“The first thi…

“The first things you see now when getting to Hidalgo are new houses, bigger constructions, more like American architecture, and equipped with modern technology. These are the homes of the migrants,” she says.

New kinds of businesses also flourish in the traditional towns, such as Chinese restaurants, pizza joints and English academies. These towns, even though the majority of their population are from indigenous cultures, are now experiencing American influences.

“There is a new culture coming from the north that is changing our communities, where the indigenous culture is still very powerful. For the first time you see young people with tattoos or piercings in our streets. They don’t want to work as farmers, like their parents used to,” Mrs Dorantes says.

“They are a new kind of Mexican.”

‘New kind of Mexican’