Yuba City, CA: The Birthplace of Punjabi-Mexican Culture
Punjabi Bachelors Step Foot in the U.S.
The origins of Punjabi-Mexican heritage can be traced to the early 1900s, when Punjabi men immigrated to California as migrant agricultural laborers (prior to the Asiatic Barred Zone of 1917).
Anti-Asian immigration policy in America did not allow these men to migrate with wives or families, since they wanted to position Punjabi male laborers as disposable tools of the work force, rather than allowing them to settle into American culture. Therefore, these men always arrived alone, and oftentimes, single.
Beginnings of Punjabi-Mexican Identity
The first Punjabi-Mexican marriage was recorded in 1916. Since both Punjabi and Mexican communities were considered non-white, brown, and non-American, their marriages were legal under the eyes of anti-miscegenation laws.
Throughout the early 1900s, Mexican women lived and worked close to male Punjabi communities, increasing the likelihood of marriage, as Punjabi men were interested in marrying local women as a means of finding companionship in their new country.
Interestingly enough, Mexican women’s work in cotton fields mirrored the gendered divisions of labor found in rural Punjabi life, as the work of picking cotton was one of the forms of agricultural labor that Jat Sikh women performed in Central Punjab.
“Many Punjabis married the Mexican women that worked on their land because of their cultural similarities and proximity. And when they’d show up at the county record office, they could both check ‘brown.’ No one knew the difference.”
Half and Halves
Punjabi-Mexican children were called ‘Half and Halves’, and were often raised Catholic and spoke Spanish at home. In the kitchen, a fusion of Mexican-Indian food was served: roti quesadillas, curry with Spanish rice, Mexican beans alongside dal. These children experienced discrimination from Mexican and American peers, but they carried their unique culture on for decades to come: from the 1950s-1990s, a restaurant started by Amelia Singh Netervala, El Ranchero, dished up Mexican and South Asian favorites side by side, celebrating the local beloved fusion.
The Present Day
The unique Punjabi-Mexican heritage of the 20th century remains a remarkable and vibrant chapter—a moment in time that brought together two communities in a beautiful fusion. These marriages, shaped by the era's immigration and anti-miscegenation laws, gave rise to a lively blended culture and a close-knit community across the Southwest. As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, let’s honor the contributions of Mexican immigration and the special role that Yuba City, California, has played in the broader story of the South Asian diaspora.
Punjabi-Mexican Wedding
Source: SAADA
The Family of Ernestina and Bishan Singh, 1932
Source: EarthJustice
A Sikh Temple in El Centro, California, 1951
Source: UC Davis Digital Collection
Sources & Further Reading
“The History of California’s Punjabi-Mexican Communities”, Latina.com, https://latina.com/im-indian-and-im-mexican-and-im-100-american-californias-punjabi-mexican-communities/
“California’s Lost (and Found) Punjabi-Mexican Cuisine”, Eater.com, https://www.eater.com/2019/4/23/18305011/punjabi-mexican-migration-roti-quesadilla-el-ranchero
“How Asian American Farmers Shaped Our Cultural Food Landscape”, EarthJustice.org, https://earthjustice.org/article/how-asian-american-farmers-shaped-our-cultural-food-landscape
“Punjabi-Mexican Families”, Saada.org, https://www.saada.org/project/timeline/punjabi-mexican-families