Arab Mexicans

Template:Arabs An Arab Mexican is a Mexican citizen of Arab descent, or partial Arab heritage. Arab immigration to Mexico started as early as the 19th and 20th centuries. The current population stands at 400,000 people with Arab ancestry, mostly from Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Iraq and are present in significant numbers in Puebla.

Immigration of Arabs in Mexico has influenced Mexican culture, in particular food. Where they have introduced Kibbeh, Tabbouleh and even created recipes such as Arab taquitos. The fusion between Arab and Latin food, has highly influenced the Yucatecan cuisine.

Another concentration of Arab-Mexicans is in Baja California facing the US-Mexican border, esp. in cities of Mexicali in the Imperial Valley US/Mexico, and Tijuana across from San Diego with a large Arab American community (about 280,000), some of those families have relatives in Mexico.

In religion, the majority of Arab-Mexicans are Christians whom belong to the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Rite Catholic Churches, but the rest are Muslims and a scant number are Jews of Middle Eastern origins (see Syrian Jews and Palestinian Jews).

Notable Arab Mexicans

• Carlos Slim Helú, businessman
• Capulina, actor
• Salma Hayek, actress born to a Mexican mother and Lebanese-born father
• Mauricio Féres Yázbek (Garcés), actor
• José Murat Casab, politician and a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party also former Governor of Oaxaca
• Thalía (Thalia Sodi) singer and actress
• Mohammed Yussuf, footballer
• Victor Nacif, Vice President of Design Business Aspects for Nissan Design America

See Also

• Arab diaspora
• Immigration to Mexico
• Arab Brazilian

External links

• Arab Mexican Chamber of Industry and Commerce http://www.camic.org/