History of Mexican Americans in Dallas–Fort Worth
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There is a rapidly growing Mexican-American population in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
As of 2002[update] people of Mexican origins made up 80% of the Hispanics and Latinos in the DFW area.[1]
History
Sol Villasana, the author of Dallas's Little Mexico, wrote that "Mexicans have been part of Dallas since its beginning."[2] In the 1870s the first significant groups of Mexicans came to Dallas as railroad lines were constructed. Additional Mexicans settled Dallas as a result of the Mexican Revolution, which began in 1910.[2]
According to the 1920 U.S. Census, 3,378 Mexicans lived in Dallas.[3] In the early 20th century, wealthier Mexicans lived in Little Mexico and in the historical red-light area of Dallas north of Downtown, while less wealthy immigrants lived along railroad yards.[2] Caroline B. Brettell, author of '"Big D" Incorporating New Immigrants in a Sunbelt Suburban Metropolis,' wrote that as of 1920 the majority of Dallas's Mexicans "were living in atrocious conditions."[3]
After World War II Little Mexico began to disintegrate.[4]
The Murder of Santos Rodriguez occurred in 1973.
In 2009 the City of Dallas began pursuing an EB-5 investment program, attracting wealthier Mexicans. By 2012 there was a wave of wealthy Mexican immigration, due to the program, the proximity and access of Mexico to North Texas, and the violence of the Mexican drug war.[5]
Demographics
As of the 2000 U.S. Census, 71% of the foreign-born residents of Dallas originated in Mexico, as were 64% of the foreign-born residents of McKinney, and 22% of the foreign-born residents of Plano.[6] 25% Of Foreign Born residents of Carrollton[citation needed]
Education
Rapid growth of the Hispanic community in the last decade has now made them majority in a fair share of school districts in the DFW area. These school districts include: Dallas ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Arlington ISD, Irving ISD, Richardson ISD, Mesquite ISD, Garland ISD, Grand Prairie ISD, and Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD. [7][better source needed]
Geography
As of the 2000 U.S. Census, 63% of the ethnic Mexicans in Dallas County resided in the Dallas city limits. Many Mexicans in Dallas live in lower income housing, especially in South Dallas.[6] As of 2002[update] the Mexican population lived in various parts of the DFW area, with concentrations in West Dallas, Oak Cliff, and Arlington.[1]
As of 2000 there was a large group of ethnic Mexicans living north of Arlington in an area south of Interstate 30, and a smaller group in the cities between Dallas and Fort Worth south of U.S. Highway 183.[6]
Economy
As of 2012 there were about 20 daily flights between Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Mexico.[5]
El Fenix, a Tex-Mex restaurant chain, was established by Mike Martinez, a Mexican American. It was established on September 15, 1918. Christina Rosales of The Dallas Morning News wrote that it "has been credited with starting the Tex-Mex craze in the U.S."[8]
Pizza Patrón, formerly headquartered in Dallas, markets itself to Mexican American families.[9] It was established by Antonio Swad, a person not of Mexican origins.
Notable residents
- Selena Gomez (actress & singer)[10] - Raised in Grand Prairie,[11] lived in Fort Worth[12]
- Demi Lovato (singer & actress) - Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico; raised in Dallas[13]
- Omar Gonzalez (soccer player)
- Roberto Marroquin (boxer)
- Santos Rodriguez (murder victim)
See also
References
- Brettell, Caroline B. '"Big D" Incorporating New Immigrants in a Sunbelt Suburban Metropolis' (Chapter 3). In: Singer, Audrey, Susan Wiley Hardwick, and Caroline Brettell. Twenty-First Century Gateways: Immigrant Incorporation in Suburban America (James A. Johnson metro series). Brookings Institution Press, 2009. ISBN 9780815779285. Start p. 53.
- Villasana, Sol. Dallas's Little Mexico (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing, 2011. ISBN 9780738579795.
Notes
Further reading
External links
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