Roots of Routes: Mexican Migration from the Veracruz 'Contact Zone.'

• In Event: 129 - Section on Latino/a Sociology Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 06. Rituals and Religion among Latinos

Abstract

The cultural encounters between the Indigenous people of Mexico, enslaved Africans, and Spanish conquistadores produced new interlocking relationships between these communities bound to the land space of 16th century Veracruz, Mexico. The central concern in this paper is to trace the origins of movement of the indigenous from what Mary Louise Pratt calls a ‘contact zone.’ Conceptually, a contact zone is defined as a location, specifically within a colonial context of asymmetrical relations of power, where persons from different cultures meet, clash, and grapple with one another for social space in their new situation (Pratt, 1992). For the indigenous, colonialism introduced new routes of movements and destinations. What were the circumstances that stimulated their migration? Were the origins of movement from the Veracruz ‘contact zone’ voluntary or involuntary? One needs a longer, historical understanding to assess these propositions.

Author

• Christian Ramirez, Michigan State University