Transnational meanings of La Virgen de Guadalupe: Religiosity, space and culture at Plaza Mexico
Transnational meanings of La Virgen de Guadalupe: Religiosity, space and culture at Plaza Mexico
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Date
2009
Authors
Gomez-Barris, Macarena
Irazabal, Clara
Advisor
Citation
Irazábal, C. and M. Gómez-Barris. “Bounded Tourism: Immigrant Politics, Consumption, and Traditions at Plaza Mexico.” Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change 5(3), 2007, 186-213. https://doi.org/10.2167/jtcc100.0
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Abstract
In this paper, we examine Plaza Mexico in Lynwood, California, a magnet
for Latino communities from throughout the greater Los Angeles region, to
show immigrants’ use of space to produce transnational communities as
coherent. One of the key ways that immigrant identity is formed in this space
is through cultural religiosity. Despite the fact that Plaza Mexico is a
shopping mall, the place gathers participation from Mexican immigrants and
Latinos of other national origins at key times of religious expression during
the year. Following what Holloway calls ‘enchanted space’, we analyse the
Day of the Dead celebration (2 November) and the Virgen de Guadalupe
celebration (during and after 12 December) to discuss the transformation of
the mall into a multidimensional place that encompasses secular, religious,
cultural and political expressions. We show how Plaza Mexico provides a
rich location from which to understand transnational cultural connections
and familial transmissions of culture between different generations of
immigrants which we term ‘affective connectivity’.