Greek Mexican

Infobox Ethnic group
group = Greek Mexican


poptime = 1,000-25,000 (est.)
popplace = Mexico City, Sinaloa, Jalisco, Aguascalientes
langs = Mexican Spanish, Greek
rels = Christianity
related = Greeks, Greek American

A Greek Mexican is a Mexican person of Greek descent. The Greek community in Mexico numbers somewhere between 1,000 and 25,000 people. The community is located mostly in Mexico City, but large communities also exist in the states of Jalisco and Sinaloa. In 2007, Eleni Stamatiadou, president of the Comunidad Helenica de Mexico, estimated that there were at least 1,500 Greek families living in Mexico. In her search for Greek descendents, she found that most families were made up of second and third-generation Greeks from the island of Euboea. [sp icon cite web |url=http://www.godimitris.gr/view_is.php?artid=1049 |title=México, Ciudad de México, 3 de julio de 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-03] The Joshua Project [http://www.joshuaproject.net/peoples.php?rop3=103480&sf=population&so=asc] estimates that there are 8,500 Greeks in Mexico. [cite web |url=http://www.joshuaproject.net/peoples.php?rop3=103480&sf=population&so=asc |title=Greek Ethnic People in All Countries |accessdate=2008-02-13] The General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad estimates that only 1,000 Greeks live in Mexico [el icon cite web |url=http://www.ggae.gr/gabroad/organosi.en.asp |title=Diaspora General Facts |accessdate=2008-02-13] , while the Greek ministry of foreign affairs raises the number up to about 4,000 [el icon cite web |url=http://www.ypex.gov.gr/www.mfa.gr/el-GR/Policy/Geographic+Regions/Latin+America-Caribbean/Bilateral+Relations/Mexico/ |title=Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Greece in the world] . Greece has an embassy in Mexico City, as well as honorary consulates in Merida and Monterrey. [cite web |url=http://www.ypex.gov.gr/www.mfa.gr/en-US/Services/Directory/Greek+Missions+Abroad/#M |title=Greek Missions Abroad |accessdate=2008-01-24]

Communities

Greater Mexico City

Greeks have settled in Mexico City since the post-World War I era. [sp icon cite web |url=http://www.inm.gob.mx/Paginas/publicaciones/resenas/reseñas/Una%20minoría%20olvidada.pdf |title=Una minoría olvidada: los griegos en México |accessdate=2008-02-03] Today, the Greek community of the Greater Mexico City area is centered around the Greek Orthodox Church of Santa Sofia in Naucalpan, Mexico State. [sp icon cite web |url=http://www.tiempolibre.com.mx/home_guia.php?titulo=Ortodoxa&id_servicio=43 |title=Tiempo Libre: La Guía de la Ciudad |accessdate=2008-01-24] Mexico City also has the Greek Community of Mexico (Spanish: "Comunidad Helenica de Mexico"). As of 2007, more than 230 Greek-Mexican families lived in Mexico City. [sp icon [http://www.godimitris.gr/view_is.php?artid=1049 México, Ciudad de México, 3 de julio de 2007] ]

Comunidad Helenica de Mexico

[http://www.comunidadhelenicademexico.org Comunidad Helenica de Mexico] www.comunidadhelenicademexico.org
[http://www.comunidadhelenicademexico.org Greek community of Mexico] Greek community of Mexico

Jalisco

The Greek community of Guadalajara is most evident by the Greek House (Spanish: "Casa Helenica de Guadalajara"). There is also a Greek community in the municipality of Colotlán. [sp icon cite web |url=http://www.godimitris.gr/view_is.php?artid=1049 |title=México, Ciudad de México, 3 de julio de 2007 |accessdate=2008-02-03]

inaloa

As early as the 1940s, the Mexican government invited Greek immigrants to Sinaloa to improve the harvest of olives. [sp icon cite web |url=http://www.solatino.gr/spa/art/nuestros_lectores/_los_griegos_de_culiac_n_ |title=Los griegos de Culiacán |accessdate=2008-02-03] Soon the Greek community became so large that the area around the Tamazula, Humaya, and Culiacan rivers became known as the Valley of Greece (Spanish: "Valle de Grecia"). [sp icon cite web |url=http://www.conaculta.gob.mx/saladeprensa/2003/09sep/sinagowa.htm |title=La cultura, el mejor antídoto contra la violencia y la agresividad |accessdate=2008-01-24] Most immigrants to Sinaloa married into Mexican families. Today, Sinaloa has a heavy Greek presence, and the cities of Culiacan and Guamuchil have important Greek communities. Many of the families came from Cyprus and other mainland Greek immigrants, and after sending letters to their friends and families about how well they were making it, more came. Greek surnames are very common in this state. In Culiacan, there is the Comunidad Helenica of Culiacan. [el icon cite web |url=http://omogeneia.ana-mpa.gr/pdf/organoseis_america.pdf |title=Diaspora Organizations |accessdate=2008-01-24]

Notable Greek-Mexicans

*Lampros Kontogiannis, football player for Club America
*Constantino Stamatiades, Visual Artist , Sculptor , web design, animation [http://www.stamatiades.com stamatiades.com]
*Homero Aridjis, writer and diplomat
*Los Chicharrines, comedians ("El Circo de Los Chicharrines") [es cite web |url=http://www.esmas.com/ninos/estrelllas/600177.html |title=Dos hermanos muy 'payasos' |accessdate=2008-03-06]
*Crisantes (born Héctor Crisantakis), singer [cite web |url=http://www.bmi.com/musicworld/entry/4030 |title=BMI.com Crisantes |accessdate=2008-03-30]
*Plotino Rhodakanaty, anarchist
*Sofía Stamatiades, telenovela actress ("Pecados Ajenos")

ee also

* Greek people
* Greek diaspora
* Mexican-Greek relations

References

External links

* [http://www.comunidadhelenicademexico.org Comunidad Helenica de Mexico] Greek community of Mexico
Comunidad Helenica de México [http://www.comunidadhelenicademexico.org www.comunidadhelenicademexico.org]
* [http://greecenow.criticalpublics.com/GLOBAL_GREECE/SPOTLIGHT/thegreeksideofmexico.stm The Greek side of Mexico: "The Greek Side of Mexico"]
* [http://www.geocities.com/casahelenica/ Casa Helenica de Guadalajara, AC]