WEBVTT - From China to San Francisco and Mexicali 0:00:00.680 --> 0:00:03.440 My name is Eva Longoria and I am Ma de 0:00:03.560 --> 0:00:08.000 Gomez Racon and welcome to Hungry for History. 0:00:08.160 --> 0:00:11.080 A podcast that explores our past and present through food. 0:00:11.360 --> 0:00:13.640 On every episode, we'll talk about the history of some 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:17.439 of our favorite dishes, ingredients, and beverages from our culture. 0:00:17.560 --> 0:00:23.320 So make yourself at home. Ewhen we are halfway through 0:00:23.360 --> 0:00:25.600 the season, and the great thing about doing this show 0:00:25.680 --> 0:00:27.680 is the more we dig into the history of food, 0:00:27.720 --> 0:00:32.200 the more we learn about how layered all the influences 0:00:32.240 --> 0:00:35.520 are and how all countries are intertwined. 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:38.320 Today we're not just covering a dish. We're talking about 0:00:38.440 --> 0:00:42.640 the Chinese contribution to Mexican and American history through the 0:00:42.680 --> 0:00:45.440 food lens. Of course, we've learned that when people plant 0:00:45.440 --> 0:00:47.520 their flag in a new country, they do it first 0:00:47.520 --> 0:00:49.879 through food. This is how they preserve their family memories 0:00:49.920 --> 0:00:52.720 and how they make a new place feel like home. 0:00:53.159 --> 0:00:56.720 So today we are taking you from China to San 0:00:56.720 --> 0:00:59.400 Francisco to Mexicali. 0:00:59.200 --> 0:01:06.000 In rods because it's a lot generally generally speaking, yeah no, 0:01:06.080 --> 0:01:08.759 but I feel like the history of Chinese and Mexico 0:01:09.000 --> 0:01:12.759 is so significant and so unknown. 0:01:12.840 --> 0:01:15.760 There were a few waves beginning obviously in the colonial period, 0:01:16.120 --> 0:01:18.520 and a larger wave like sixty thousand arrived at the 0:01:18.600 --> 0:01:20.959 end of the nineteenth century beginning of the twentieth century, 0:01:21.000 --> 0:01:25.240 fleeing you know, obviously poverty and hardships in southern China's 0:01:25.440 --> 0:01:30.520 Cantone region. But today so many young Chinese Mexicans are 0:01:30.560 --> 0:01:34.000 searching for their roots and kind of reclaiming their history. 0:01:34.080 --> 0:01:36.039 And so I don't think a lot of people know this, 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:39.840 but there's like seventy thousand Chinese living in Mexico, mainly 0:01:39.880 --> 0:01:45.320 in La Chinesca in Mexicali and in the Barriochino in 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:46.199 Mexico City. 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:51.080 There is in Mexicali in Baja was Chinese before it 0:01:51.200 --> 0:01:55.280 was Mexican, which is so interesting. It's a city of 0:01:55.360 --> 0:01:59.240 about one million, ninety miles south of San Diego, and 0:01:59.320 --> 0:02:03.880 it's hated. Was nineteen twenty to nineteen thirty three Chinese 0:02:04.040 --> 0:02:07.160 first came to Mexicali run nineteen hundred. Most of them 0:02:07.240 --> 0:02:10.800 were brought over from China by the Colorado River Company 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:16.200 to work on railroad and irrigation construction. And this was 0:02:16.240 --> 0:02:21.320 this partnership between the US and Mexican government. So anyhow, 0:02:21.360 --> 0:02:24.840 by nineteen twenty there were more Chinese in the region 0:02:24.880 --> 0:02:28.240 than Mexicans, and both communities were part of a workforce 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:32.320 that took care of cotton fields, so many were farmers. 0:02:32.400 --> 0:02:35.799 They opened up canals for the introgrationion of water, and 0:02:36.120 --> 0:02:39.440 some of them started opening up businesses such as grocery stores, 0:02:39.680 --> 0:02:44.480 clothing stores, butcher shops, and of course restaurants and bars, 0:02:44.800 --> 0:02:47.120 and so they were it's so interesting. They were the 0:02:47.160 --> 0:02:51.000 first to open up laundromats, establishing this concept of the bilogne. 0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:53.200 And I always do you know this, this concept of 0:02:53.240 --> 0:02:55.840 the bilan the few extra, like if you'll you know, 0:02:55.880 --> 0:02:58.040 you'll buy cookies or something, and then they'll give you 0:02:58.040 --> 0:03:00.800 a bilon the extra, the free extra, and it was 0:03:00.800 --> 0:03:03.480 sort of this incentive for customers to come back for more. 0:03:03.960 --> 0:03:08.200 Chinese immargrants are considered pioneers and Mexicali's social, economic and 0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:12.760 cultural development right. So Ginesca, I've never been, but I'm 0:03:12.840 --> 0:03:14.799 dying to go. And it's not too far from us. 0:03:15.000 --> 0:03:19.000 It's the largest Chinese enclave in Mexico. And if you 0:03:19.000 --> 0:03:22.440 ask people in Mexicali what their most notable regional cuisine is, 0:03:22.560 --> 0:03:25.679 they won't say that goes. They'll say Chinese food. They're 0:03:25.680 --> 0:03:28.880 over three hundred Chinese restaurants in the city. 0:03:28.960 --> 0:03:31.519 And then what's bancino? Are they pandulcee. 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:36.640 Bancinos are bandulces that are sort of like conchas and biscuits, 0:03:36.680 --> 0:03:41.120 and but they're denser and more moist and they're steamed 0:03:41.480 --> 0:03:44.000 and then they're baked. This is something that we see 0:03:44.000 --> 0:03:46.480 a lot in Mexico City. There's a lot of these 0:03:46.520 --> 0:03:50.080 cafes chinos, and even Cossafina velasque ze Leon, who we've 0:03:50.080 --> 0:03:53.680 talked about before. She has a whole book on pancino. 0:03:54.360 --> 0:03:56.760 They may have learned this type of pastry working in 0:03:56.800 --> 0:03:59.920 the railroads in the nineteenth century or working for French 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:04.880 or English families, and so it's basically steamed then baked 0:04:05.200 --> 0:04:06.040 van dulces. 0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:09.840 Oh, well, I know that hole Sepina Velaskaz de Leon. 0:04:09.960 --> 0:04:13.200 We've talked about her on the podcast. She wrote a 0:04:13.440 --> 0:04:17.440 book only about foncino, or she mentioned fancino in a book. 0:04:17.760 --> 0:04:20.440 Only about flancino. She wrote a whole book on how 0:04:20.480 --> 0:04:23.400 to make blancino. I haven't tried making it because it's 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:26.640 pretty complicated, but I need to check it out. I 0:04:26.680 --> 0:04:27.440 need to try it. 0:04:30.080 --> 0:04:33.320 Well. After the break, we'll take you back to the beginning. 0:04:33.160 --> 0:04:36.040 And explore Chinese immigration in Mexico and the US. 0:04:40.800 --> 0:04:44.120 Look, I feel like the Chinese influence in Mexico is 0:04:44.160 --> 0:04:46.599 important and is historic, and I don't think a lot 0:04:46.640 --> 0:04:48.680 of people know about it, and especially the Chinese influence 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:51.800 obviously in the United States, but you know, in Mexico. 0:04:51.960 --> 0:04:54.680 I guess it began roughly about four hundred fifty years 0:04:54.680 --> 0:05:00.440 ago when Spanish trading ships like the Manila galleons, they 0:05:00.480 --> 0:05:04.960 brought fine silk and porcelain and tea and all these 0:05:05.040 --> 0:05:09.560 Eastern goods to the western coast of Mexico, mainly in 0:05:09.680 --> 0:05:15.279 exchange for silver. And so these trade links have long 0:05:15.400 --> 0:05:18.159 been established between Spanish and Chinese merchants. 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:21.280 The Spanish had their base of operations in Manila where 0:05:21.320 --> 0:05:23.760 their goods would be unloaded and sent to Mexico from 0:05:23.760 --> 0:05:27.160 these ships sailed twice a year a Kapuico and we're 0:05:27.200 --> 0:05:30.640 distributed mainly to wealthy Spaniards. We've talked about these. 0:05:30.640 --> 0:05:32.600 Yeah, we talked about this in another episode. 0:05:32.760 --> 0:05:36.279 Yes, yes, yes, And the first Chinese to arrive in 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:40.000 Mexico were actually servants of Spanish merchants after they paid 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:42.880 their dues. If they decided to stay in Mexico. Many 0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:47.240 became tradesmen, barbers, and shopkeepers, and they started to build 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:51.400 networks with other Chinese. And so the ones that arrived 0:05:51.440 --> 0:05:55.800 first became the wealthiest. And these networks grew and they 0:05:55.800 --> 0:05:59.160 were able to climb up the ladder and others followed. 0:05:59.240 --> 0:06:03.040 So the ones that arrived first served as a support network, 0:06:03.120 --> 0:06:06.839 helping others back home. So it became a very tight 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:11.120 knit community. It was tight ennit for many, many centuries, 0:06:11.120 --> 0:06:15.640 and this sort of tight knitness eventually was seen as 0:06:15.920 --> 0:06:19.200 a threat. So but you know, all immigrants communities really 0:06:19.240 --> 0:06:21.760 are tight and they're drawn to each other for support. 0:06:21.920 --> 0:06:26.560 But as the centuries progress, this community was seen as 0:06:26.600 --> 0:06:29.360 a threat. They were very industrious, they were hard working. 0:06:29.839 --> 0:06:33.640 They were neither rich nor poor, and they eventually would 0:06:33.640 --> 0:06:36.760 become a middleman between the rich and the poor. So 0:06:36.880 --> 0:06:42.640 eventually they became really the only middle class in Mexico. 0:06:44.400 --> 0:06:48.760 So yeah, it is really really quite interesting. They lived 0:06:48.760 --> 0:06:53.000 in their own communities and which became chinatowns, right or 0:06:53.120 --> 0:06:54.400 barrio chinos. 0:06:54.600 --> 0:06:57.000 I feel like the most iconic chinatown though, is in 0:06:57.080 --> 0:06:59.680 San Francisco, don't you think absolutely? 0:06:59.720 --> 0:07:03.560 It's a beautiful Let's go to California before we come 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:05.200 back to America. Let's go to California. 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:08.680 Okay, So China to San Francisco. Was that because of 0:07:08.720 --> 0:07:09.479 the gold rush? 0:07:10.480 --> 0:07:12.680 It is it started in the gold rush. So it 0:07:12.760 --> 0:07:18.080 started in Mexico, way way, way earlier. California became part 0:07:18.360 --> 0:07:22.480 of the US in eighteen forty eight, and then around 0:07:22.480 --> 0:07:27.120 this time over two million Chinese immigrated internationally as part 0:07:27.160 --> 0:07:32.040 of this global diaspora, and they were fleeing civil unrest 0:07:32.200 --> 0:07:36.720 and violence, silver, population, poverty. There were opium wars, there 0:07:36.800 --> 0:07:40.720 was floods, famine, just political instability sort of generally. So 0:07:41.160 --> 0:07:43.760 you know, they were fleeing for a better life. And 0:07:43.840 --> 0:07:48.280 so this coincides with gold being found in San Francisco 0:07:48.600 --> 0:07:51.200 and so drawn by the silure of gold and employment 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:54.920 opportunities in the railroad construction and of course in mining. 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:59.440 We see about three hundred thousand Cantonese immigrants come to 0:07:59.480 --> 0:08:03.080 the US between eighteen forty eighty and eighteen eighty two, 0:08:03.680 --> 0:08:06.080 and most of them were from the same. 0:08:05.880 --> 0:08:08.600 Region than this little region. But you know what region. 0:08:09.080 --> 0:08:14.040 What's crazy. Even though we abolished slavery in eighteen sixty five, well, 0:08:14.080 --> 0:08:16.880 because we abolished slavery in eighteen sixty five, there was 0:08:16.920 --> 0:08:20.640 a high demand for Chinese labor because wherever these Chinese 0:08:20.640 --> 0:08:23.880 immigrants went, they were preyed upon. And I think ninety 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:28.200 percent of the workers that built the Central Pacific Railroad 0:08:28.280 --> 0:08:33.000 were Chinese, and they received fifty percent less pay than 0:08:33.040 --> 0:08:36.000 whites for the same job. The Chinese held an eight 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:40.200 day strike in eighteen sixty seven to demand equal wages, 0:08:40.880 --> 0:08:43.680 and they used their collective strength and they did scare 0:08:43.720 --> 0:08:46.160 the company leaders. But at first they were they were 0:08:46.160 --> 0:08:51.079 deemed two week for this dangerous, strenuous job for the 0:08:51.200 --> 0:08:54.960 railroad work. But the director at the time of the 0:08:54.960 --> 0:08:58.360 Central Pacific Railroad, I think his name was Charles Crocker, 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:02.120 recommended hiring them after a job posting that resulted in 0:09:02.160 --> 0:09:06.080 only a few hundred responses from white laborers. So white 0:09:06.160 --> 0:09:08.440 people did not want to build these railroads, and so 0:09:08.559 --> 0:09:11.959 they had to look to a different talent pool. And 0:09:12.040 --> 0:09:14.760 then there was this court case in eighteen fifty four 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:21.479 that ruled that Chinese, like Black Americans, like Native Americans, 0:09:21.559 --> 0:09:23.440 they weren't allowed to testify in court, and so it 0:09:23.559 --> 0:09:27.400 really made it impossible for these Chinese immigrants to seek 0:09:27.600 --> 0:09:30.360 justice against the you know, the people who ran the 0:09:30.400 --> 0:09:33.720 railroads to get equal pay against the violence that was 0:09:33.760 --> 0:09:36.280 a you know, that was mounted against them. And so 0:09:37.080 --> 0:09:40.400 this case People versus Hall in eighteen fifty four, which 0:09:40.440 --> 0:09:44.000 was a California Supreme Court case, it made it legal 0:09:44.040 --> 0:09:47.000 for people to bash Chinese people and get away with it. 0:09:47.000 --> 0:09:47.600 It's crazy. 0:09:47.800 --> 0:09:51.040 It's horrible, horrible, horrible. And then we see the Chinese 0:09:51.080 --> 0:09:54.559 Exclusion Act in eighteen eighty two, so just a couple 0:09:54.559 --> 0:09:58.040 of decades later, meant to curb the influx of Chinese 0:09:58.080 --> 0:10:01.840 immigrants to the US, particularly to California. So it suspended 0:10:01.920 --> 0:10:05.560 Chinese immigration for ten years and required Chinese people traveling 0:10:05.720 --> 0:10:07.800 in or out of the US to carry a certificate 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:12.920 identifying his or her status, whether it's the labor or scholar, diplomat, merchant. 0:10:13.840 --> 0:10:16.520 On the other coast, right in New York, Ellis Island 0:10:16.520 --> 0:10:19.520 opened around this same time, and many still arrived. 0:10:19.600 --> 0:10:21.840 But the crazy thing about that, what you just said, 0:10:21.920 --> 0:10:25.400 is like we needed them, and yet we were like, 0:10:25.520 --> 0:10:29.600 don't come. You know, it's so crazy how history repeats itself. 0:10:29.640 --> 0:10:31.560 And I feel like that's still the case now. You know, 0:10:31.640 --> 0:10:34.440 we need There are a lot of industries dependent upon 0:10:34.480 --> 0:10:39.800 immigrant labor today, agriculture, manufacturing, you know, the jobs that 0:10:39.880 --> 0:10:44.000 a lot of people don't want, and immigrant labor always 0:10:44.080 --> 0:10:46.959 fills those jobs. So the fact that this, you know, 0:10:47.200 --> 0:10:50.360 historically happens like there's like an influx of immigrants and 0:10:50.400 --> 0:10:53.960 then there's fear mongering and xenophobia and then we're like 0:10:54.040 --> 0:10:57.120 go home, and then it's just like this push and 0:10:57.200 --> 0:11:01.160 pool that does not make our borders pores like they 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:01.600 should be. 0:11:01.960 --> 0:11:06.439 You know, history keeps repeating itself, right, And this law 0:11:07.040 --> 0:11:10.280 was this Chinese Exclusion Act was the first restricting immigration 0:11:10.400 --> 0:11:14.640 into the US, and so many Americans on the West 0:11:14.679 --> 0:11:19.720 Coast attributed to declining wages and economic ills to Chinese workers, 0:11:20.559 --> 0:11:25.480 even though they only composed of point zero zero two 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:31.040 percent of the nation's population, right, so nothing and Congress 0:11:31.080 --> 0:11:34.400 passed an act to playcate workers demand and calm concerns 0:11:34.440 --> 0:11:38.640 about maintaining white racial purity. These are the words that 0:11:38.720 --> 0:11:42.120 they used. And so tens of thousands went to Cuba, 0:11:42.320 --> 0:11:45.560 South America, to Mexico. Instead, many settled along the US 0:11:45.600 --> 0:11:49.480 Mexican border, becoming grocers and merchants and restaurant owners. But 0:11:49.640 --> 0:11:51.960 you know, many stayed in San Francisco, you know, not 0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:55.199 everybody could could leave, you know, going back to San Francisco. 0:11:55.320 --> 0:11:58.720 Specifically, like when when Chinatown was founded, it was called 0:11:58.800 --> 0:12:01.840 Little Kenton because that's lead the community of where they 0:12:01.880 --> 0:12:04.520 were coming from, and it was you know, port of 0:12:04.640 --> 0:12:07.440 entry for all these Chinese immigrants, and a lot of 0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:10.839 them obviously opened up restaurants and they were called chou 0:12:10.920 --> 0:12:14.600 chow houses. And you know, the American restaurant system, I think, 0:12:14.720 --> 0:12:18.160 especially in San Francisco, was so underdeveloped, and these Chinese 0:12:18.520 --> 0:12:22.360 immigrant restaurant tours kind of knew what they were doing, 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:27.080 and so they offered, you know, cheap prices hospitality to 0:12:27.200 --> 0:12:30.800 poor American All these people were coming to San Francisco 0:12:30.840 --> 0:12:32.800 in this moment, did not have money, they were looking 0:12:32.840 --> 0:12:36.160 to make money, and so you know, it was they 0:12:36.240 --> 0:12:40.560 offered kind of a better restaurant experience. And so when 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:43.719 the when the gold rush ended, then these restaurants were 0:12:43.720 --> 0:12:47.320 mostly frequented by Chinese patrons and obviously they served like 0:12:47.320 --> 0:12:53.360 traditional Chinese dishes, salted fish, salted duck feet, fish heads, 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:55.520 and then it just kind of became this place where 0:12:56.320 --> 0:12:59.719 the old country lives inside a new one and it's 0:12:59.720 --> 0:13:02.880 well together. And so for me, it was it's like, 0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:05.520 I love to learn the his This is why we 0:13:05.559 --> 0:13:09.800 do this podcast. I love knowing where things began. And 0:13:09.800 --> 0:13:11.679 then you go, well, it kind of began here, No 0:13:11.840 --> 0:13:14.800 it didn't really. I mean it's so cyclical, it is 0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:21.160 so evolutional, like it's still evolving, and so it's so 0:13:21.360 --> 0:13:23.599 fun to discover all of these new things. 0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:26.120 Totally and it's so fun to discover Oh, this was 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:29.120 happening in San Francisco. Oh this was happening in Mexico 0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:32.760 right at the same time. And it's just how everything 0:13:32.840 --> 0:13:37.120 is so intertwined. So in nineteen o six, there was 0:13:37.200 --> 0:13:42.080 a huge earthquake and fire that devastated San Francisco. So 0:13:42.280 --> 0:13:44.920 the city government they were like, oh great, this is 0:13:44.960 --> 0:13:47.840 the time to get the Chinese out, the Chinese residents. 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:50.880 They wanted to move them out of San Francisco proper, 0:13:51.440 --> 0:13:54.800 moved them closer to you know, Oakland. But then they 0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:58.240 were like, oh, wait a minute. They were a vital 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:02.280 part of the city's economy. We need them, we need 0:14:02.320 --> 0:14:06.440 their taxes, we need them to rebuild. So this is 0:14:06.480 --> 0:14:10.760 not to say that the racism didn't exist still, but 0:14:11.360 --> 0:14:14.240 they let them rebuild because they needed their taxes. Because 0:14:14.280 --> 0:14:17.880 it became this tourist attraction eventually, and today San Francisco's 0:14:17.920 --> 0:14:22.240 Chinatown is one of the city's most popular attractions. It 0:14:22.440 --> 0:14:25.160 is the backbone of the city. 0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:28.600 And I remember the first time I went to San Francisco, 0:14:28.720 --> 0:14:30.680 I was like, how we have to visit China. Debt 0:14:30.680 --> 0:14:34.000 like it was one of the reasons I went, Yeah, 0:14:34.440 --> 0:14:34.800 me too. 0:14:34.840 --> 0:14:37.560 It's the first time I had dinsum was in San 0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:39.360 Francis China that really. 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:42.080 Need to know. It was all like eye opening, like 0:14:42.240 --> 0:14:45.840 I've eaten this bond now I feel part of the community. 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:48.960 I know, I had never even heard of it before. 0:14:49.000 --> 0:14:51.440 I was in San Francisco Chinatown. I was like, what 0:14:51.560 --> 0:14:54.760 is this? The little carts and I'm like, this is perfection. 0:14:55.000 --> 0:14:58.480 This is so interesting. It's like I want to know more. 0:14:58.520 --> 0:15:01.440 I want to know more. My experience with Chinese food 0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:04.280 was China Bow and Laredo. That was just you know, 0:15:04.400 --> 0:15:08.880 egg rolls and orange chicken. This is American, you know 0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:09.800 Chinese food. 0:15:09.960 --> 0:15:14.920 Egg Rolls were a big part of my childhood. Don't 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:17.200 go anywhere. When we come back with diving into the 0:15:17.200 --> 0:15:19.200 fusion between Mexican and Chinese. 0:15:18.920 --> 0:15:21.520 Cuisines, we turn our eyes back on Mexico when we 0:15:21.560 --> 0:15:34.160 come back. So the border I don't know this. 0:15:34.840 --> 0:15:35.480 I don't know this. 0:15:35.600 --> 0:15:40.040 Sorry, go ahead, go ahead, Sorry, it's all connected. The 0:15:40.120 --> 0:15:43.200 border patrol was created to keep Chinese immigrants from entering 0:15:43.200 --> 0:15:47.040 the US. At the same time, the Mexican government welcomed 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:50.760 Chinese immigrants to populate northern Mexico to work on farms 0:15:50.840 --> 0:15:52.640 and in mines and canals. 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:55.720 All right. So while the Chinese Exclusion Act was happening 0:15:55.760 --> 0:16:00.359 in the US, it was the Portfrio in Mexico. 0:16:00.160 --> 0:16:04.720 The Portfridiato. So just briefly, the Portfidiato era was this 0:16:04.840 --> 0:16:08.160 period of about thirty years when Portfridio Dias, he was 0:16:08.200 --> 0:16:11.800 from Wajatka. He was a Francophile, and he opened the 0:16:11.840 --> 0:16:16.320 door to foreign investment. So this is when we see 0:16:16.400 --> 0:16:19.440 a lot of French moving into into Mexico and open 0:16:19.640 --> 0:16:22.640 Americans and just opening up businesses. We see this beautiful 0:16:22.680 --> 0:16:25.560 construction like ve Jasarts and all of these very beautiful 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:29.320 sort of buildings, but we see a very small percentage 0:16:29.320 --> 0:16:32.280 of people getting very very very very rich, and then 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:35.200 we have most of the population is very very very 0:16:35.320 --> 0:16:39.560 very poor, and eventually we have the Mexican Revolution. Porfiias 0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:43.960 fled and is buried in Paris. During the Portfidiato, the 0:16:44.000 --> 0:16:49.680 Mexican government was trying to modernize the country and Mexico 0:16:49.720 --> 0:16:53.640 became seen as this land of opportunity. One of his 0:16:53.680 --> 0:16:56.840 programs called for Europeans to work and populate the north. 0:16:57.840 --> 0:17:01.720 He was especially interested in building railway roads. But Mexico 0:17:01.800 --> 0:17:07.400 couldn't attract enough European immigrants to the north, same thing 0:17:07.440 --> 0:17:12.520 that happened here. So they decided to allow Chinese migrant workers. 0:17:12.800 --> 0:17:17.000 So this coincided with the Chinese Exclusion Act, so they 0:17:17.119 --> 0:17:21.720 began leaving the US coming into Mexico. When the AS 0:17:21.720 --> 0:17:25.520 granted permission to the Colorado River Land Company in the US, 0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:29.560 it was it was an LA owned company to build 0:17:29.600 --> 0:17:32.520 a canal in the Imperial Valley. So the plan was 0:17:32.560 --> 0:17:35.440 to connect the region's dry basin to the Colorado River 0:17:35.880 --> 0:17:41.560 for agricultural irrigation. Right, So we see Chinese coming, you know, 0:17:41.720 --> 0:17:45.120 into Mexico, which is eventually why we have so many 0:17:45.200 --> 0:17:47.480 Chinese in MEXICALI. 0:17:48.680 --> 0:17:52.080 Yeah. Yeah. Also a lot of the a lot of 0:17:52.080 --> 0:17:54.280 the Chinese men that came married Mexican women. 0:17:54.720 --> 0:17:57.679 They did, yes, they married Mexican women. And they weren't 0:17:57.720 --> 0:18:02.600 supposed to stay own communities or mixed with the Mexican population. 0:18:02.680 --> 0:18:06.240 They were supposed to eventually return to China, And at 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:09.560 first both Chinese were in the north. By the earliest 0:18:09.560 --> 0:18:11.800 twenty century, where there were in all parts of the 0:18:11.840 --> 0:18:17.040 country including Mexico City, Tampico, Mas Atlanta, Manzanillo. So there 0:18:17.119 --> 0:18:20.320 were about ninety eight percent men between the ages of 0:18:20.400 --> 0:18:23.760 fifteen and twenty nine. You know, they weren't supposed to 0:18:23.760 --> 0:18:27.159 build their communities or they weren't supposed to stay. But like, 0:18:27.280 --> 0:18:29.520 asking them to return to China is like okay, wait, 0:18:30.119 --> 0:18:31.920 you're you're asking me to come and do all the 0:18:31.960 --> 0:18:36.160 work and then and then go back, Like what what 0:18:36.280 --> 0:18:41.080 is this? You know, this is horrible. But they, you know, 0:18:41.160 --> 0:18:44.360 went from laborers to merchants. They started their own businesses 0:18:44.440 --> 0:18:46.679 and by the time of the Mexican Revolution they had 0:18:46.720 --> 0:18:50.800 created this sort of middle class. And at the time 0:18:50.920 --> 0:18:55.120 the Mexican society was divided into rich and poor. Chinese 0:18:55.160 --> 0:18:57.640 were the middleman. They had a strong work ethic, they 0:18:57.680 --> 0:19:01.640 lived frugally, they gained business mone knowledge, they had these 0:19:01.760 --> 0:19:07.000 really strong social networks. They had adopted Mexican names, some 0:19:07.080 --> 0:19:11.399 of them learned Spanish. Most of them married Mexican women, 0:19:12.520 --> 0:19:16.119 and during the Mexican Revolution there was this desire to 0:19:16.320 --> 0:19:21.080 mexicanize the country and a lot of Mexicans resented them. 0:19:21.280 --> 0:19:26.200 They resented their hard earned economic success and were treated 0:19:26.520 --> 0:19:30.320 in Mexico as they had been in California in the 0:19:30.359 --> 0:19:34.600 second half of the nineteenth century. So, you know, they 0:19:34.640 --> 0:19:38.240 were initially welcomed into these unpopular areas which heated, she 0:19:38.320 --> 0:19:42.679 played her labor, and then they were resented and accused 0:19:42.800 --> 0:19:45.080 of competing unfairly for jobs. 0:19:45.480 --> 0:19:47.879 So ingredients like soy sauce, they're a big part of 0:19:47.880 --> 0:19:51.199 Mexican culture today. You know, we have Maggie, which is 0:19:51.240 --> 0:19:54.199 like an evolution of probably this original soy sauce that 0:19:54.720 --> 0:19:59.520 has become a staple in our diets. And because I 0:19:59.560 --> 0:20:03.600 think a lot of ingredients became a staple in Sinaloa 0:20:04.119 --> 0:20:07.479 because the port was on the trade route from Asia 0:20:07.520 --> 0:20:10.120 to the Philippines to Mexico, like we talked about, and 0:20:10.600 --> 0:20:13.720 those that influence can still be filt in those dishes 0:20:13.800 --> 0:20:17.280 like piscato zaran, the yabo how do you say that 0:20:17.400 --> 0:20:23.240 that on the yadow sarandioso. Yeah, and that's a sin 0:20:23.480 --> 0:20:26.240 a classic and then tacos and egg rolls are basically 0:20:26.280 --> 0:20:27.800 the same thing, right. 0:20:28.600 --> 0:20:31.679 Basically, and banadas. 0:20:32.920 --> 0:20:38.560 And bananas dumpling, Taco egg rolls and banadas dumplings, Ramen, 0:20:38.600 --> 0:20:40.320 which we just talked about in our Food in a 0:20:40.320 --> 0:20:45.639 Cup episode, avocado and Chriso on fried rice always with 0:20:45.840 --> 0:20:49.679 lime on the side. Like there's so much fusion with 0:20:49.760 --> 0:20:53.239 you know, both cultures are pretty large and diverse. I mean, 0:20:53.240 --> 0:20:56.480 if you look at China, it's very diverse. I mean 0:20:56.480 --> 0:20:59.600 the food in the north and East and wet it's 0:20:59.600 --> 0:21:03.480 all very just like Mexico, they're very large, diverse cultures 0:21:03.480 --> 0:21:11.399 with ancient histories. Everything revolves around family, like Mexico and Chile, 0:21:11.920 --> 0:21:16.000 like Chile's imported to China and the seventeen hundreds were 0:21:16.520 --> 0:21:22.879 popularized in the eighteen hundreds obviously in Sheshwan food sarata, 0:21:23.320 --> 0:21:26.680 I mean you can't eat Chinese food without having some 0:21:26.800 --> 0:21:32.119 spicy sauce on the side. Insects are popular in both countries. 0:21:32.359 --> 0:21:39.600 Yeah, there's so many similarities, you know, so many. So Tomoi. 0:21:39.920 --> 0:21:42.720 We talked about Tamoi in our in our Candy episode 0:21:42.800 --> 0:21:46.760 last season, But that's a snack that that that's something 0:21:46.800 --> 0:21:51.080 that came also from the Chinese. So there's so many 0:21:51.119 --> 0:21:56.040 things in our in our cuisine that is that is 0:21:56.080 --> 0:21:58.760 influenced by by Chinese food. 0:21:59.040 --> 0:22:01.920 I for one, am so so happy about the Chinese 0:22:01.920 --> 0:22:05.880 influence in Mexican food. We have a lot of similarities, 0:22:05.880 --> 0:22:08.159 but at the same time, like we both both of 0:22:08.160 --> 0:22:10.880 our cuisines compliment each other. I think in a way 0:22:12.359 --> 0:22:15.520 more in a way than any other culture. And I 0:22:15.560 --> 0:22:18.000 don't know if it's because I'm I'm I, you know, 0:22:18.080 --> 0:22:21.720 live here in Mexico and I feel the influence, but 0:22:21.800 --> 0:22:25.080 I definitely I have a great appreciation for this particular 0:22:25.520 --> 0:22:31.440 melding of cultures. Thanks for listening and see you guys 0:22:31.560 --> 0:22:32.040 next week. 0:22:32.119 --> 0:22:34.400 If you have any dishes or foods that you want 0:22:34.440 --> 0:22:37.240 to hear about, leave us a message. We love hearing 0:22:37.280 --> 0:22:37.800 from you all. 0:22:38.040 --> 0:22:44.199 Bye. Hungary for History is a Hyphene media production in 0:22:44.280 --> 0:22:47.280 partnership with Iheart's Michael Tura podcast network. 0:22:47.400 --> 0:22:50.240 For more of your favorite shows, visit the iHeartRadio app, 0:22:50.359 --> 0:22:53.520 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.