Czech immigration to Mexico

Czech Mexicans (Spanish: checo-mexicanos[2]) are citizens of Mexico who are of Czech descent. Czechs originate from the Czech lands, a term which refers to the majority of the traditional lands of the Bohemian Crown, namely Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia. These lands of have been governed by a variety of states, including the Kingdom of Bohemia, a crown land of the Austrian Empire, the Czechoslovak Republic, and, now, the Czech Republic.

Czech Mexicans
checo-mexicanos

Total population
537 Czech Republic-born residents (2019)[1] Unknown number of Mexicans of Czech descent
Regions with significant populations
Mexico City
Languages
Mexican Spanish · Czech
Religion
Roman Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
Czech diaspora

History

Jesuit missionaries

During the colonial era, there were several Bohemian Jesuit missionaries involved in the evangelization of Mexico. The first Jesuits left Bohemia for the Americas in 1678.[3] A notable example is Simon Boruhradsky (Hispanicized as Simón de Castro) who was part of the Viceroy's court and contributed to architectural projects.

Recent immigration

The Czech community in Mexico has been a discrete community, most of them arrived to the country as refugees escaping from World Wars. The Czech community of Mexico City frequently meets for celebrations at the statue of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk located on Avenida Presidente Masaryk.

Cultural organizations

• Asociación Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk

Notable individuals

• Angélica Espinoza Stransky, actress
• Juan de Esteyneffer, Jesuit missionary
• Wenceslaus Linck, Jesuit missionary
• Rubén Marshall Tikalova, editorial director
• Miroslava, actress of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema
• Sylvia Schmelkes, sociologist
• Zaneta Seirelova, actress and model
• Sasha Sokol, actress and singer

See also

• Czech Republic–Mexico relations
• Norteño (music), influenced by Central European immigrants

References

1. "International Migration Database". OECD. Retrieved 21 January 2021. Country of birth/nationality: Czech Republic, Variable: Stock of foreign population by nationality
2. Valverde, Freddy. "La Asociación Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, fomenta las relaciones culturales entre mexicanos y checos". Radio Prague. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
3. "Testimonios de misioneros checos en México y Filipinas". Radio Prague International (in Spanish). 16 June 2001. Retrieved 21 January 2021.

Further reading

• Odložilík, Otakar "Czech Missionaries in New Spain", The Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol. 25, No. 4 (Nov., 1945), pp. 428-454
• Polzer, Charles W. (1991). The Jesuit Missions of Northern Mexico. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780824020965.
• Rechcigl, Miloslav (2016). Encyclopedia of Bohemian and Czech-American Biography . AuthorHouse. ISBN 9781524619879 (includes biographies of Bohemian missionaries active in colonial Mexico)