1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910828580903321

Autore

Alfaro-Velcamp Theresa <1967->

Titolo

So far from Allah, so close to Mexico [[electronic resource] ] : Middle Eastern immigrants in modern Mexico / / by Theresa Alfaro-Velcamp

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Austin, : University of Texas Press, 2007

ISBN

0-292-79474-6

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (287 p.)

Disciplina

972/.0004927

Soggetti

Arabs - Mexico - History

Immigrants - Mexico - History

Mexico Emigration and immigration

Arab countries Emigration and immigration

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. [225]-255) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Amplifying mexicanidad -- Locating Middle Easterners in national and transnational histories -- Turco sojourners come to Porfirian Mexico -- Borderland merchants in revolutionary Mexico -- Middle Eastern immigrants and foreigners in post-revolutionary Mexico -- Peddling, positioning, and prosperity -- Conclusion : meanings of multiculturalism.

Sommario/riassunto

Middle Eastern immigration to Mexico is one of the intriguing, untold stories in the history of both regions. In So Far from Allah, So Close to Mexico, Theresa Alfaro-Velcamp presents the fascinating findings of her extensive fieldwork in Mexico as well as in Lebanon and Syria, which included comprehensive data collection from more than 8,000 original immigration cards as well as studies of decades of legal publications and the collection of historiographies from descendents of Middle Eastern immigrants living in Mexico today. Adding an important chapter to studies of the Arab diaspora, Alfaro-Velcamp's study shows that political instability in both Mexico and the Middle East kept many from fulfilling their dreams of returning to their countries of origin after realizing wealth in Mexico, in a few cases drawing on an imagined Phoenician past to create a class of economically powerful Lebanese Mexicans. She also explores the repercussions of xenophobia in



Mexico, the effect of religious differences, and the impact of key events such as the Mexican Revolution. Challenging the post-revolutionary definitions of mexicanidad and exposing new aspects of the often contradictory attitudes of Mexicans toward foreigners, So Far from Allah, So Close to Mexico should spark timely dialogues regarding race and ethnicity, and the essence of Mexican citizenship.