There is a significant Cuban diaspora in Mexico. Cubans have been a presence in Mexico since the Viceregal era and they have made notable contributions to the culture and politics of the country.

Cuban Mexicans
cubano-mexicanos
Total population
22,604 Cuban-born residents (2016)[1] Unknown number of Mexicans of Cuban descent
Regions with significant populations
Mexico CityQuintana RooVeracruzYucatan
Languages
Mexican Spanish and Cuban Spanish
Religion
Roman CatholicismSanteria
Related ethnic groups
Cuban diaspora

Migration history

edit
 
Professor Rodolfo Menéndez de la Peña (1850-1928)
 
Pedro de Ampudia, prominent military officer and politician who served as Governor of Tabasco, Yucatán, and Nuevo León.

Hernán Cortés and his crew of soldiers and sailors used Cuba as a launching point for the conquest of the Aztec Empire. Cuba-born individuals began arriving during the colonial era and have continued into the post-independence era. Many arrived fleeing from the chaos caused by the Cuban War of Independence. Fidel Castro and his followers used Mexico as a launching point for the Cuban Revolution. The majority of modern Cuban migrants have been exiles or refugees fleeing from the Communist regime in Cuba. Both countries share the Spanish language; their historical origins are common (part of the Spanish Empire).

As of 2012, there were 14,637 Cuban-born individuals registered with the Mexican government as living in Mexico.[2] However, the number is likely larger as not all Cubans in the country are legal residents.[3]

The number of registered Cuban residents increased 560% between 2010 and 2016, from 4,033 to 22,604 individuals.[1] During the same period, there was a 710% increase in the Cuban presence in Quintana Roo; a fourth of the population (5,569 individuals) live in that state.[1]

Culture

edit
 
Cuban musicians in Coyoacán, Mexico City.

The danzón arrived with traders and refugees of the Ten Years' War through the ports in Veracruz and Yucatan.[4] While the genre has gone out of style in Cuba, it continues to be popular in Mexico. It reached its peak in popularity in the ballrooms of Mexico City in the 1940s, then went through a decline and afterwards entered a renaissance in the late 20th century. The most famous Mexican danzón piece is Danzón No. 2.

Cuban music also influenced Mexican Cinema, with a genre known as rumberas.

Notable People

edit

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c Arredondo, Íñigo (15 May 2017). "Cubanos en México: los que no llegan a EU". El Universal (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  2. ^ Ernesto Rodríguez Chávez (2013). "CUBANS IN MEXICO. INTERNATIONAL MOBILITY AND SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC AND LABOR PARTICIPATION PATTERNS" (PDF). Florida International University. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  3. ^ "The Cuban expats are celebrating — the ones in Mexico, that is". Global Post. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  4. ^ "Young Mexicans embrace the seductive charms of the dance that Cuba forgot". The Guardian. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2015.

Further reading

edit
  • Weimer, Tanya N. (2008), La diáspora cubana en México : terceros espacios y miradas excéntricas, New York: Lang, OCLC 778170258