Imperial (202 page)

My interviews with the softspoken old shoe-store owner took place in November 2003. This was the uncle of the Dong Chen waitress, Miss Xu. Xu gave me his name but he didn’t want me to use it. More of this interview appears at the end, in the “Darkness and Broken Chairs” section. José López from Jalisco interpreted.

My interview with Carmen Jaham took place in November 2003. Terrie Petree was the interpeter.

Chinese arrivals in Mexico beween 1902 and 1921—Auyón Gerardo, p. 34 (Terrie Petree’s working translation).

Mexicali’s Chinese population in 1913—Ibid., p. 41ff. (Terrie Petree’s working translation).

Some Chinese sent for by the Colorado River Land Company—This practice began in 1910, according to Duncan, p. 623.

My interviews with Steve Leung took place in October and November of 2003. He spoke English.

C. B. Williams & Sons storefront—AHMM, photo album 2, cat. #29.AHM/166.2/8.

Chinese as 42% of Mexicali’s population in 1915—Kerig, p. 160.

Chinese Masonic lodge—AHMM, photo album 2, cat. #29.AHM/166.2/9. The lodge was on Juárez between Azueta and Altamirano.

Chong Kee general store—AHMM, photo album 2, cat. #29.AHM/166.2/10.

Juan Chong’s storefront—AHMM, photo album 2, cat. #29.AHM/166.2/15. Photo dated 1925.

Anti-Chinese rhetoric of the Mexican Labor Party—Quoted in Magón, p. 46 (essay by editor).

The anti-Chinese pogrom in Coahuila—Duncan, p. 626, n. 32.

The tale of the Chinese who were purposefully misdirected from San Felipe was told me several times, always by Mexicans. The footnoted version is quite different. Here is another, told me by Señor Armando in the Café Canton, 2002 (Carlos Guillero Baja Terra interpreted): “In 1906, or maybe 1900, when the Chinese came to Mexicali by ship, San Felipe didn’t exist. When the Chinese came by ship from San Francisco, there were usually police watching. Sometimes when the Chinese people come in ship, the ones who live in house say: ‘Just walk to north and you can see Mexicali.’ But sometimes Chinese come alone and lost in desert and sometimes a hundred and twenty degrees. Too many people died. That’s the reason for the name
Chinero.
Hundreds died. The people who lived, they come to Mexicali, lived here with the family. There were more Chinese people than Mexicans. They lived in the Mexicali Valley.”

Footnote: Excerpt from
El Dragón en el Desierto
—Auyón Gerardo, p. 31ff. (Terrie Petree’s working translation.)

My interview with the fighting-cock breeder whom I met at the match in Islas Agrarias took place in November 2003. He spoke English.

Texan farmhand who’d moved to the Imperial Valley “’cause they told us it was the land of plenty”—Salazar, pp. 79-80 (“Farm Workers’ Lot Held Worsening in Southland,” November 27, 1962).

“Imperial Catechism” of 1903: “You can get Chinese or Japanese cooks . . .”—
Imperial Press and Farmer
, vol. II, no. 44 (Saturday, February 14, 1903), p. 1 (“Should a rancher board his own men, or can they board themselves?”).

Information on Mrs. Julia Lyon—Farr, p. 480.

Bancroft: “These people were truly in every sense aliens . . .”—Op. cit., vol. XXIV (1890), p. 336.

The various remarks and observations of Lupe Vásquez—He was my interpreter and guide for the Chinese tunnels project from the fall of 2002 through June 2003. The
quinceañera
took place in May 2003. Lupe was my friend; he and I continued to work together.

José López from Jalisco began to work for me in early 2003. His presence was sporadic, our friendship and working relationship ongoing. His English was slightly better than Lupe’s, which was perfectly adequate; Lupe knew Mexicali better, being a native. José’s work on the Chinese tunnels project ended when my fieldwork did, in November 2003.

My interview with Alicia and Luisa in Condominios Montealbán took place in April, May and October 2003. Lupe Vásquez, José López from Jalisco and Terrie Petree interpreted on various occasions.

The very friendly, pretty, educated Chinese waitress who lived in Condominios Montealbán was the Dong Cheng waitress, Miss Xu, whom I interviewed in October and November 2003. The interpreters were Terrie Petree and José López from Jalisco.

Footnote: Mr. Clark of Missouri on “the Chinese problem”:
Appletons’ Annual Cyclopaedia
, 1902, pp. 187-88 (entry on Congress, section on Chinese Exclusion). To illustrate London’s thesis more nakedly I should also quote Mr. Perkins of New York (p. 185): “I shall not, Mr. Chairman, take the time of this committee in discussing the general question of Chinese exclusion, because I imagine that every member of this House is agreed that the admission of Chinese laborers on any large scale would be injurious to the laboring interests of this country . . .”

“
California
has distinctly failed as a land of big things . . .”—Smythe, p. 160.

1910
Britannica
entry on China—11th ed., vol. 6, p. 17 .

“The older citizens will remember when the back portion of the block . . .”—Holmes et al., p. 56.

The task of Mr. Hutchins, the Chinese inspector—James, p. 408.

Zane Grey character: “Of course, my job is to keep tabs on Chinese . . .”—Grey, p. 58.

Importation into Mexico of 500 Chinese in 1913—Auyón Gerardo, p. 48 (Terrie Petree’s working translation).

Footnote: Jack Black on the nonexistence of Chinese tunnels in San Francisco—Op. cit., p. 125.

Dashiell Hammett: “The passageway was solid and alive with stinking bodies . . .”—Op. cit, pp. 422, 440 (“Dead Yellow Women,” 1925). There certainly were many Chinese in traditional dress in San Francisco; Hammett didn’t make that up. In 1917, José Clemente Orozco was in San Francisco and remarked on the “Chinese girls in their embroidered pantaloons and characteristic tunics” (op. cit., p. 60).

Zulema Rashid’s fear of Chinese as torturers—Interviews by WTV, May-June 2003. Zulema is quoted in several other chapters of this book. She spoke English like the American she was.

Chinese and Mexican population of Mexicali in 1919, according to
El Dragón en el Desierto
—Auyón Gerardo, p. 50 (Terrie Petree’s working translation).

By 1930, Mexicali’s population was one-third Chinese.—Information in Ruiz, p. 40.

Footnote: Census data on Imperial County in 2000—U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, Table CO-EST 2001-07-06, “Time Series of California Population Estimates by County, April 1, 2000, to July 1, 2001.” Accessed at the website
http://eire.census.gov/popest/data/counties/tables/CO-EST2001-07.php
, on 6 September 2002.

Same footnote: Statistics of the 1910 census—Census Bureau (1910), pp. 156, 166.

My interview with Beatriz Limón from
La Crónica
took place in April 2003 and is referenced in other parts of this book. She later accompanied Yolanda Sánchez Ogás, José López from Jalisco and me to some Chinese tunnels in June 2003. José López from Jalisco and Lupe Vásquez interpreted on various occasions.

My relationship with Oscar Sánchez from the Archivo Histórico is ongoing. He has been helping me since 1997. This would have been said sometime in 2002 or 2003.

My conversation with the waiter at the Thirteen Negro took place sometime in 2002.

The tour guide named Carlos worked for me in June 2002. He spoke excellent English.

My interview with Mr. Auyón took place in June 2003. Lupe Vásquez interpreted.

Mr. Auyón as a “world-renowned painter, known especially for his paintings of horses and nude women” —Rosalyn Ng report, 2003.

Terrie’s summary of
El Dragón en el Desierto
: “The last twenty to twenty-five years in the book . . .”—Auyón Gerardo, p. 41ff (2nd to last page of Terrie Petree’s somewhat selective working translation).

My mother-and-daughter team of Chinese interpreters, on the subject of Mr. Auyón: “
Further cooperation in the future: likely . . .”—
Rosalyn Ng report, 2003.

“ALEXANDER REPORTS ATTEMPT WILL BE MADE TONIGHT . . .”—N.A.R.A.L. Record Group 36. Records of the U.S. Customs Service. Calexico Customs Office. Incoming Official Correspondence (9L-60). October 15, 1902-March 23, 1916. Box No. 3 of 5: November 1913 to July 1914. Bound volume labeled “Letters.” Telegram, from Macumber to Collector of Customs in Tijuana, Calexico, February 27, 1915.

My interview with Jasmine Brambilla Auyón and her mother took place in June 2003. Some of it was in English; for the rest, Lupe Vásquez interpreted.

View of the Hotel Cecil in 1948—AHMM, photo album 2, cat. #29.AHM/166.2/13.

My encounters with Leonardo took place in June 2003. Leonardo spoke English.

There’d been gaming-houses in Mexicali since 1909.—Information in Auyón Gerardo, p. 46 (Terrie Petree’s working translation).

I first met Yolanda Sánchez Ogás in April 2003. She has done a tremendous amount for me and for this book; interviews with her appear in a number of chapters. Lupe Vásquez, José López from Jalisco and Terrie Petree have translated her words for me on various occasions.

My interview with the barber in Pasajes Prendes took place in June 2003. Yolanda Sánchez Ogás was present; Terrie Petree interpreted. Ditto for my interview with the manager of the Hotel Cecil. Our visit to the first two tunnels followed that same day.

The fire of 1923—The caption to the AHMM’s photo album 2, cat. #29.AHM/166.2/17 (“Reconstruction of Avenida Juárez between Altamirano and Azueta” informs us that in May 1923 a terrible fire destroyed “dos manzanas completas, de lo que fuera centro comercial chino.”

“Round one-pound tins . . .”—N.A.R.A.L. Record Group 36. Records of the U.S. Customs Service. Calexico Customs Office. Incoming Official Correspondence (91-60). October 15, 1902-March 23, 1916. Box No. 3 of 5: November 1913 to July 1914. Bound volume labeled “Letters.” F. E. Johnson, Special Agent, United States Customs Service, Los Angeles, Cal., to the Office of the Special Agent, Collector of Customs, Los Angeles, Cal., January 25, 1915, p. 1.

I visited the tunnel under the Sinai Christian Center in late June 2003.

Footnote: Translator’s commentary on receipt—Chinese tunnel letters, Batch 1, I (certificate of receipt/invoice).

“Everything goes well at home, except . . .”—Chinese tunnel letters, Batch 2, VI (a letter from a wife to a husband, undated). “The way I miss you is heavy and long” was actually translated “The missing is dense and long,” which I thought could use some help from a native speaker of English.

Rosalyn Ng’s description of the tunnel under the Restaurante Victoria, Miguel’s reaction, etc.—Rosalyn Ng report, 2003. For narrative reasons I have reversed the order of two self-contained blocks of text.

Footnote: Sex ratios in Imperial County in 1910—Census Bureau (1910), loc. cit.

Same footnote: “Happy phantasm” from the Gold Mountain Songs: “I turn around, and I’m no longer a part of that miserable lot! . . .”—Hom, p. 185 (“Rhapsodies on Gold,” song no. 98, JSGJ I.6a).

“The Chinese called the city of Mexicali ‘Little Can-Choo’ . . .”—Auyón Gerardo, p. 50 (Terrie Petree’s working translation).

Mexico bans importation of unskilled Chinese laborers in 1921—Duncan, p. 633.

Footnote: “Every Chinese always believes that every store has a life . . .”—The woman who said this was named Mai. She was my second interpreter in Nan Ning. The year was 2002.

“For a long time, [Mr. Auyón] went on and on . . .”—Rosalyn Ng report, 2003.

Footnote: The three major bases of Chinese tongs—Information from Mr. Auyón in Rosalyn Ng’s report, 2003. In my own interview with Mr. Auyón, the same three bases were ranked differently (name, then place, then profession).

“Dear Ging Gei . . .”—Chinese tunnel letters, Batch 1, V (letter on official form from Wong Kong Ja Tong, 8 October 1924).

Assistance for Ting Zen—Chinese tunnel letters, Batch 2, I (Announcement, 1928). I have changed “donators” to “donors.”

“I went to the venue where brother Shi-Ping was murdered . . .”—Chinese tunnel letters, Batch 2, II (to Huan-Jiang-Xia General Association, 1911).

Report from 1923: “not capable,” etc.—Chinese tunnel letters, Batch 2, III (to Jia-Lan-Jie General Association, 1923).

My interviews with the Victoria’s Mexican cook took place in November 2003. Terrie Petree and José López from Jalisco interpreted.

Tong contribution to the Anti-Chinese Discrimination Organization—Chinese tunnel letters, Batch 1, IX (from Wong Kong Ja Tong, on letterhead, 13 January 1925). See also Batch 1, X (20 February 1920).

Tongs’ joint subscriptions to periodicals—E.g., Chinese tunnel letters, Batch 1, VI (11 November 1924).

“In response to your letter, I would like to inform you that ten to thirty people were caught here . . .”—Chinese tunnel letters, Batch 1, IV (from Wong Kong Ja Tong, on letterhead, 29 October 1924).

Chinese gambling payoffs to the Mexicali police: 28,000 pesos a month—Ruiz, p. 49.

Governor Rodríguez’s measure compelling the hiring of Mexicans at gambling establishments—Ruiz, p. 51.

“Expulsion of pernicious individuals of the Chinese nationality”—Rodríguez, pp. 51-54.

“Once more Tai ran true to racial form . . .”—Dashiell Hammett, p. 143 (“The House in Turk Street,” 1924).

“Thanks very much for flattering me and naming me to the position . . .”—Chinese tunnel letters, Batch 2, VI (to: brothers in Huan-Jiang-Xia General Association, 1927). English slightly corrected by WTV.

“5 MEXICAN STATES CLEARED OF CHINESE . . .”—
New York Times
, October 18, 1931, p. 2.

The old shoe-store owner who came to Mexicali in 1957—This was the uncle of the Dong Chen waitress, Miss Xu. My interview with him has already been cited in this chapter, above. I think it unlikely that we will meet again.

“The government has arrested a total of more than two hundred people.”—Chinese tunnel letters, Batch 1, XI (letter on official form from Wong Kong Ja Tong, 24 November 1934).

My interviews with the young Chinese man in the alley next to the Victoria took place in June 2003. Terrie Petree interpreted; Yolanda Sánchez Ogás was present.

My interviews with Tim, who lived in that same alley next to the Victoria, took place in my room at the Hotel Chinesca in October 2003. Terrie Petree interpreted. I had not met Tim before; Terrie and the Ngs had found and interviewed him in July.