MexAmerica
Relative to many other North American regions, the region along the United
States-Mexico border appears at a casual glance to lack a common regional focus.
This distinctive region extends across a wide variety of physical environments. It
includes large metropolitan areas including Phoenix, Tucson, El Paso, and San
Antonio; densely populated rural areas in southern Texas; and virtually uninhabited
deserts. This region is not defined by common physical characteristics, as is the case
with regions such as the Great Plains and the Mountain West. Nor is it defined by
common economic characteristics and historical similarities, as is the case with
regions such as the California and New England. Yet MexAmerica (a term first
coined by journalist Joel Garreau in his best-selling book, The Nine Nations of North
America but mentioned more a decade earlier by Carey McWilliams) is a vibrant,
dynamic, and rapidly growing place. Studying this trans-border region will provide the
opportunity to observe the critical importance of the impact of political boundaries and
the unifying forces of shared ethnicities, races, cultures, and economic and
environmental systems on people and places.
The border between the U.S. and Mexico, in contrast, separates countries
characterized by considerable distinctions of culture and economy. The political
boundary often does not coincide with major differences in local culture. For example,
a large majority of the people who live in MexAmerica are of Mexican or other Latin
American ancestry. Many speak Spanish at home, although their ancestors may have
lived north of the political boundary for several generations.
The region of what we refer to as MexAmerica has widely varied climate but is hot and dry for the most part. It is also an area that is prone to flash-flooding. There is a tricultural, acculturation of Native Americans (1%), Spanish (25%) & Northwest European Anglo American (74%). The warm weather induced by the sun is an attractive feature and pull factor for many retirees. This area is also home to large Indian reservations and has strong Hispanic influences. The controversial issue of the Maquiladora industry, a manufacturing operation in a free trade zone, where factories import material and equipment on a duty-free and tariff-free basis for assembly, processing, or manufacturing and then export the assembled, processed and/or manufactured products, sometimes back to the raw materials' country of origin, is still an on-going issue.
Recources :
https://cascourses.uoregon.edu/geog471/pdfs/Topic12Mex-america.pdf
States-Mexico border appears at a casual glance to lack a common regional focus.
This distinctive region extends across a wide variety of physical environments. It
includes large metropolitan areas including Phoenix, Tucson, El Paso, and San
Antonio; densely populated rural areas in southern Texas; and virtually uninhabited
deserts. This region is not defined by common physical characteristics, as is the case
with regions such as the Great Plains and the Mountain West. Nor is it defined by
common economic characteristics and historical similarities, as is the case with
regions such as the California and New England. Yet MexAmerica (a term first
coined by journalist Joel Garreau in his best-selling book, The Nine Nations of North
America but mentioned more a decade earlier by Carey McWilliams) is a vibrant,
dynamic, and rapidly growing place. Studying this trans-border region will provide the
opportunity to observe the critical importance of the impact of political boundaries and
the unifying forces of shared ethnicities, races, cultures, and economic and
environmental systems on people and places.
The border between the U.S. and Mexico, in contrast, separates countries
characterized by considerable distinctions of culture and economy. The political
boundary often does not coincide with major differences in local culture. For example,
a large majority of the people who live in MexAmerica are of Mexican or other Latin
American ancestry. Many speak Spanish at home, although their ancestors may have
lived north of the political boundary for several generations.
The region of what we refer to as MexAmerica has widely varied climate but is hot and dry for the most part. It is also an area that is prone to flash-flooding. There is a tricultural, acculturation of Native Americans (1%), Spanish (25%) & Northwest European Anglo American (74%). The warm weather induced by the sun is an attractive feature and pull factor for many retirees. This area is also home to large Indian reservations and has strong Hispanic influences. The controversial issue of the Maquiladora industry, a manufacturing operation in a free trade zone, where factories import material and equipment on a duty-free and tariff-free basis for assembly, processing, or manufacturing and then export the assembled, processed and/or manufactured products, sometimes back to the raw materials' country of origin, is still an on-going issue.
Recources :
https://cascourses.uoregon.edu/geog471/pdfs/Topic12Mex-america.pdf