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Chinese in Havana, Cuba

By Yuhan Shi and Yifan Hu

The First Ship:

On March 3 1847, the first ship arrived in Cuba carrying about 200 Chinese laborers on eight-year contracts. 

Working Situation

1. These Chinese treated as the enslaved American

2. Abused by the local owners

3. A large number of suicides

4. Chinese government went to investigate with these cases

  Establishing a Community 

1. Many of these laborers intermarried with the local population of Cubans, Africans, and mixed-race women. 

2. Miscegenation laws forbade them to marry Spaniards.

3. In the late 1870s, more than 40,000 Chinese in Cuba 

This video talks about Chinese immigrants from China to Cuba and his family history

Chinese Cubans Today

It’s estimated that Chinese Cubans (those who were born in China) only number about 400 today. 

Chinatown without Chinese.

The Reason that the decline of Chinese Cubans

In 1959, Castro led the Cuban people to establish the first socialist country in Latin America. 

Because of Castro's socialist nationalization system, many local Chinese private businesses were confiscated by Cuban government. 

Chinese fled Cuba and went to the US and neighboring countries for work.

Traces of China in Havana today

Chinese Restaurants

Chinese brands everywhere in Cuba

Confucius Institutes 

Cuban Chinese Monument

Local Community groups are currently working to economically revitalize Havana’s Chinatown into a tourist destination.

References:

https://www.thoughtco.com/short-history-of-the-chinese-in-cuba-688162

https://www.rutgers.edu/news/chinese-cuban-population-dwindles-traditions-die

https://www.thoughtco.com/short-history-of-the-chinese-in-cuba-688162#:~:text=These%20Cuban%2DChinese%20began%20to,such%20community%20in%20Latin%20America.

https://www.rutgers.edu/news/chinese-cuban-population-dwindles-traditions-die#:~:text=Although%20only%20about%20150%20native,plantations%20not%20long%20after%20arriving.

[hana-chan06]

Concentrated populations of people of East Asian Ancestry in Northern Mexico

By: Biying Zhao, Kevin Joe, Shanshan He 

Introduction: 

La Chinesca is a neighborhood located in the Mexican city of Mexicali.It consists of dozens of underground spaces of different sizes, which was built by Chinese immigrants in those days.

Chinese Immigrants moved to Northern Mexico in 2 large stages, one in 1880 and another in 1940, many moved due to push from other countries to remove Chinese Immigrants 

However, Anti-Chinese Sentiment led many immigrants to be removed from Mexico during the early 1900’s. 

Push to repatriate Chinese into the country lead an increase in immirgration in the 1930’s and the 1980’s

(Major cities of Chinese Mexicans include Mexicali and Mexico City, among others)

Throughout the last century, more Chinese and East Asian immigrants have moved to Mexico (exponential increase in the last few decades)

Mexicali: 

Mexicali is located on the northern border of Mexico, the capital of The state of Baja California. Mexico is located in the northern part of the United States bordering California. Mexicali is the city that separates Mexico and California.

La Chinesca

La Chinesca in the 19th century was noisy. At that time, a large number of Chinese laborers came to Mexico in search of working and living opportunities. Compared with native people, China's labor cost is low, and it is favored by Mexican employers. Coupled with the Chinese exclusion policy of the United States, the number of Chinese in Mexico once surged, and many Chinese immigrants settled in Mexico sicali, which became the largest Chinatown in Mexico.

La Chinesca's guide said that the Chinese used Mexico and sicali as the base camp to find jobs such as railway construction, water conservancy development and agricultural planting along the US-Mexico border. Some people have opened local shops and cafes and started small businesses.

Because Mexicali is located in the desert basin, the climate is extremely hot. In midsummer, precipitation was scarce, and the temperature once reached 49 degrees Celsius. In order to stay away from the heat, Chinese immigrants have opened up underground space. This is a refuge for Chinese immigrants to escape racial persecution.

Today, there are about 5,000 Chinese residents living in Mexico and sicali. Mexico City of sicali decided to make "Exploring the Underground City of China" one of the characteristic tourism projects, because the local Chinese elements and these buildings have been deeply integrated into the temperament of the whole city.

Demographic: Around 1919, there were more than 10,000 local Chinese, which became the main resident of Maxicali at that time, several times more than Mexicans. Cantonese is the local language. Bills written by Chinese can be used as checks, and almost all businesses are owned by Chinese. Some Chinese and Mexicans form families and have children, and their descendants combine two long-standing traditions and cultures. By 1927, there were as many as 40,000 Chinese in MexicaliThe metro area population of Mexicali in 2019 was 1,101,000, a 1.76% increase from 2018. The location is home to about 15,000 people of Chinese origin, historically the largest Chinese community in Mexico.

Racism: How did anti-Chinese come into being

1. The Mexico government encouraged European immigrants settled in the desolate northern part of Mexico, hoping to "whiten" the population to improve the quality of the indigenous people and bring capital to the country. The problem is that European cannot get used to the weather. 

2. So the Mexico government put their focus on Chinese, but they think Chinese working hard, submissive and can provide cheap labor, but only allowed men to come. 

3. These Chinese cultivated cotton fields, many of which worked on plantations and in mines, because the weather in Mexicali so the quality of the cotton is good. So Mexicali is also called the cotton city. Since the early 20th century, mexicali has been permeated with a strong Chinese flavor as established Chinese people have started to enter business, including coffee shops, markets, convenience stores, cleaning companies and other industries. It is reported that at that time, there were more than 35,000 Chinese people and 26 Chinese communities, while there were only more than 3,000 local residents in Mexico. Mexicali almost became a "Chinatown".

4. Chinese have a change from labor to businessmen, which is not what Mexico government wants. They want cheap labor that works in the area, but people that make money from this area. In this case, the anti-Chinese have happened in promoting Chinese spread  out disease, gamble, and lead Mexico nation fall. The main reason: Chinese’s succeed economically and compare rich Chinese and locals that cannot find a job.

5. Finally, Mexico government began the segregation of Chinese, no marriage allowed with Chinese and Mexico. In the 1920s and 1930s, numerous Chinese were tortured and murdered in northern Mexico. The Mexican government even enacted laws to deport the Chinese. Some Chinese left Mexico, and some returned back to Mexicali because there are a great amount of Chinese in Mexicali. However, it was still not safe so they moved underground. 

Video 

Baja California:

The Chinese played an important role in the 19th century development of the California and Baja California coast and border region. 

They created the first abalone fishing industry along the coast and were a major part of the workforce that transformed the border region into the productive Imperial Valley on the California side and the Mexicali Valley on the Baja California side. 

Chinese often lived in separate communities, but their influence played a large role in the origins of many of these cities, particularly, Mexicali. 

Another important movement of Chinese to the region occurred during the 1930s anti-Chinese movement in Mexico. The Mexican government cancelled Chinese immigration in 1921, and after this many various state congresses approved discriminatory legislation prohibiting marriages between Chinese and Mexicans, creating special zones to isolate the Chinese, and deporting illegal Chinese immigrants. 

In Baja California, most Chinese initially migrated to Mexicali at the turn of the century and signed on as laborers for the Colorado River Land Company, a U.S. enterprise dedicated to building developing farmland along the Colorado River and its delta. These Chinese came from the U.S. and directly from China, lured by the promise of high wages which never materialized. (False hope of high wages, but rather they were paid little, subject to discrimination and prejudice, while also working for little pay)

Baja California was home to a plethora of many different communities of Asian descent, many of which immigrated to the country in search of more financial prospects as well as economic opportunities. (Baja’s Chinese population represented an Economic potential in excess of what the aggregate numbers would suggest) Overall 2% of population. 

Additionally, many Chinese implemented agricultural practices in these regions, much of which lead to beneficial improvements of business and socio-economic status for the communities in that region 

Population growth/and decline: 

Comparative Chinese Population (1900-1940) in Northern Mexico 

1900     1910      1921        1927       1930       1940

2,746   13,203   14,472     25,990    18,953     4,856

Cultural Ties in Mexicali and Baja California: 

-There are numerous cultural ties from Chinese Mexicans and their influence in the Baja California region and Mexicali 

-Throughout the last century, we have seen many increases in Mixed race ancestry in communities near these regions, and the ethnic Chinese immigrant populations have left lasting impacts on the social and economic progress in numerous parts of these regions (Many individuals of Mexican descent had some percentage of Chinese ancestry, in Mexicali and Baja California). 

-Even today, there is still a significant amount of Chinese impact in these communities, with a large amount of Chinese restaurants as well as Martial Arts Studios, where a significant amount of diverse individuals from both Mexican and Chinese descent attend

 Links for future reference: (Works Cited)  

https://www.jstor.org/stable/2517494?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/phr.2010.79.1.50?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Chinesca

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_immigration_to_Mexico

[hana-chan06]

Japanese-Peruvians

by Jonathan Figueira and HannaMei Levine

Demographics

The first records of Japanese immigration to Peru was in 1899, when a ship with about 800 landed there

“Peru’s Japanese community continued to grow, swollen by new arrivals. By 1936, the 23,000 Japanese-Peruvians represented 45% of Peru’s foreign population, distantly followed by the 7,000 Chinese and then by scant numbers of Italians, English, and Germans.[4] Densely clustered in Lima” (Kushner).

“Today, Peru’s 54,000 nikkei form one of the nation’s largest immigrant-descended ethnic groups, though they make up only a tiny one-fifth of 1% of the population of 27 million. Seventy percent of Japanese-Peruvians live in Lima; the city boasts a nikkei cultural center and museum, and magazines and newspapers aimed at nikkei readers” (Kushner).

Japanese Immigrants in Peru (1890-1978)

Peru had a labor shortage and hoped that opening the country to the Japanese would encourage Europeans to immigrate as well. The surge of Japanese immigrants took many of the labor jobs that we empty, however this led to the idea that the Japanese were stealing jobs from the Peruvians. Some Japanese became indentured laborers along with Indians and Chinese in the post-slavery era. 

World War II

“Japan’s bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941 prompted the Peruvian government to freeze and confiscate Japanese assets, forbid Japanese-Peruvians to assemble in groups larger than three, and shut down Japanese-language newspapers and schools. Peruvian authorities blacklisted prominent Japanese and later the entire community, prohibiting the patronage of Japanese businesses” (Kushner).

US political-military alliance with Lima, Peru (1942)

In order to try to manage their Japanese population during WWII, Peru...

Tracked, identified, and created ID files for all the Japanese-Peruvians

Arrested Japanese-Peruvians and sent them to internment camps

Grouped Japanese-Peruvians with Japanese-Americans

Sent Japanese-Peruvians to Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) located in Crystal City and Kennedy, Texas and Santa Fe, New Mexico

Only ⅕ of Japanese-Peruvians returned home after WWII

Alberto Fujimori, President of Peru (1990-2000)

After allegations of corruption and other violations, Fujimori fled the country and went into exile, but was later arrested in Chile. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Prior to Alberto Fujimori, Japanese-Peruvians generally prided themselves on being distant from politics. This was a defensive mechanism against potential aggressive crimes towards them. While he was running, the Japanese population in Peru had an increased fear of potential violence against them. “During election week they should stay out of public places, avoid traveling alone, and have neighbors watch out for them.”

In 1991, three Japanese tourists were killed, prompting fear in the Nikkei community. This fear led to thousands migrating to Japan. In 2000, when Fujimori ended his term, he had to flee to Japan on accounts of crimes while in office. As a result, Peruvians began to consider him and his followers as “oriental mafia”. There are currently followers of Fujimorism in Peru, led by Alberto Fujimori’s children, but they have yet to gain another president.

Cultural History

New Years, Girls Day, Childrens Day, Buddhist Festivals (Obon and Ohigan)

Japanese and Peruvian fusion cuisine

Added seafood to Peruvian staples: corn, chili, cassava, potatoes, and limes (e.g. ceviche is mixed w/ fresh fish)

Racism

(1) Interpersonal racism

Japanese people were categorized as criminals

Thought of as “bestial,” “untrustworthy,” and “militaristic”

Vandalization of Asian stores 

(2) Institutional racism

Peruvians thought the Japanese were stealing their jobs

Peruvian banks would not lend to Japanese

(3) Structural racism

General ideas of not belonging and ruining the country

Wanted them to go back to “their country” (Japan)

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Peruvians

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Fujimori

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujimorism

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3185184?seq=8#metadata_info_tab_contents

https://nacla.org/article/japanese-peruvians-reviled-and-respected-paradoxial-place-peru%27s-nikkei#:~:text=Seventy%20percent%20of%20Japanese%2DPeruvians,connecting%20to%20their%20ethnic%20roots.

https://www.efe.com/efe/english/life/japanese-presence-in-peru-dates-to-arrival-of-first-migrant-ship-1899-report/50000263-3943413