- Esparza, Jesus Jesse. "La Colonia Mexicana: A History of Mexican Americans in Houston." (Archive) Houston History Volume 9, Issue 1. p. 2-8. Center for Public History, University of Houston.
- Garza, Natalie. "The “Mother Church” of Mexican Catholicism in Houston." (Archive) Houston History Volume 9, Issue 1. p. 14-19. Center for Public History, University of Houston.
- Rodriguez, Nestor. "Hispanic and Asian Immigration Waves in Houston." in: Chafetz, Janet Salzman and Helen Rose Ebaugh (editors). Religion and the New Immigrants: Continuities and Adaptations in Immigrant Congregations. ISBN 0759117128, 9780759117129.
- Also available in: Ebaugh, Helen Rose Fuchs and Janet Saltzman Chafetz (editors). Religion and the New Immigrants: Continuities and Adaptations in Immigrant Congregations. Rowman & Littlefield, January 1, 2000. 0742503909, 9780742503908.
- Rodriguez, Nestor P. (JStor.
- San Miguel, Guadalupe. ISBN 1585444936, 9781585444939.
- Santillán, Richard A., Joseph Thompson, Mikaela Selley, William Lange, and Gregory Garrett. Mexican American Baseball in Houston and Southeast Texas (Images of America). ISBN 1467126357, 9781467126359.
- Selley, Mikaela Garza. "House Special: Mexican Food & Houston Politics" (PDF). Houston History Magazine. University of Houston Center for Public History. pp. 30–33.
- Treviño, Robert R. ISBN 978-0-8078-5667-3.
External links
- (in Spanish) Struthers, Silvia. "La Iglesia Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe celebra 100 años." La Voz de Houston. August 17, 2012.