Dreaming in Chinese: From Canton to El Paso

Dreaming in Chinese: From Canton to El Paso

Learn about the history of the Chinese communities in El Paso, emphasizing the Cantonese transnational experience with Dr. Selfa Chew Cantonese immigrants were among the more than 110,000 Chinese who traveled to the United States during the Gold Rush era. Like other immigrants, the Cantonese escaped poor conditions in their country of origin; however, the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act restricted their entry into the United States and forced them to take alternative routes to the American “golden gates.” So naturally, northern Mexico constituted a “waiting zone” that kept their hope of crossing the border into the U.S. alive. This movement resulted in new families, hybrid cultural practices, and sustained ties across cities, states, and countries, and built the vibrant Chinese community of El Paso/Ciudad Juárez. This presentation will address the history of the Chinese communities in El Paso, emphasizing the Cantonese transnational experience. As a UTEP associate professor and an Light bites and beverages will follow. ethnic Chinese Mexican, Selfa A. Chew, Ph.D., specializes in borderlands history.