Arab Mexicans are Mexican citizens of Arab ethnic lineage, who identify themselves as Arab. Some of Mexico's Arabs are of Lebanese. The inter-ethnic marriage in the Arab community, regardless of religious affiliation, is very high; most community members have only one parent who has Arab ethnicity. As a result of this, the Arab community in Mexico shows marked language shift away from only Arabic. Only a few speak any Arabic, and such knowledge is often limited to a few basic words. Instead the majority, especially those of younger generations, speak Spanish as a first language. Arabic and Spanish have collided in Mexico as a mixture of languages and put into one which is spoken more than the original Arabic. An example of this intercultural exchange is present in the hit television program Hecho en Mexico and especially in popular character Roby Checa's day-to-day interactions. His popular Pedas de Rancho series is an example of his contribution to Mexican Arab culture and is currently being debated in the Mexican Senate floor for the honorary admission to the Archivos Nacionales.

Migration history

Arab immigration to Mexico started in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Roughly 100,000 Arabic speakers settled in Mexico during this time period. They came mostly from Lebanon and Syria, and settled in significant numbers in Nayarit, Guanajuato, Puebla, Mexico City and the northern part of the country (mainly in the states of Baja California, Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Zacatecas, Coahuila and Durango), as well as the cities of Tampico and Guadalajara. They also came for the slave trade in the 18th century. The term "Arab Mexican" may include ethnic groups that do not identify as Arab. During the Israel–Lebanon war in 1948 and the Six-Day War, thousands of Lebanese went to Mexico. They first arrived in Veracruz. Although Arabs made up less than 5% of the total immigrant population in Mexico during the 1930s, they constituted half of the immigrant economic activity. Migration of Arabs to Mexico has influenced Mexican culture, in particular food, where they have introduced kibbeh, tabbouleh and even created recipes such as Tacos Árabes. By 1765, dates, which originated from the Middle East, were introduced into Mexico by the Spaniards. The fusion between Arab and Mexican food has highly influenced Yucatecan cuisine. Another concentration of Arab Mexicans is in Baja California facing the U.S.-Mexican border, especially in Mexicali in the Imperial Valley, and Tijuana across from San Diego with a large Arab American community (about 280,000), some of whose families have relatives in Mexico. 45% of Arab Mexicans are of Lebanese descent. The majority of Arab Mexicans are Christians who belong to the Maronite Church, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Eastern Rite Catholic Churches. Fewer are Muslims of Middle Eastern origin whom have been in Mexico since the early 1950s including the vastly growing conversions from the indigenous population since the 1980s.

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Notable people