German Mexicans

Not to be confused with Mexicans in Germany.
German Mexicans
germano-mexicano
Deutschmexikaner
Entrance to the German section of the Panteón de Dolores in Mexico City
Total population
Various estimates:
  • 11,398 German nationals residing in Mexico (OECD, 2019).[1]
  • 15,000-40,000 Mexicans of German descent (Horst Kopp, 2003).[2]
  • 75,000 including those of partial ancestry Burchard, Gretha (2010).[3]
  • 100,000 Mennonites from Russia and North America (ABC, 2012).[4]
Regions with significant populations
Mexico City, northern Mexico, the Soconusco
Languages
Mexican Spanish,[5] Plautdietsch,[5] Nedderdüütsch,[5] German,[5] Russian,[5] English[5]
Religion
Roman Catholicism, Protestantism and Judaism
Related ethnic groups
Other Germans and other German diaspora

German Mexicans are Mexican citizens of German origin. Most documented ethnic Germans arrived in Mexico during the mid-to-late 19th century and were spurred by government policies of Porfirio Díaz. Many of them took advantage of the liberal policies in Mexico at the time and went into merchant, industrial, and educational ventures. However, others arrived without any or much capital as employees or farmers.[6] Most settled in Mexico City and the surrounding states of Puebla and Veracruz as well as the northern states of Sonora, Sinaloa, Jalisco, and Chihuahua. Later settlers headed south towards the Yucatán Peninsula. Significant numbers of German immigrants also arrived during and after both World Wars.[7] The historic strength of German-Mexican relations has contributed to Mexico having the fourth largest German population in all Latin America behind Brazil, Argentina and Chile.[8]

The German influence on modern Mexican culture is visible in their dairy, brewing, and musical entertainment industries with major exports like beer, cheese, and carpentry all deeply rooted in northern German traditions. The most notable German influence on mainstream culture however, is the Northern regional musical sub-genres of tejano, banda, ranchera, and norteño among others. The Plautdietsch language, a dialect of Low German, is widely spoken by the Mexican Mennonites, descendants of Dutch and Prussian immigrants, in the states of Chihuahua, Durango, Zacatecas, and Aguascalientes. Other German towns lie in the Northern and Southern states of Nuevo León, Jalisco, Sinaloa, Yucatán, Chiapas, Quintana Roo, and other parts of Puebla, where the German culture and language have been preserved to different extents.

The German-Mexican community has largely integrated into Mexican society as a whole but has retained some cultural traits and in turn exerted cultural and industrial influences on Mexican society. Especially after First World War, an intense process of transculturation can be observed, particularly in Mexico City, Jalisco, Sinaloa, Nuevo León, Puebla and particularly with the Maya in Chiapas. Given the historic success of nationalistic mestizaje propaganda, the recognition of the German contribution to modern Mexican culture in the public consciousness has been muted. These social, cultural, and identity aspects that used to be associated with Germans are now seen as characteristic of the greater mestizo identity.[9]

  1. ^ "International Migration Database". OECD. Retrieved 21 January 2021. Country of birth/nationality: Germany, Variable: Stock of foreign population by nationality
  2. ^ Kopp, Horst (20 December 2017). Area Studies, Business and Culture: Results of the Bavarian Research Network Forarea. LIT Verlag Münster. ISBN 9783825866235. Retrieved 20 December 2017 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cascante, M. M. "Los menonitas dejan México". ABC (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 February 2013. Los cien mil miembros de esta comunidad anabaptista, establecida en Chihuahua desde 1922, se plantean emigrar a la república rusa de Tartaristán, que se ofrece a acogerlos
  5. ^ a b c d e f International Encyclopedia of Linguistics: AAVE-Esperanto. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. 28 August 2017. ISBN 978-0-19-513977-8. Retrieved 28 August 2017 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Durán-Merk, Alma:European Immigrants as "Ambassadors of Modernization"? The Case of the Germans in Mexico. 54th. International Congress of Americanists, Vienna, Austria, 19.07.2012.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Durán-Merk, 2012, "European Migrants"