Spain: Mexicans Blogging to Feel at Home · Global Voices
Andrea Arzaba

There are many Latin Americans who migrate to Spain in order to get more opportunities, which they feel they cannot reach in their own countries. Focusing on a specific group of Latin American immigrants in Spain, are Mexicans. According to the site Mexicanos en España [es], there were 15,593 Mexicans living in Spain in 2009, of which the largest group can be found in Madrid, with approximately 4,675 living in the capital city. However, the number is a rough estimate, and many place the number to be even greater.
The vast majority of Mexicans in Spain are students with 4,919. The others are working in Spain or have become a part of what some people call the “pink migration” for those that fall in love with a Spaniard.
There is a blogging community of Mexicans residing in Spain, which gives them an opportunity to express themselves, to stay in touch with their loved ones, and to network with other Mexicans that are living in the same region.
At the blog De Piratas y Otras Historias [es] (of Pirates and Other Stories) the author, Elizabeth Hernández Quijano, describes her everyday life combined with poetry:
Esta blog es libre y hablaré de temas diversos. Tiene enlace a mis otros blogs y a los que comparto. Mis escritos son la unión con la gente que tengo lejos. Es espacio de poesía, de relatos, de literatura; mía y de escritores amigos o que me gusten. Por supuesto esta blog es para compartir amistad. Una bitácora para salir del mundo cotidiano, un diario personal abierto.
Another interesting blog is México Lindo y Querido [es] (Beautiful and Beloved Mexico), where the author gives different perspectives on Mexican traditions celebrated in Spain and in Mexico.
For example, the Día de Muertos or Day of the Death is a Mexican celebration where people have fun, laugh and celebrate the memory of the dead loved ones, with food, flowers and altars. Mexicans in Barcelona celebrate it in a very similar way than they do back in Mexico, as it is shown in the blog:
Photo by Martha Ines Sanchez Navarro and used with permission.
In the blog Chido Guey – Madrid [es], Mexican design is shown through clothing. In the blog, news about exhibitions in Spain related to Mexican art are announced.
Lluvia Morales is a Mexican PHD student in Madrid, and the author of My Sweet Lluvia [es] (My Sweet Rain), where she writes about her every day life and she makes comparisons between the situations of both nations:
Aqui en España muchos niños comen en la escuela y cada escuela tiene su nutricionista que se dedica a balancear la comida diaria. Que les encantan la cerveza y las tapas? Si, pero con moderación. Se toman dos o tres copitas y un bocata, no se atascan tres litros o mas de cerveza en una noche y se comen todos los tacos y el pozole que les es posible.
Blogs have become a very important part of the society; as it helps to inform and keep in touch with certain groups of individuals, or like in this case, people from one country that live in another. For example Mexicanos en España [es] is one of the biggest and most useful online communities for Mexicans residing in Spain. Apart from announcing events related to Mexican culture in Madrid, they announce job opportunities, show links to Mexican media like newspapers, tv-shows, magazines, etc; and even give different tips on Mexican recipes.
In other words, these blogs are examples of the online revolution Mexicans in Spain have been living in the last couple of years, as these blogs have had the power to unite people, inform them, and make them feel at home, even if they are miles and miles away from their beloved nation.