Guanajuatense and Other Mexican Immigrants in the United States ...

Guanajuatense and Other Mexican Immigrantsin the United States: New Communities inNon-Metropolitan and Agricultural Regionsby Víctor García, Ph.D.Indiana University of PennsylvaniaandLaura González Martínez, Ph.D.The University of Texas at DallasWorking Paper No. 47December 1999Abstract:This working paper addresses the unprecedented growth of the foreign and U.S.-born Mexican-descentpopulation in non-metropolitan and agricultural areas in the United States. It is organized into four sections.This first part of the paper is a general discussion of immigration from Guanajuato, Mexico, to these areas ofthe country. The concentration of Mexicans in non-metropolitan and agricultural areas is examined in the secondsection. The third part describes examples of this concentration in two communities in southeastern Pennsylvania.In the fourth and last section, it is suggested that peasants from Guanajuato and other compatriotsnot only immigrate to these areas, many migrate in order to continue practicing subsistence agriculture in theirhomeland. Migration allows them to pursue this important traditional economic activity.About the Authors: Dr. Víctor GarcíaDr. Víctor García is a cultural anthropologist, whose specialty is Latin American and Latino Studies, andthe Assistant Director of Cultural and Ethnic Studies at the Mid-Atlantic Addiction Training Institute(MAATI). His research interests include economic anthropology, peasant studies, the political economy ofagriculture and farm work in the Unites States, and lately, alcohol abuse among transnational migrants. Dr.García’s research experience on Mexican farmworker populations and rural enclaves in California and Pennsylvaniahas brought him recognition as a leading researcher on these subjects. His findings have been publishedin book chapters and research reports, put forth in working papers, and presented in numerous papersgiven at national and international conferences. He teaches courses on Latin America, the economics of peasantsocieties, and Latinos in the U.S.D r. Laura González Martínez is an anthropologist, educated in both the United States and Mexico, whohas studied the peasantry of Guanajuato, Mexico, for over 20 years. The social and economic consequence ofthe Green Revolution on peasant economies, migration and immigration to the United States, and gender issuesare only a few of her research topics. Over the last six years, as coordinator of the Network of GuanajuatoMigrants Project, Dr. González Martínez has examined the emergence and evolution of major migration andimmigration networks from rural Guanajuato to different regions of the United States and Canada. She has publisheda book, Repuesta Campesina a la Revolución Ve rde en el Bajío (1992), articles, and reports. Dr.González Martínez is currently a visiting professor at the School of Social Sciences, University of Texas, Dallas,where she teaches courses on international migration, U.S. Latinos, and ethnographic methods in a fieldschool in Dallas.