Paths to Chicago

The first Mexican newcomers moved to Chicago in the 1920s. Elidia Barroso’s diary offers a personal glimpse into movement in Mexico to Texas and eventually to Illinois. The 1929 ballad “El corrido de Texas” (recorded in Chicago) also follows Mexicans’ tracks north in search of employment. Mexicans entered a city of diverse immigrant populations and without entrenched anti-Mexican feelings. Mexican settlement patterns and religious life in Chicago were closely connected. The powerful and multiethnic archdiocese welcomed Mexicans and encouraged the establishment of two parishes with Spanish-speaking clergy. These churches recognized Mexican religious devotion. The new Catholic parishes, together with settlement houses, enabled the first wave of Mexicans and their family members to gain a toehold in Chicago, a place that became less diasporic and more like home.