Mexicanos
Mexicano: Conflict and Culture
The Mexicanos affected the West in many ways. They left a lasting legacy on the west in ways such as mining, cattle ranching, the cowboy, sheep raising, irrigated farming, food, architecture, laws, and entertainment.
Mining:
Mexicanos possessed great mining traditions and techniques. They influenced mining in the West by helping build gold, silver, and copper industries. The Mexicanos introduced many new tools and techniques to miners looking for good. Such tools included the batea (gold pan) and the riffle box. Both of these tools made finding gold in the West more efficient. Mexicanos also showed other miners how to quartz out of mountains. American miners had no idea how to dig for quartz in mountains, but the Mexicanos taught them which improved the mining of the west. Lastly, the Mexicanos taught the miners in the West how to use an arrastra (grinding mill) to crush the rock to make it easier to find gold. The Mexicanos also helped develop the silver and copper industries. The Mexicanos helped the other miners discover silver and they also helped miners learn to develop their techniques for mining copper.
Cattle Ranching:
Cattle ranching in the West was an adopted tradition from Mexico. The first cattle in the Americas came from Spanish colonists. The cattle survived well in the weather of the West. The cattle repopulated and soon millions of cattle were roaming free in the West. The Californios and Tejanos developed a strong business from cattle ranching. The Americans learned the cattle business and traditions from Mexican ranchers. Ranches in the West were large. They mostly produced products of meat, hides, and fat. Ranchers spent most of their days outside overseeing their lands. Ranchers hired cowboys to take care of the cattle. The cowboys, also known as vaqueros, had jobs such as the rodeo and branding. The Americans of the West took up ranching. They used the ranchers' traditions. The Americans practiced branding and the rodeo.
The Cowboy:
The American cowboys came from the traditions of the Mexican vaquero. American cowboys adopted clothes, gear, and language from the Mexican vaquero. For example, the Cowboys started wearing ten-gallon hats, leather chaps, high-heeled, pointed-toed boots, and the poncho all came from clothing of the Mexican vaquero. The Cowboys also adopted new tools from gear that the vaquero used. For example, the horned saddle and the lariat improved the the gear of the American cowboy. A lot of the language cowboys used came from the vaqueros. For example, terms like stampede, corral, and lasso came from Spanish-Mexican words. The Mexican vaquero changed the lives of American cowboys forever.
Sheep Raising:
The most important industry in New Mexico was sheep raising. Sheep was used to feed and clothe Spanish and Mexican settlers. There were two important kind of sheep. The merinos (fine wool) and the churros (coarse wool). There was an important Spanish sheep-raising system that influenced many Americans. There were three levels to the system: the patron, the managers, and the pastor. Each level of the system worked different jobs. The patron owned the herds. The managers checked range conditions and the health of the sheep. The pastor guided the herd of sheep and each pastor took care of about 1,500-2,000 sheep. The Americans started to use the Spanish system and soon enough sheep raising spread across the southwest. Wool production in the U.S. rocketed. This is how sheep-raising changed America.
Irrigated Farming:
The dry weather in the Southwest required the farmers to created some kind of irrigation. The Mexicanos brought irrigation techniques from early Africa and Spain to the Southwest. Securing water for the farms was a lot of work. The farmers built dams. Water soon began to build up behind the dams and then the water was brought to the fields through irrigation ditches. The water was able to flow through their system and soaked the entire field. This new kind of irrigation was called the Mexican system. The Americans soon adopted the Mexican system to meet their irrigation needs. The Mexicanos also introduced new fruits to the Americans. Some of the fruits included citrus fruits, grapes, apples, peaches and many more. With the help of the Mexican irrigation system and the new Mexican crops, the Americans were able to turn dry deserts intro fruit orchards and citrus groves. This transformed the West and would change it forever.
Food:
Spanish explorers discovered unknown Native American foods. These foods involved corn, peanuts, chili peppers, and many more, These new Native American foods shipped out to Spain and from there it spread all over Europe. Also, the Spanish brought back foods from Spain to Mexico. These foods included pork, grapes, potatoes, and many more. New foods were spreading globally. But most importantly, the Mexicans combined both Native American and Spanish foods to create tasty Mexican foods. The Americans that settled in the Southwest tried the New Mexican food. Americans seemed to like it and the new Mexican foods started to spread all over. One famous dish from Mexico was chili which became highly popular in the United States.
Architecture:
Mexicanos contributed a whole bunch to the world of architecture. Mexican settlers brought their traditional architecture to the Southwest. There homes and structures were perfect for the climate of the Southwest but also had an attractive look. The houses were made out of adobe bricks and clay roofs. They also had patios and verandas which were unique additions to the house. The Americans in the Southwest started building with adobe too. Adobe buildings had many advantages such as easy construction, thick walls (for weather), and could be made from available materials in the Southwest. The Americans adopted the adobe buildings. They started building more than just houses but also courthouses, trading posts, post offices, and other kinds of buildings.
Laws:
Mexicano laws governed mining, water and community property. First off, the Mexicanos helped develop a law on mining to keep the miners in order. This law was spread all over the Southwest. Secondly, the American law for water in the East could not work in the West. There were often legal conflicts and water wars over who controlled the water sources. The Mexicanos developed a law based on the Pueblo Law. This law said "water was too valuable to be owned or controlled by any one person. Instead, water belonged to an entire community and should be used for the benefit of all." Lastly, there was a principle adopted from Mexican law about community property that was very important to women. In eastern states, married women had very few property right. Mexican law disagreed. Mexican law said that "all property acquire during a marriage was 'community property.' If a couple separated, the property was split between each individual. American settlers in the West liked this new idea and we now have community property in many states today.
Entertainment:
The Mexicanos knew how to party. They celebrated with music, dance, and fiestas. The Americans in the Southwest decided to be a part of their traditions too. The Mexicanos influenced country and western music in the Southwest. Some important contributions of music and dance was the fandango, the corrido, the jota, and the bamba. The American settlers loved the traditional Mexicano dance. Another kind of tradition was fiestas and rodeos. Some important fiestas are religious fiestas. One example is in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Another famous fiesta is El Cinco de Mayo. Rodeos were also important in Mexican heritage. The rodeo comes from the original tradition of cattle roundups. Vaqueros competed in events against each other. These events included calf roping, bull riding, and bronco busting. American cowboys soon became part of the rodeos. The rodeos became a big part of the Southwest and represented a large part of Mexicano and American heritage.
Legacy:
The Mexicanos left a great legacy on the Southwest and the United States. They introduced many new techniques and traditions to the Americans. The Americans adopted them and made Mexicano traditions part of their own traditions. The Mexicanos changed the ways of mining, cattle ranching, the cowboy, sheep raising, farming, food, architecture, laws, and entertainment. The Mexicanos shaped the ways of the Southwest in many ways. They left an ever lasting mark in the U.S. and many of their traditions still stand today.