Abstract

ESCALA RABADAN, Luis  and  RIVERA-SALGADO, Gaspar. Festivals, Oaxacan Immigrant Communities and Cultural Spaces Between Mexico and the United States: The Guelaguetzas in California. Migr. Inter [online]. 2018, vol.9, n.3, pp.37-65. ISSN 2594-0279.  https://doi.org/10.17428/rmi.v9i34.310.

In this article, we examine the role of the festivals known as Guelaguetzas that are organized among communities of Oaxacan (Oaxaca, Mexico) immigrants settled in California (United States), as a key factor for their internal consolidation process. We argue that all cultural activities displayed in such festivals allow a greater appreciation of the reconfiguration processes linking the places of origin and destination. Furthermore, the organization of these festivals entails the creation of cultural spaces that allow a resignification of their contents by emphasizing three core elements of the social identity for these Oaxacan immigrants: the migrant condition, indigeneity, and the pan-Oaxacan dimension.

Keywords : cultural spaces; Oaxacan migration; immigrant communities; cultural practices; California.