Asian Mexicans
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
|
Baja California, Bajío Region, Guerrero, Mexico City, Yucatan |
|
| Languages | |
| Mexican Spanish and Asian languages | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity (mainly Catholicism), Mahayana Buddhism, Hinduism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Asian Latin Americans, Asian Americans |
Asian Mexicans (Spanish: mexicanos asiáticos; asiomexicanos) are Mexicans of Asian descent. Although they make up less than 1% of the total population of Mexico, they are a notable minority. Asians are considered the cuarta raíz (fourth root) of Mexico in conjunction with the three other roots: Native, European and African.
Due to the historical and contemporary perception in Mexican society of what constitutes Asian culture, this article focuses on Mexicans of East, South and Southeast Asian descent. For Mexicans of West Asian descent see Arab Mexican and Turks in Mexico.
The first record of an Asian in Mexico is from 1540; an enslaved cook originating from Calicut bought by Juan de Zumárraga in Spain and subsequently relocated to Mexico. However, regular immigration did not begin until 1565 with the establishment of the Manila-Acapulco Galleon (lasting until 1815), which economically linked Asia, the Americas and Europe. During those two and a half centuries, many Filipinos, Mexicans and others sailed to and from Mexico and the Philippines as sailors, crews, slaves, prisoners, adventurers and soldiers. Also on these voyages, thousands of Asian individuals (mostly males) were brought to Mexico as slaves and were called chinos or indios chinos, which meant Chinese. Although in reality they were of diverse origins, including Japanese, Koreans, Malays, Filipinos, Javanese, Cambodians, Timorese, and people from Bengal, India, Ceylon, Makassar, Tidore, Terenate, and China.
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