According to Professor Jürgen Buchenau, Mexico has proven to be a "salad bowl," instead of a "melting pot“ mainly because "most immigrant families sought to retain their native languages and customs.“ Two of the largest immigrant groups in Mexico were the Germans and the French and many of them formed “enclaves” in which they could maintain their own cultural integrity.
However, many of the German and French businessmen and soldiers didn’t bring wives with them, so inevitably their descendants blended into Mexico’s Spanish-speaking population after the foreigners took Mexican brides. Mexico has had a love-hate relationship with extranjeros. Porfirio Díaz welcome foreign expertise into Mexico, but the Mexican Revolution slammed the brakes on immigration.
John P. Schmal’s presentation will discuss the two hundred year history of both the French and Germans in Mexico.
To hear this presentation in person at Orange Family History Library, 674 S. Yorba St., Orange, CA 92869 or join using zoom by registering thru
