Immigrants’ Help Transforms Tiny Hometowns

Until two years ago, nearly half of the homes in Gaspar Rivera-Salgado’s tiny hometown in rural Mexico had no electricity. Then, under his leadership, about 85 former residents of Santa Cruz Rancho Viejo launched a fund-raising effort that yielded $8,000, enough to wire 15 homes.

Though remarkable, that was merely one instance of a widespread phenomenon in Southern California that goes largely unnoticed. Rivera-Salgado’s group is just one of dozens of so-called hometown associations--groups of immigrants who pool their resources to send money to their hometowns for community improvements.

On Saturday, Rivera-Salgado, a sociology professor at USC, brought together the leaders of about 30 such organizations for the first time at a daylong conference. For many of the immigrant activists--who came from Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala--it was their first opportunity to compare notes.

“Nobody has ever tried to bring together all these people to provide a larger look at what’s happening,” Rivera-Salgado said.

In addition to helping fund public works, hometown associations frequently pump money into schools and churches back home and even help build sports facilities. Many have developed a yearly cycle of fund-raisers such as dances, raffles and beauty pageants in which the queen is selected, not only for her beauty, but also her fund-raising acumen.

North of the border, the clubs serve as social networks that help immigrants assimilate a new culture. Some provide translation services, and many create scholarships to help send their children to U.S. colleges.

Lourdes de Leon spoke about her experiences with IXIM, a group that helps integrate indigenous Maya from Guatemala.

While working at a bank, de Leon met a man who couldn’t communicate well enough to cash a check because he spoke only Q’anjob’al, his indigenous tongue. She learned that he was from the same town in Guatemala where she was born, and decided to get involved.

“Indigenous people often feel a sense of embarrassment,” she said, because of their unfamiliar language. “They feel like they’re not competent.”

But for the most part, the clubs’ focus is on their hometowns, often in poor, rural areas of Latin America. Many hometown associations are an economic and political force in their countries of origin, particularly in Mexico, where the government has actively promoted the clubs and, in some cases, matches the funds they send. The clubs’ leaders often wield more political influence in Mexico while living in Southern California than they ever would have if they had stayed in Mexico.

That’s no surprise, considering a recent study by Mexico’s National Council of Population, which found that money sent home by Mexican immigrants accounts for an estimated $8 billion.

Since most clubs developed independently of one another--many evolved from informal groups such as soccer clubs--there has never been much cooperation among different groups. “They’ve all grown up very organically,” said Richard Cone of USC’s Joint Educational Product, which helped organize the event. “They’ve all followed very different paths.”

Organizers hope Saturday’s event will be a springboard for coalition building.

Political leaders view the clubs as “too passive or involved in their community of origin,” Rivera-Salgado said. “But they’re very well-organized. As they gain more experience, I see them having a huge political influence.”