People in the small village of Napizaro near Lake Pátzcuaro in Michoacán are very familiar with North Hollywood, California, which is over 2400 km (1500 miles) away. Almost everyone born in Napizaro now over 20 years old is living, or has lived, in North Hollywood, which is home to at least one member of virtually every family in Napizaro.
Map showing location of Napizaro on Lake Pátzcuaro, Michoacán. Click to enlarge.
Initially, a few migrants from Napizaro found good jobs in North Hollywood. Through letters, phone calls and visits home, they told their friends and relatives in Napizaro and new migrants headed north. Movement between the places increased significantly. The majority of young boys and many young girls look forward to the day when they can travel to North Hollywood and start making real money. Many of the migrants from Napizaro moved their immediate families and settled permanently in North Hollywood.
Remittances sent back from workers in North Hollywood have had a big impact on Napizaro. The village has numerous impressive brick homes, with cars parked in the driveways and satellite TV dishes on the roofs. The newly built bull ring is named “North Hollywood.”
This is another example of a migration channel linking two rather distant places. There are numerous migration channels between specific towns in Mexico and particular places in the USA.
Another migration channel links Aguililla, Michoacán, and Redwood City, California
For previous posts about remittances, the funds sent home by migrant workers, see:
- The 10 states in Mexico with the highest percentage of homes receiving remittances
- The 10 states in Mexico receiving the most remittances in total
- The 10 states in Mexico receiving the highest remittances per person
Migration between Mexico and the USA is the focus of chapter 25 of Geo-Mexico: the geography and dynamics of modern Mexico. Ask your library to buy a copy of this handy reference guide to all aspects of Mexico’s geography today! Better yet, order your own copy…
3 Responses to “The connection between Napizaro (Michoacan) and North Hollywood (California)”
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gracias por ecriviraserca de mi pueblo “napizaro”
You are very welcome!
I like to up-date the info on this page about Napizaro, Michoacan,the first people from this town to come in to the USA goes back to the early 1940s when the ward was going on they came as BRACEROS,to help the Country while the man were fighting the war, my father, grand father and many others from Napizaro were in this group.
My father kept on coming back and forth on/off through a program called CONTRATACIONES, and back in the early 1970s a big number of people from this town started to come in to this country and settle in North Hollywood California, early 1980s people began to dispersed to Oregon, Kansas, North Carolina, Iowa, Kentucky,etc, and I would guessed that there is over a thousand people here in the country from this town, and I would say 3/4 of this people are now or have been born here int he USA, I know this because i was brought to this country when I was very little I have been here 40 years now, and I my self have 5 children and 2 grand children