Los Arabes of New Mexico: Compadres from a Distant Land

At the outset, Los Arabes (Arabic-speaking individuals) were peddlers, carrying a variety of wares that often included exotic items from the Holy Land. These skilled cross-cultural traders expected to strike it rich in the United States and then return to their homeland on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean. Some continued westward; others put down roots in immigrant ghettos in the East and Midwest or traveled back across the sea. A few, however, decided to settle in New Mexico and fulfill the dream of owning their own business. The community grew quickly as family members, former neighbors, and hometown friends joined the original group. Why were they attracted to this area? What conditions in New Mexico facilitated their rapid and almost seamless acculturation? Hardworking, imaginative, and enterprising, Los Arabes of New Mexico became successful businessmen and prominent entrepreneurs, who enriched this state with their unique culture, their cheerful perseverance, and boundless enthusiasm.