Country/corresponding immigrant community:
Mexico
How many live in the US? In the tristate area? How many in the home country?
In the US: 37 Million; In the tristate area: Estimated at 600,000; In Mexico: 126.2 million
In the tristate area, where do they live?
Most Mexican people in New York live in Brooklyn and Queens. The neighborhoods of Sunset Park, Flatbush, Brighton Beach, and Bushwick have the highest rates of Mexican residents.
What jobs do a significant percentage of them have?
Mexican-Americans who are uneducated work in unskilled jobs like food service, manufacturing, construction, and manual labor. According to a 2003 Columbia study, 42% of Mexican males were employed in the food retail industry. https://www.tc.columbia.edu/articles/2003/september/mexicans-are-now-new-york-citys-fastest-growing-ethnic-grou/
Why did they come? When?
Mexicans come to America for better opportunities. Before 1942, Mexicans usually crossed over to America to be hired for cheap labor.
What are some major organizations/advocacy groups/resources in this community?
I do know some organizations who held fundraisers and social events before the Covid-19 Pandemic hit. They usually help their town that is in the state of Puebla, Mexico. However, they also supported the NYC Mexican community at large.
Do they have local media house/s? If so, list them.
The organizations I know of do not have media houses, but I can reach the people responsible for them.
List/link the major media houses in the home country.
This site details the media in Mexico: https://www.mexperience.com/mexico-essentials/media-in-mexico/
How strong are relationships with the home country? How significant are remittances to the home country’s economy?
Mexican-Americans are usually very proud of their home country, and they usually visit Mexico on a yearly basis. Many send money back to their families in Mexico.
In the homeland what is the GDP per capita? Where does that rank in the world? What are the major industries?
$10,118 according to a 2019 survey. It ranks 15th in the world. Main industries are food, tobacco, beverages, clothing, iron and steel, and tourism. Mexico often exports fruits, silver, vegetables, cotton, coffee, and oil.
What is the system of government? When did this system come into place? Was there a colonial power? (Or was it the colonial power?)
Mexico is a federal republic. It gained independence in 1810 from Spain. The Mexican constitution was declared in 1917. Mexico was colonized by Spain in the past.
Name of the NY consul general. How long has he/she been in the role?
The name of the NY consul general is José Evaristo Ramón Xilotl Ramírez. According to online sources, he has been in the role since 2014 at least.
Give three potential story ideas. (Doesn’t need to be a fully fleshed-out pitch yet, but should be well thought-out.)
- The first Idea I have could be how Covid-19 devastated the Mexican community of New York City. I saw some of my own relatives die from Covid-19, so this is a very relevant story idea.
- How Coivd-19 affected education for young Mexican-Americans. Kids had to do online schooling, while their parents may not have been home because the parents worked long hours. This could explore how the pandemic affected the family dynamic.
- Many Mexican-Americans I knew were essential workers during the peak of the pandemic. I could get information on how they lived and how they felt about being essential workers during this time.
And finally: Conduct an interview with a community leader. This initial interview should help you get a sense of what some of the issues are in the community, and help you get some story ideas flowing. Perhaps this community leader can recommend some other contacts for you to reach out to. You may use quotes or sound bites from this interview in one of your major story assignments this semester if it ends up being relevant.
I have a few people in mind who I can interview for upcoming projects. They were leaders and essential members of their groups that give back to the Mexican community, and their home town in Puebla, Mexico.