Abstract

RIVERA SANCHEZ, Liliana. Cuando los santos también migran: Conflictos transnacionales por el espacio y la pertenencia. Migr. Inter [online]. 2006, vol.3, n.4, pp.35-59. ISSN 2594-0279.

This article's fundamental objective is to contribute to the study of religiosity linked to migration. Put another way, it examines how social actors live and practice religion in terms of the place and the spaces entailed in migration as a vital experience. Observing the experience of migration on migrant faith communities is of special interest, but this article particularly asks how the practice of religion occurs and creates transnational connections. It also asks how those connections not only harmonize social relations and create other spaces but also how they, on one hand, call into question the boundaries of the community itself, and on the other, challenge traditional concepts ofcommunity membership and belonging. We document the case of the celebration and worship of Santiago Apóstol (the Apostle James) in Chila de la Sal, in the Mixtec region of Puebla, in the context of a community of international migrants whose main destination is New York City. The article also addresses community dilemmas posed by the transfer of Santiago Apóstol to New York for the patron saint's day.

Keywords : international migration; transnational practices; religiosity; Puebla; New York.