Cultural practices of mexican immigrants in Gwinnett County (USA): intangible cultural heritage as a space of conviviality in a receiving community

Abstract

Drawing from more than six years of fieldwork in Gwinnett County, this chapter addresses how the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mexican Immigrants in Georgia is contributing to the construction of complex social and cultural interactions not only among immigrants but also with the local population in suburban areas. It introduces the concept of intangible cultural heritage, including a discussion of its reach as a public policy tool and its usefulness from an anthropological standpoint. Rather than presenting an in-depth analysis of each of the selected cultural practices, the chapter aims to identify a relatively wide array of scenarios where Mexican culture is being re-enacted, negotiated and transformed. ‘By walking the streets together, those who participate weave their social ties, thus creating or reaffirming a system of codes and communication constituted as intangible cultural heritage’. The author's fieldwork in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area showed that food is one of the most valued elements of Mexican culture among Americans.