History of Mexican Americans - The Big Swing

The Big Swing

In Texas, people of Hispanic ethnicity, most of whom were Mexican nationals, began arriving in greater numbers between 1900 and 1930. Adding to the number of older Hispanic residents already in Texas, some of whom had been here since the Spanish Colonial Era, many of these new immigrants engaged in cotton production by performing the back-breaking work of hoeing cotton fields clean of weeds and harvesting the mature crop during the summer and fall. These resilient people established themselves in communities where earlier Hispanics already existed. From settlements in The Rio Grande Valley, in South Texas, communities in the Nueces Strip-between Three Rivers and Corpus Cristi, Texas-and the interior city of San Antonio, Hispanics ventured outward following the maturing cotton crop north and west. From Caldwell County in view of the state's capitol, Hispanics migrated in extended family groups west in pursuit of the maturing cotton crop. By late December most cotton harvesting in western Texas counties, such as Concho, Runnels, Coke, Nolan and Mitchell counties had been completed. Hispanic families then returned home to their communities in time to celebrate Christmas. Because these families sojourned north then west and finally back south on their yearly trek, this odyssey is known as "The Big Swing". Along the route many younger family members decided to stay behind, mostly because they fell in love with someone who was local or had acquired a year-round job with a farmer or rancher. This led to increased diversity in western and northern Texas. From Lubbock to San Angelo, Hispanics now form an integral part of their local communities by performing jobs as teachers, nurses, doctors, lawyers, and administrators as well as other important jobs that contribute to their local economies.