Basque Mexicans

(Redirected from Basque Mexican)

Basque Mexicans (Spanish: vasco-mexicanos or simply vasco, Euskara: euskal-mexikar) are Mexicans of full, partial, or predominantly Basque ancestry, or Basque-born persons living in Mexico.

Basque Mexicans
vasco-mexicanos
euskal-mexikar
Languages
Spanish (Castilian Spanish, Mexican Spanish), Basque, French
Religion
Roman Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
Basques and Basque diaspora,
Spanish Mexicans, French Mexicans

Seen in Mexico by the whole Euskalerria concept, Basque descendants can be from Navarre, Euskadi or Iparralde.

History

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Basque exiles of the Spanish Civil War in Mexico City
Basque restaurant in the Historic Center of Mexico City
Delegation of the Basque Autonomous Community (Euskadi) in Mexico City

The first Catholic archbishop in Mexico, Juan Zumarraga, was Basque.[1] Francisco Ibarra explored northern Mexico and founded Nueva Vizcaya.[1] Fermín de Francisco Lasuén was the founder of many of the Spanish missions in Alta California.

In 1907, the Basque community founded the Centro Vasco. This community consisted of immigrants from Navarre, Gipuzkoa, Biscay and some French Basques.[2] There was a divide between the Basque community: the first group were rural unskilled, economic emigrants that arrived in the late 19th and early 20th century and the other were political exiles of the Spanish Civil War that tended to have technical or academic education.[3]

A notable migrant of the former group was Braulio Iriarte who immigrated to Mexico in 1877 with no education or professional experience.[3] He began as an employee in a bakery and after years of hard work he owned 80 bakeries and a mill. This mill, El Euskaro, founded in 1906 was one of the largest in Mexico.[3] He also owned haciendas in Querétaro, mines in Hidalgo, large properties in Mexico City and helped found various corporations, including Grupo Modelo.[3]

Notable Basque-Mexicans

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References

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  1. ^ a b Zubiri, Nancy (2006). A Travel Guide to Basque America: Families, Feasts, and Festivals. University of Nevada Press. p. 13. ISBN 0874176328. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  2. ^ Douglass, William A.; Jon, Bilbao (2005). Amerikanuak: Basques in the New World. University of Nevada Press. p. 167. ISBN 9780874176254. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d Azcona Pastor, José Manuel (2004). Possible Paradises: Basque Emigration to Latin America. Publisher University of Nevada Press. ISBN 0874174449. Retrieved 22 October 2015.