January 16, 2025 • 22 mins
When people plant their flag in a new country, they do it first though food. In this episode, Eva and Maite talk about the often painful history of Chinese migration to the United States and Mexico and celebrate the rich Chinese contribution to both country’s food-ways.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
My name is Eva Longoria and I am Ma de
Gomez Racon and welcome to Hungry for History.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
A podcast that explores our past and present through food.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
On every episode, we'll talk about the history of some
of our favorite dishes, ingredients, and beverages from our culture.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
So make yourself at home. Ewhen we are halfway through
the season, and the great thing about doing this show
is the more we dig into the history of food,
the more we learn about how layered all the influences
are and how all countries are intertwined.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Today we're not just covering a dish. We're talking about
the Chinese contribution to Mexican and American history through the
food lens. Of course, we've learned that when people plant
their flag in a new country, they do it first
through food. This is how they preserve their family memories
and how they make a new place feel like home.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
So today we are taking you from China to San
Francisco to Mexicali.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
In rods because it's a lot generally generally speaking, yeah no,
but I feel like the history of Chinese and Mexico
is so significant and so unknown.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
There were a few waves beginning obviously in the colonial period,
and a larger wave like sixty thousand arrived at the
end of the nineteenth century beginning of the twentieth century,
fleeing you know, obviously poverty and hardships in southern China's
Cantone region. But today so many young Chinese Mexicans are
searching for their roots and kind of reclaiming their history.
(01:34):
And so I don't think a lot of people know this,
but there's like seventy thousand Chinese living in Mexico, mainly
in La Chinesca in Mexicali and in the Barriochino in
Mexico City.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
There is in Mexicali in Baja was Chinese before it
was Mexican, which is so interesting. It's a city of
about one million, ninety miles south of San Diego, and
it's hated. Was nineteen twenty to nineteen thirty three Chinese
first came to Mexicali run nineteen hundred. Most of them
(02:07):
were brought over from China by the Colorado River Company
to work on railroad and irrigation construction. And this was
this partnership between the US and Mexican government. So anyhow,
by nineteen twenty there were more Chinese in the region
than Mexicans, and both communities were part of a workforce
(02:28):
that took care of cotton fields, so many were farmers.
They opened up canals for the introgrationion of water, and
some of them started opening up businesses such as grocery stores,
clothing stores, butcher shops, and of course restaurants and bars,
and so they were it's so interesting. They were the
first to open up laundromats, establishing this concept of the bilogne.
(02:51):
And I always do you know this, this concept of
the bilan the few extra, like if you'll you know,
you'll buy cookies or something, and then they'll give you
a bilon the extra, the free extra, and it was
sort of this incentive for customers to come back for more.
Chinese immargrants are considered pioneers and Mexicali's social, economic and
cultural development right. So Ginesca, I've never been, but I'm
(03:12):
dying to go. And it's not too far from us.
It's the largest Chinese enclave in Mexico. And if you
ask people in Mexicali what their most notable regional cuisine is,
they won't say that goes. They'll say Chinese food. They're
over three hundred Chinese restaurants in the city.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
And then what's bancino? Are they pandulcee.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
Bancinos are bandulces that are sort of like conchas and biscuits,
and but they're denser and more moist and they're steamed
and then they're baked. This is something that we see
a lot in Mexico City. There's a lot of these
cafes chinos, and even Cossafina velasque ze Leon, who we've
talked about before. She has a whole book on pancino.
(03:54):
They may have learned this type of pastry working in
the railroads in the nineteenth century or working for French
or English families, and so it's basically steamed then baked
van dulces.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Oh, well, I know that hole Sepina Velaskaz de Leon.
We've talked about her on the podcast. She wrote a
book only about foncino, or she mentioned fancino in a book.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Only about flancino. She wrote a whole book on how
to make blancino. I haven't tried making it because it's
pretty complicated, but I need to check it out. I
need to try it.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Well. After the break, we'll take you back to the beginning.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
And explore Chinese immigration in Mexico and the US.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Look, I feel like the Chinese influence in Mexico is
important and is historic, and I don't think a lot
of people know about it, and especially the Chinese influence
obviously in the United States, but you know, in Mexico.
I guess it began roughly about four hundred fifty years
ago when Spanish trading ships like the Manila galleons, they
brought fine silk and porcelain and tea and all these
(05:05):
Eastern goods to the western coast of Mexico, mainly in
exchange for silver. And so these trade links have long
been established between Spanish and Chinese merchants.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
The Spanish had their base of operations in Manila where
their goods would be unloaded and sent to Mexico from
these ships sailed twice a year a Kapuico and we're
distributed mainly to wealthy Spaniards. We've talked about these.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Yeah, we talked about this in another episode.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Yes, yes, yes, And the first Chinese to arrive in
Mexico were actually servants of Spanish merchants after they paid
their dues. If they decided to stay in Mexico. Many
became tradesmen, barbers, and shopkeepers, and they started to build
networks with other Chinese. And so the ones that arrived
first became the wealthiest. And these networks grew and they
(05:55):
were able to climb up the ladder and others followed.
So the ones that arrived first served as a support network,
helping others back home. So it became a very tight
knit community. It was tight ennit for many, many centuries,
and this sort of tight knitness eventually was seen as
(06:15):
a threat. So but you know, all immigrants communities really
are tight and they're drawn to each other for support.
But as the centuries progress, this community was seen as
a threat. They were very industrious, they were hard working.
They were neither rich nor poor, and they eventually would
become a middleman between the rich and the poor. So
(06:36):
eventually they became really the only middle class in Mexico.
So yeah, it is really really quite interesting. They lived
in their own communities and which became chinatowns, right or
barrio chinos.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
I feel like the most iconic chinatown though, is in
San Francisco, don't you think absolutely?
Speaker 3 (06:59):
It's a beautiful Let's go to California before we come
back to America. Let's go to California.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Okay, So China to San Francisco. Was that because of
the gold rush?
Speaker 3 (07:10):
It is it started in the gold rush. So it
started in Mexico, way way, way earlier. California became part
of the US in eighteen forty eight, and then around
this time over two million Chinese immigrated internationally as part
of this global diaspora, and they were fleeing civil unrest
(07:32):
and violence, silver, population, poverty. There were opium wars, there
was floods, famine, just political instability sort of generally. So
you know, they were fleeing for a better life. And
so this coincides with gold being found in San Francisco
and so drawn by the silure of gold and employment
opportunities in the railroad construction and of course in mining.
(07:55):
We see about three hundred thousand Cantonese immigrants come to
the US between eighteen forty eighty and eighteen eighty two,
and most of them were from the same.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Region than this little region. But you know what region.
What's crazy. Even though we abolished slavery in eighteen sixty five, well,
because we abolished slavery in eighteen sixty five, there was
a high demand for Chinese labor because wherever these Chinese
immigrants went, they were preyed upon. And I think ninety
percent of the workers that built the Central Pacific Railroad
(08:28):
were Chinese, and they received fifty percent less pay than
whites for the same job. The Chinese held an eight
day strike in eighteen sixty seven to demand equal wages,
and they used their collective strength and they did scare
the company leaders. But at first they were they were
deemed two week for this dangerous, strenuous job for the
(08:51):
railroad work. But the director at the time of the
Central Pacific Railroad, I think his name was Charles Crocker,
recommended hiring them after a job posting that resulted in
only a few hundred responses from white laborers. So white
people did not want to build these railroads, and so
they had to look to a different talent pool. And
(09:12):
then there was this court case in eighteen fifty four
that ruled that Chinese, like Black Americans, like Native Americans,
they weren't allowed to testify in court, and so it
really made it impossible for these Chinese immigrants to seek
justice against the you know, the people who ran the
railroads to get equal pay against the violence that was
(09:33):
a you know, that was mounted against them. And so
this case People versus Hall in eighteen fifty four, which
was a California Supreme Court case, it made it legal
for people to bash Chinese people and get away with it.
It's crazy.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
It's horrible, horrible, horrible. And then we see the Chinese
Exclusion Act in eighteen eighty two, so just a couple
of decades later, meant to curb the influx of Chinese
immigrants to the US, particularly to California. So it suspended
Chinese immigration for ten years and required Chinese people traveling
in or out of the US to carry a certificate
(10:07):
identifying his or her status, whether it's the labor or scholar, diplomat, merchant.
On the other coast, right in New York, Ellis Island
opened around this same time, and many still arrived.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
But the crazy thing about that, what you just said,
is like we needed them, and yet we were like,
don't come. You know, it's so crazy how history repeats itself.
And I feel like that's still the case now. You know,
we need There are a lot of industries dependent upon
immigrant labor today, agriculture, manufacturing, you know, the jobs that
(10:39):
a lot of people don't want, and immigrant labor always
fills those jobs. So the fact that this, you know,
historically happens like there's like an influx of immigrants and
then there's fear mongering and xenophobia and then we're like
go home, and then it's just like this push and
pool that does not make our borders pores like they
(11:01):
should be.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
You know, history keeps repeating itself, right, And this law
was this Chinese Exclusion Act was the first restricting immigration
into the US, and so many Americans on the West
Coast attributed to declining wages and economic ills to Chinese workers,
even though they only composed of point zero zero two
(11:25):
percent of the nation's population, right, so nothing and Congress
passed an act to playcate workers demand and calm concerns
about maintaining white racial purity. These are the words that
they used. And so tens of thousands went to Cuba,
South America, to Mexico. Instead, many settled along the US
(11:45):
Mexican border, becoming grocers and merchants and restaurant owners. But
you know, many stayed in San Francisco, you know, not
everybody could could leave, you know, going back to San Francisco.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Specifically, like when when Chinatown was founded, it was called
Little Kenton because that's lead the community of where they
were coming from, and it was you know, port of
entry for all these Chinese immigrants, and a lot of
them obviously opened up restaurants and they were called chou
chow houses. And you know, the American restaurant system, I think,
especially in San Francisco, was so underdeveloped, and these Chinese
(12:18):
immigrant restaurant tours kind of knew what they were doing,
and so they offered, you know, cheap prices hospitality to
poor American All these people were coming to San Francisco
in this moment, did not have money, they were looking
to make money, and so you know, it was they
offered kind of a better restaurant experience. And so when
(12:40):
the when the gold rush ended, then these restaurants were
mostly frequented by Chinese patrons and obviously they served like
traditional Chinese dishes, salted fish, salted duck feet, fish heads,
and then it just kind of became this place where
the old country lives inside a new one and it's
well together. And so for me, it was it's like,
(13:03):
I love to learn the his This is why we
do this podcast. I love knowing where things began. And
then you go, well, it kind of began here, No
it didn't really. I mean it's so cyclical, it is
so evolutional, like it's still evolving, and so it's so
fun to discover all of these new things.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Totally and it's so fun to discover Oh, this was
happening in San Francisco. Oh this was happening in Mexico
right at the same time. And it's just how everything
is so intertwined. So in nineteen o six, there was
a huge earthquake and fire that devastated San Francisco. So
the city government they were like, oh great, this is
(13:44):
the time to get the Chinese out, the Chinese residents.
They wanted to move them out of San Francisco proper,
moved them closer to you know, Oakland. But then they
were like, oh, wait a minute. They were a vital
part of the city's economy. We need them, we need
their taxes, we need them to rebuild. So this is
(14:06):
not to say that the racism didn't exist still, but
they let them rebuild because they needed their taxes. Because
it became this tourist attraction eventually, and today San Francisco's
Chinatown is one of the city's most popular attractions. It
is the backbone of the city.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
And I remember the first time I went to San Francisco,
I was like, how we have to visit China. Debt
like it was one of the reasons I went, Yeah,
me too.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
It's the first time I had dinsum was in San
Francis China that really.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Need to know. It was all like eye opening, like
I've eaten this bond now I feel part of the community.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
I know, I had never even heard of it before.
I was in San Francisco Chinatown. I was like, what
is this? The little carts and I'm like, this is perfection.
This is so interesting. It's like I want to know more.
I want to know more. My experience with Chinese food
was China Bow and Laredo. That was just you know,
egg rolls and orange chicken. This is American, you know
(15:09):
Chinese food.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Egg Rolls were a big part of my childhood. Don't
go anywhere. When we come back with diving into the
fusion between Mexican and Chinese.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
Cuisines, we turn our eyes back on Mexico when we
come back. So the border I don't know this.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
I don't know this.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Sorry, go ahead, go ahead, Sorry, it's all connected. The
border patrol was created to keep Chinese immigrants from entering
the US. At the same time, the Mexican government welcomed
Chinese immigrants to populate northern Mexico to work on farms
and in mines and canals.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
All right. So while the Chinese Exclusion Act was happening
in the US, it was the Portfrio in Mexico.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
The Portfridiato. So just briefly, the Portfidiato era was this
period of about thirty years when Portfridio Dias, he was
from Wajatka. He was a Francophile, and he opened the
door to foreign investment. So this is when we see
a lot of French moving into into Mexico and open
Americans and just opening up businesses. We see this beautiful
(16:22):
construction like ve Jasarts and all of these very beautiful
sort of buildings, but we see a very small percentage
of people getting very very very very rich, and then
we have most of the population is very very very
very poor, and eventually we have the Mexican Revolution. Porfiias
fled and is buried in Paris. During the Portfidiato, the
(16:44):
Mexican government was trying to modernize the country and Mexico
became seen as this land of opportunity. One of his
programs called for Europeans to work and populate the north.
He was especially interested in building railway roads. But Mexico
couldn't attract enough European immigrants to the north, same thing
(17:07):
that happened here. So they decided to allow Chinese migrant workers.
So this coincided with the Chinese Exclusion Act, so they
began leaving the US coming into Mexico. When the AS
granted permission to the Colorado River Land Company in the US,
it was it was an LA owned company to build
(17:29):
a canal in the Imperial Valley. So the plan was
to connect the region's dry basin to the Colorado River
for agricultural irrigation. Right, So we see Chinese coming, you know,
into Mexico, which is eventually why we have so many
Chinese in MEXICALI.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Yeah. Yeah. Also a lot of the a lot of
the Chinese men that came married Mexican women.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
They did, yes, they married Mexican women. And they weren't
supposed to stay own communities or mixed with the Mexican population.
They were supposed to eventually return to China, And at
first both Chinese were in the north. By the earliest
twenty century, where there were in all parts of the
country including Mexico City, Tampico, Mas Atlanta, Manzanillo. So there
(18:17):
were about ninety eight percent men between the ages of
fifteen and twenty nine. You know, they weren't supposed to
build their communities or they weren't supposed to stay. But like,
asking them to return to China is like okay, wait,
you're you're asking me to come and do all the
work and then and then go back, Like what what
is this? You know, this is horrible. But they, you know,
(18:41):
went from laborers to merchants. They started their own businesses
and by the time of the Mexican Revolution they had
created this sort of middle class. And at the time
the Mexican society was divided into rich and poor. Chinese
were the middleman. They had a strong work ethic, they
lived frugally, they gained business mone knowledge, they had these
(19:01):
really strong social networks. They had adopted Mexican names, some
of them learned Spanish. Most of them married Mexican women,
and during the Mexican Revolution there was this desire to
mexicanize the country and a lot of Mexicans resented them.
They resented their hard earned economic success and were treated
(19:26):
in Mexico as they had been in California in the
second half of the nineteenth century. So, you know, they
were initially welcomed into these unpopular areas which heated, she
played her labor, and then they were resented and accused
of competing unfairly for jobs.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
So ingredients like soy sauce, they're a big part of
Mexican culture today. You know, we have Maggie, which is
like an evolution of probably this original soy sauce that
has become a staple in our diets. And because I
think a lot of ingredients became a staple in Sinaloa
because the port was on the trade route from Asia
(20:07):
to the Philippines to Mexico, like we talked about, and
those that influence can still be filt in those dishes
like piscato zaran, the yabo how do you say that
that on the yadow sarandioso. Yeah, and that's a sin
a classic and then tacos and egg rolls are basically
the same thing, right.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
Basically, and banadas.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
And bananas dumpling, Taco egg rolls and banadas dumplings, Ramen,
which we just talked about in our Food in a
Cup episode, avocado and Chriso on fried rice always with
lime on the side. Like there's so much fusion with
you know, both cultures are pretty large and diverse. I mean,
(20:53):
if you look at China, it's very diverse. I mean
the food in the north and East and wet it's
all very just like Mexico, they're very large, diverse cultures
with ancient histories. Everything revolves around family, like Mexico and Chile,
like Chile's imported to China and the seventeen hundreds were
(21:16):
popularized in the eighteen hundreds obviously in Sheshwan food sarata,
I mean you can't eat Chinese food without having some
spicy sauce on the side. Insects are popular in both countries.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
Yeah, there's so many similarities, you know, so many. So Tomoi.
We talked about Tamoi in our in our Candy episode
last season, But that's a snack that that that's something
that came also from the Chinese. So there's so many
things in our in our cuisine that is that is
(21:56):
influenced by by Chinese food.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
I for one, am so so happy about the Chinese
influence in Mexican food. We have a lot of similarities,
but at the same time, like we both both of
our cuisines compliment each other. I think in a way
more in a way than any other culture. And I
don't know if it's because I'm I'm I, you know,
live here in Mexico and I feel the influence, but
(22:21):
I definitely I have a great appreciation for this particular
melding of cultures. Thanks for listening and see you guys
next week.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
If you have any dishes or foods that you want
to hear about, leave us a message. We love hearing
from you all.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
Bye. Hungary for History is a Hyphene media production in
partnership with Iheart's Michael Tura podcast network.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
For more of your favorite shows, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
My name is Eva Longoria and I am Ma de
Gomez Racon and welcome to Hungry for History.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
A podcast that explores our past and present through food.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
On every episode, we'll talk about the history of some
of our favorite dishes, ingredients, and beverages from our culture.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
So make yourself at home. Ewhen we are halfway through
the season, and the great thing about doing this show
is the more we dig into the history of food,
the more we learn about how layered all the influences
are and how all countries are intertwined.
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Today we're not just covering a dish. We're talking about
the Chinese contribution to Mexican and American history through the
food lens. Of course, we've learned that when people plant
their flag in a new country, they do it first
through food. This is how they preserve their family memories
and how they make a new place feel like home.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
So today we are taking you from China to San
Francisco to Mexicali.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
In rods because it's a lot generally generally speaking, yeah no,
but I feel like the history of Chinese and Mexico
is so significant and so unknown.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
There were a few waves beginning obviously in the colonial period,
and a larger wave like sixty thousand arrived at the
end of the nineteenth century beginning of the twentieth century,
fleeing you know, obviously poverty and hardships in southern China's
Cantone region. But today so many young Chinese Mexicans are
searching for their roots and kind of reclaiming their history.
(01:34):
And so I don't think a lot of people know this,
but there's like seventy thousand Chinese living in Mexico, mainly
in La Chinesca in Mexicali and in the Barriochino in
Mexico City.
Speaker 3 (01:46):
There is in Mexicali in Baja was Chinese before it
was Mexican, which is so interesting. It's a city of
about one million, ninety miles south of San Diego, and
it's hated. Was nineteen twenty to nineteen thirty three Chinese
first came to Mexicali run nineteen hundred. Most of them
(02:07):
were brought over from China by the Colorado River Company
to work on railroad and irrigation construction. And this was
this partnership between the US and Mexican government. So anyhow,
by nineteen twenty there were more Chinese in the region
than Mexicans, and both communities were part of a workforce
(02:28):
that took care of cotton fields, so many were farmers.
They opened up canals for the introgrationion of water, and
some of them started opening up businesses such as grocery stores,
clothing stores, butcher shops, and of course restaurants and bars,
and so they were it's so interesting. They were the
first to open up laundromats, establishing this concept of the bilogne.
(02:51):
And I always do you know this, this concept of
the bilan the few extra, like if you'll you know,
you'll buy cookies or something, and then they'll give you
a bilon the extra, the free extra, and it was
sort of this incentive for customers to come back for more.
Chinese immargrants are considered pioneers and Mexicali's social, economic and
cultural development right. So Ginesca, I've never been, but I'm
(03:12):
dying to go. And it's not too far from us.
It's the largest Chinese enclave in Mexico. And if you
ask people in Mexicali what their most notable regional cuisine is,
they won't say that goes. They'll say Chinese food. They're
over three hundred Chinese restaurants in the city.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
And then what's bancino? Are they pandulcee.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
Bancinos are bandulces that are sort of like conchas and biscuits,
and but they're denser and more moist and they're steamed
and then they're baked. This is something that we see
a lot in Mexico City. There's a lot of these
cafes chinos, and even Cossafina velasque ze Leon, who we've
talked about before. She has a whole book on pancino.
(03:54):
They may have learned this type of pastry working in
the railroads in the nineteenth century or working for French
or English families, and so it's basically steamed then baked
van dulces.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
Oh, well, I know that hole Sepina Velaskaz de Leon.
We've talked about her on the podcast. She wrote a
book only about foncino, or she mentioned fancino in a book.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Only about flancino. She wrote a whole book on how
to make blancino. I haven't tried making it because it's
pretty complicated, but I need to check it out. I
need to try it.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Well. After the break, we'll take you back to the beginning.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
And explore Chinese immigration in Mexico and the US.
Speaker 2 (04:40):
Look, I feel like the Chinese influence in Mexico is
important and is historic, and I don't think a lot
of people know about it, and especially the Chinese influence
obviously in the United States, but you know, in Mexico.
I guess it began roughly about four hundred fifty years
ago when Spanish trading ships like the Manila galleons, they
brought fine silk and porcelain and tea and all these
(05:05):
Eastern goods to the western coast of Mexico, mainly in
exchange for silver. And so these trade links have long
been established between Spanish and Chinese merchants.
Speaker 3 (05:18):
The Spanish had their base of operations in Manila where
their goods would be unloaded and sent to Mexico from
these ships sailed twice a year a Kapuico and we're
distributed mainly to wealthy Spaniards. We've talked about these.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
Yeah, we talked about this in another episode.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Yes, yes, yes, And the first Chinese to arrive in
Mexico were actually servants of Spanish merchants after they paid
their dues. If they decided to stay in Mexico. Many
became tradesmen, barbers, and shopkeepers, and they started to build
networks with other Chinese. And so the ones that arrived
first became the wealthiest. And these networks grew and they
(05:55):
were able to climb up the ladder and others followed.
So the ones that arrived first served as a support network,
helping others back home. So it became a very tight
knit community. It was tight ennit for many, many centuries,
and this sort of tight knitness eventually was seen as
(06:15):
a threat. So but you know, all immigrants communities really
are tight and they're drawn to each other for support.
But as the centuries progress, this community was seen as
a threat. They were very industrious, they were hard working.
They were neither rich nor poor, and they eventually would
become a middleman between the rich and the poor. So
(06:36):
eventually they became really the only middle class in Mexico.
So yeah, it is really really quite interesting. They lived
in their own communities and which became chinatowns, right or
barrio chinos.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
I feel like the most iconic chinatown though, is in
San Francisco, don't you think absolutely?
Speaker 3 (06:59):
It's a beautiful Let's go to California before we come
back to America. Let's go to California.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
Okay, So China to San Francisco. Was that because of
the gold rush?
Speaker 3 (07:10):
It is it started in the gold rush. So it
started in Mexico, way way, way earlier. California became part
of the US in eighteen forty eight, and then around
this time over two million Chinese immigrated internationally as part
of this global diaspora, and they were fleeing civil unrest
(07:32):
and violence, silver, population, poverty. There were opium wars, there
was floods, famine, just political instability sort of generally. So
you know, they were fleeing for a better life. And
so this coincides with gold being found in San Francisco
and so drawn by the silure of gold and employment
opportunities in the railroad construction and of course in mining.
(07:55):
We see about three hundred thousand Cantonese immigrants come to
the US between eighteen forty eighty and eighteen eighty two,
and most of them were from the same.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
Region than this little region. But you know what region.
What's crazy. Even though we abolished slavery in eighteen sixty five, well,
because we abolished slavery in eighteen sixty five, there was
a high demand for Chinese labor because wherever these Chinese
immigrants went, they were preyed upon. And I think ninety
percent of the workers that built the Central Pacific Railroad
(08:28):
were Chinese, and they received fifty percent less pay than
whites for the same job. The Chinese held an eight
day strike in eighteen sixty seven to demand equal wages,
and they used their collective strength and they did scare
the company leaders. But at first they were they were
deemed two week for this dangerous, strenuous job for the
(08:51):
railroad work. But the director at the time of the
Central Pacific Railroad, I think his name was Charles Crocker,
recommended hiring them after a job posting that resulted in
only a few hundred responses from white laborers. So white
people did not want to build these railroads, and so
they had to look to a different talent pool. And
(09:12):
then there was this court case in eighteen fifty four
that ruled that Chinese, like Black Americans, like Native Americans,
they weren't allowed to testify in court, and so it
really made it impossible for these Chinese immigrants to seek
justice against the you know, the people who ran the
railroads to get equal pay against the violence that was
(09:33):
a you know, that was mounted against them. And so
this case People versus Hall in eighteen fifty four, which
was a California Supreme Court case, it made it legal
for people to bash Chinese people and get away with it.
It's crazy.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
It's horrible, horrible, horrible. And then we see the Chinese
Exclusion Act in eighteen eighty two, so just a couple
of decades later, meant to curb the influx of Chinese
immigrants to the US, particularly to California. So it suspended
Chinese immigration for ten years and required Chinese people traveling
in or out of the US to carry a certificate
(10:07):
identifying his or her status, whether it's the labor or scholar, diplomat, merchant.
On the other coast, right in New York, Ellis Island
opened around this same time, and many still arrived.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
But the crazy thing about that, what you just said,
is like we needed them, and yet we were like,
don't come. You know, it's so crazy how history repeats itself.
And I feel like that's still the case now. You know,
we need There are a lot of industries dependent upon
immigrant labor today, agriculture, manufacturing, you know, the jobs that
(10:39):
a lot of people don't want, and immigrant labor always
fills those jobs. So the fact that this, you know,
historically happens like there's like an influx of immigrants and
then there's fear mongering and xenophobia and then we're like
go home, and then it's just like this push and
pool that does not make our borders pores like they
(11:01):
should be.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
You know, history keeps repeating itself, right, And this law
was this Chinese Exclusion Act was the first restricting immigration
into the US, and so many Americans on the West
Coast attributed to declining wages and economic ills to Chinese workers,
even though they only composed of point zero zero two
(11:25):
percent of the nation's population, right, so nothing and Congress
passed an act to playcate workers demand and calm concerns
about maintaining white racial purity. These are the words that
they used. And so tens of thousands went to Cuba,
South America, to Mexico. Instead, many settled along the US
(11:45):
Mexican border, becoming grocers and merchants and restaurant owners. But
you know, many stayed in San Francisco, you know, not
everybody could could leave, you know, going back to San Francisco.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Specifically, like when when Chinatown was founded, it was called
Little Kenton because that's lead the community of where they
were coming from, and it was you know, port of
entry for all these Chinese immigrants, and a lot of
them obviously opened up restaurants and they were called chou
chow houses. And you know, the American restaurant system, I think,
especially in San Francisco, was so underdeveloped, and these Chinese
(12:18):
immigrant restaurant tours kind of knew what they were doing,
and so they offered, you know, cheap prices hospitality to
poor American All these people were coming to San Francisco
in this moment, did not have money, they were looking
to make money, and so you know, it was they
offered kind of a better restaurant experience. And so when
(12:40):
the when the gold rush ended, then these restaurants were
mostly frequented by Chinese patrons and obviously they served like
traditional Chinese dishes, salted fish, salted duck feet, fish heads,
and then it just kind of became this place where
the old country lives inside a new one and it's
well together. And so for me, it was it's like,
(13:03):
I love to learn the his This is why we
do this podcast. I love knowing where things began. And
then you go, well, it kind of began here, No
it didn't really. I mean it's so cyclical, it is
so evolutional, like it's still evolving, and so it's so
fun to discover all of these new things.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Totally and it's so fun to discover Oh, this was
happening in San Francisco. Oh this was happening in Mexico
right at the same time. And it's just how everything
is so intertwined. So in nineteen o six, there was
a huge earthquake and fire that devastated San Francisco. So
the city government they were like, oh great, this is
(13:44):
the time to get the Chinese out, the Chinese residents.
They wanted to move them out of San Francisco proper,
moved them closer to you know, Oakland. But then they
were like, oh, wait a minute. They were a vital
part of the city's economy. We need them, we need
their taxes, we need them to rebuild. So this is
(14:06):
not to say that the racism didn't exist still, but
they let them rebuild because they needed their taxes. Because
it became this tourist attraction eventually, and today San Francisco's
Chinatown is one of the city's most popular attractions. It
is the backbone of the city.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
And I remember the first time I went to San Francisco,
I was like, how we have to visit China. Debt
like it was one of the reasons I went, Yeah,
me too.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
It's the first time I had dinsum was in San
Francis China that really.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Need to know. It was all like eye opening, like
I've eaten this bond now I feel part of the community.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
I know, I had never even heard of it before.
I was in San Francisco Chinatown. I was like, what
is this? The little carts and I'm like, this is perfection.
This is so interesting. It's like I want to know more.
I want to know more. My experience with Chinese food
was China Bow and Laredo. That was just you know,
egg rolls and orange chicken. This is American, you know
(15:09):
Chinese food.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Egg Rolls were a big part of my childhood. Don't
go anywhere. When we come back with diving into the
fusion between Mexican and Chinese.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
Cuisines, we turn our eyes back on Mexico when we
come back. So the border I don't know this.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
I don't know this.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
Sorry, go ahead, go ahead, Sorry, it's all connected. The
border patrol was created to keep Chinese immigrants from entering
the US. At the same time, the Mexican government welcomed
Chinese immigrants to populate northern Mexico to work on farms
and in mines and canals.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
All right. So while the Chinese Exclusion Act was happening
in the US, it was the Portfrio in Mexico.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
The Portfridiato. So just briefly, the Portfidiato era was this
period of about thirty years when Portfridio Dias, he was
from Wajatka. He was a Francophile, and he opened the
door to foreign investment. So this is when we see
a lot of French moving into into Mexico and open
Americans and just opening up businesses. We see this beautiful
(16:22):
construction like ve Jasarts and all of these very beautiful
sort of buildings, but we see a very small percentage
of people getting very very very very rich, and then
we have most of the population is very very very
very poor, and eventually we have the Mexican Revolution. Porfiias
fled and is buried in Paris. During the Portfidiato, the
(16:44):
Mexican government was trying to modernize the country and Mexico
became seen as this land of opportunity. One of his
programs called for Europeans to work and populate the north.
He was especially interested in building railway roads. But Mexico
couldn't attract enough European immigrants to the north, same thing
(17:07):
that happened here. So they decided to allow Chinese migrant workers.
So this coincided with the Chinese Exclusion Act, so they
began leaving the US coming into Mexico. When the AS
granted permission to the Colorado River Land Company in the US,
it was it was an LA owned company to build
(17:29):
a canal in the Imperial Valley. So the plan was
to connect the region's dry basin to the Colorado River
for agricultural irrigation. Right, So we see Chinese coming, you know,
into Mexico, which is eventually why we have so many
Chinese in MEXICALI.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Yeah. Yeah. Also a lot of the a lot of
the Chinese men that came married Mexican women.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
They did, yes, they married Mexican women. And they weren't
supposed to stay own communities or mixed with the Mexican population.
They were supposed to eventually return to China, And at
first both Chinese were in the north. By the earliest
twenty century, where there were in all parts of the
country including Mexico City, Tampico, Mas Atlanta, Manzanillo. So there
(18:17):
were about ninety eight percent men between the ages of
fifteen and twenty nine. You know, they weren't supposed to
build their communities or they weren't supposed to stay. But like,
asking them to return to China is like okay, wait,
you're you're asking me to come and do all the
work and then and then go back, Like what what
is this? You know, this is horrible. But they, you know,
(18:41):
went from laborers to merchants. They started their own businesses
and by the time of the Mexican Revolution they had
created this sort of middle class. And at the time
the Mexican society was divided into rich and poor. Chinese
were the middleman. They had a strong work ethic, they
lived frugally, they gained business mone knowledge, they had these
(19:01):
really strong social networks. They had adopted Mexican names, some
of them learned Spanish. Most of them married Mexican women,
and during the Mexican Revolution there was this desire to
mexicanize the country and a lot of Mexicans resented them.
They resented their hard earned economic success and were treated
(19:26):
in Mexico as they had been in California in the
second half of the nineteenth century. So, you know, they
were initially welcomed into these unpopular areas which heated, she
played her labor, and then they were resented and accused
of competing unfairly for jobs.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
So ingredients like soy sauce, they're a big part of
Mexican culture today. You know, we have Maggie, which is
like an evolution of probably this original soy sauce that
has become a staple in our diets. And because I
think a lot of ingredients became a staple in Sinaloa
because the port was on the trade route from Asia
(20:07):
to the Philippines to Mexico, like we talked about, and
those that influence can still be filt in those dishes
like piscato zaran, the yabo how do you say that
that on the yadow sarandioso. Yeah, and that's a sin
a classic and then tacos and egg rolls are basically
the same thing, right.
Speaker 3 (20:28):
Basically, and banadas.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
And bananas dumpling, Taco egg rolls and banadas dumplings, Ramen,
which we just talked about in our Food in a
Cup episode, avocado and Chriso on fried rice always with
lime on the side. Like there's so much fusion with
you know, both cultures are pretty large and diverse. I mean,
(20:53):
if you look at China, it's very diverse. I mean
the food in the north and East and wet it's
all very just like Mexico, they're very large, diverse cultures
with ancient histories. Everything revolves around family, like Mexico and Chile,
like Chile's imported to China and the seventeen hundreds were
(21:16):
popularized in the eighteen hundreds obviously in Sheshwan food sarata,
I mean you can't eat Chinese food without having some
spicy sauce on the side. Insects are popular in both countries.
Speaker 3 (21:32):
Yeah, there's so many similarities, you know, so many. So Tomoi.
We talked about Tamoi in our in our Candy episode
last season, But that's a snack that that that's something
that came also from the Chinese. So there's so many
things in our in our cuisine that is that is
(21:56):
influenced by by Chinese food.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
I for one, am so so happy about the Chinese
influence in Mexican food. We have a lot of similarities,
but at the same time, like we both both of
our cuisines compliment each other. I think in a way
more in a way than any other culture. And I
don't know if it's because I'm I'm I, you know,
live here in Mexico and I feel the influence, but
(22:21):
I definitely I have a great appreciation for this particular
melding of cultures. Thanks for listening and see you guys
next week.
Speaker 3 (22:32):
If you have any dishes or foods that you want
to hear about, leave us a message. We love hearing
from you all.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
Bye. Hungary for History is a Hyphene media production in
partnership with Iheart's Michael Tura podcast network.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
For more of your favorite shows, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hosts And Creators
MAITE GOMEZ-REJÓN
Eva Longoria
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