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Accepted Paper:
Cultural Practices of Mexican Immigrants in Gwinnett County (U.S.A): Intangible Cultural Heritage as a space of conviviality in a receiving community
Cristina Amescua
(National University of Mexico UNAM)
This paper will address how Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mexican Immigrants in Georgia (U.S.A) is contributing to the construction of complex social and cultural interactions among immigrants but also with the local population in suburban areas.
Paper long abstract:
Mexican Immigration to the U.S. South has been a massive and sustained trend over the last two decades, shaping a very particular reality for the local communities in the region. The growing visibility of Mexican communities in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area has had a great impact on the social and economic configuration of small suburban areas. Drawing from six years of field work in Gwinnett County, this paper will address how Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mexican Immigrants in Georgia (U.S.A) is contributing to the construction of complex social and cultural interactions among immigrants but also with the local population in suburban areas. We will analyze these interactions through the metaphor of friction, proposed by Anna Lownhaupt Tsing wherein she states that "As a metaphorical image, friction reminds us that heterogeneous and unequal encounters can lead to new arrangements of culture and power. (…) Speaking of friction is a reminder of the importance of interaction in defining movement, cultural form, and agency." (Lowenhaupt Tsing, 2005: 5, 6)