Im/E-migrants

A couple of people I have encountered on this trip have told me that my last name, Agudelo, is Gallician, although they had never heard of anyone or any place by that name. Google Earth knows better. About 35km southwest of Santiago there is a little town called Barro Agudelo. It seems almost certain that some ancestor of mine from this little town emigrated to Latin America, probably at some point in the 18th century, and settled in what is now Colombia. History guards the secrets that connect that ancestor to me, maybe somewhere in that little town, and someday I might return to research that link. Despite not being able to make that link, though, my diluted Spanish blood feels a certain familiarity here. On many hours on the saddle, my mind can´t help but wonder about the Spanish migrants who left their home for the uncertain promises of a New World. Why did they leave? What did they find in America?

The Spanish had been coming to the Americas in large numbers, from the 1200 men and women that accompanied Columbus on his second voyage up until the 20th century. All those people share something in common with me. They were migrants. Some basic reading on migration differentiates between migration due to push factors versus pull factors. There are usual both factors. For example, many Spanish were leaving Spain because of poverty, persecution, or a criminal sentence. They left specifically for America searching for wealth and freedom. Similarly, most Latin American migrants into the US today leave their countries because of poverty, lack of jobs or educational opportunities, and sometimes persecution. They go specifically to the US because there is a higher mean standard of living, with a wealth of opportunities, and incredible amounts of freedom.

The issue of immigrants and emigrants came coming up again and again in different contexts. In Asturias I kept hearing about the Emigración, a period of history when thousands of Asturians left for America. In Santander, as in Burgos and other cities, I have been surprised to find large communities of Latin American immigrants. News of African immigrants entering illegally via the Mediterrannean or Atlantic makes frequent headlines. Spain, a country that for so many years saw so many of its citizens leaving, is now experiencing waves of incoming foreigners.

The Spanish emigrants who left in the 19th and early 20th century, those in the period of the Asturian Emigración, left for many of the same reasons that usually lead to migration: lack of jobs, poverty sometimes leading to hunger, and the promise of a better life elsewhere. They went primarily to Mexico, Havana, and Buenos Aires, and established some of the largest Spanish settlements outside of Spain. The numbers of immigrants were so astounding that there were towns in Asturias that lost half their population in a short period of time. In America, they did what immigrants usually do: work hard. By many accounts, they often succeeded in fulfilling what would now be called the American dream before the term had been coined. Some made it big, establishing companies that would earn them wealth beyond their wildest dreams.

Like most migrants, these Asturians left a lot behind in Spain: family, customs, culture, land and property, etc. Having attained a large measure of success, many of these migrants returned to their homeland after establishing a life in America. They lived a life where they could travel between their homes on opposite sides of the ocean, and maintain a rich, bicultural life. The wealth earned abroad often returned to Spain and was responsible for the construction of lavish mansions that dot the Asturian landscape, first-of-its-kind public infrastructure projects in Spain including electric lighting, automobile highways, and buildings such as schools and hospitals. The phenomenon of the migrant who strikes it rich abroad and is able to return and improve their home even earned a term, Indiano, stubbornly referencing the incorrect 16th century assumption that America was the West Indies.

Spain now has waves of immigrants instead of emigrants. They come here seeking the same things that the Spanish emigrants of a century ago sought in leaving. For a long time, Spain was welcoming of these immigrants, but from speaking to people here, it seems to me that the tide has turned in the past decade, maybe even less. After September 11th, the word terrorism, previously reserved for politics and policy, entered the media and entered homes everywhere. The March 11, 2004 terrorist bombings in Madrid struck close to home, and like with popular opinion in the US, the rise of terrorism was partly linked to the rise of immigration, resulting in tougher border restrictions. Just look at how difficult it was for me to get a visa to enter.

The four largest immigrant populations in Spain are, in order, from Morocco, Ecuador, Romania and Colombia. They are here working hard, just as those Indianos from Asturias were working hard in Mexico and Buenos Aires, and just like all those Mexican and Central American immigrants in the US. Spain is growing, if not in population, then definitely in development and industry. Just from a bit of traveling around, there is construction going on seemingly everywhere. People are looking for second homes near the water. People are looking for first homes in the city. Two types of businesses that have been ubiquitous in the towns and cities that I have passed are inmobiliarios (un-moveable) and mobiliarios (moveable), respectively referring to real estate and furniture. That growth is powered often by immigrants willing and happy to fill the labor-demanding jobs.

If those immigrants, or the ones in the US, succeed, do they plan on returning home and building big houses? Are Spain and the US such better places to live that immigrants would stay, stop being immigrants, and plant roots? I didn´t mean this to be an essay, or any sort of cohesive argument about immigrants in Spain. It´s really just a series of loosely related thoughts that have come to mind about a big issue that seems to be of importance here, back in the US, and really, everywhere. And if you´ve read this far, I am really interested in hearing your thoughts about this whole issue. Really, please, drop me a line when you get a chance and let me know.