 |
|
|
 Travel & Outdoors | April 2005 
US Border with Mexico Blurring
 C.W. Nevius - San Francisco Chronicle
| | Is this the Americanization of Mexican culture or the Latino-ization of the U.S.A.? |
So there we were on the beach of a tropical island in the Pacific Ocean, two-thirds of the way down the west coast of Mexico. A local guy was strolling along the sand, selling painted pottery, and when he stopped by our little collection of towels and sun lotions, we couldn't help but notice his baseball cap.
It was from KFOG, the San Francisco classic rock radio station.
OK. We get it. The cultures of Mexico and the United States are becoming inexorably blended. But here's the question: is this the Americanization of Mexican culture or the Latino-ization of the U.S.A.?
Luckily, we have a laboratory right here in the Bay Area, with the kind of representative sample that social scientists dream of finding. Roughly 700, 000 Mexican citizens live in Northern California, and a huge concentration of them are in the East Bay. In fact, some surveys predict that one third of eastern Contra Costa County will be Latino by 2009.
But that's an old story, right? We've heard the story of the Mexican immigrants who dodge the Border Patrol, take an all-night bus ride to Concord and end up on Monument Boulevard the next morning, hoping to hire out as a day laborer. They are poor, uneducated and desperate. That angle has been pretty well covered.
But someone like Enrique Ruiz, a real estate agent in Concord and past president of the Contra Costa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, suggests that you drive down Monument Boulevard and check out the businesses.
"What I see are supermarkets, restaurants, jewelry stores, Western wear, and bridal shops that cater to the Latino American customers," Ruiz says. "What I am seeing is the Latino-ization of the American culture."
If so, this is big, because it would mean that we aren't seeing an across- the-border culture taking root in the United States because of tolerance, goodwill and fine intentions. It is so much simpler and more powerful than that.
This is about the money.
In the East Bay, the perfect model is the New Mecca restaurant in Pittsburg, a city that happens to have the largest Latino concentration in eastern Contra Costa County. An institution in East County - Rep. George Miller eats lunch there every election day - the New Mecca is owned by Guillermo "Bill" Muniz.
Muniz is the quintessential bootstrap success story. He started as the dishwasher some 30 years ago and ended up owning the place. Now, it may well be the most successful eatery for miles around, drawing diners like former Oakland A's manager Tony La Russa.
"I see more people coming with the same mind I have for myself," says Muniz. "To come here and work hard and have a place for my family."
But the point is the New Mecca began, as Ruiz suggests, as a local hangout for Spanish-speaking Latino customers. Then, drawn by the food and the service, the clientele slowly broadened to include the general population. Today, it is considered as American as tamale pie.
Not that the transfer isn't going the other direction too. Preparing for a visit to Mexico City, where she plans to move her public relations consulting firm, Lafayette's Frances Palacios says she first made an important stop. Was it to get traveler's checks? No.
"I updated my Costco card and bought a Six Flags pass," she says. "I checked, and they are both good in Mexico. You are seeing lots of people traveling back and forth. I've gone to Mexico City for lunch. It's easy."
Well, that's a long way to go for a good burrito, but something is up. In the years since the law was changed to allow Americans to acquire land (technically it is not purchased, but held in a trust) in Mexico, there has been a flood of American investment south of the border.
Ruiz says his international real estate company, RE/MAX, has become much more active in Mexico. He knows that because the other day someone used a Spanish word - plica - he'd never heard before.
It turned out to be the term for "escrow."
Ruiz and Palacios have also noticed the ad pitches in the media. Ruiz says even Spanish-language television networks in the United States are running some ads in English, hoping to reach out to second- and third- generation sons and daughters of immigrants who speak both Spanish and English.
There is a lot of reaching going on. Palacios says she is moving her consulting business to Mexico because "a lot of American companies want to do outreach. You can feel it. They want to do business there."
Meanwhile, down the border, you may have heard about the American vigilantes standing guard in the dust and cacti of the Southwest, attempting to stop Mexicans from crossing illegally.
From here, it looks like they are wasting their time. The real immigration is flying over their heads, and it isn't people. It's money. |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us