Abstract
Galicia, a national minority and autonomous community of northern Spain, is often defined by its long history of emigration. While not the most common destination of Galician migrants, those that emigrated from the municipalities of Sada and Bergondo in Coruña had uncharacteristically large rates of migration to the United States. These migrants and their children continue to sustain strong ties to the perceived homeland and engage in repeat visits. Theories of transnationalism help to explain the continuity of identity, but it is with qualitative interviews with homeland tourists in Galicia that this paper will show how it is specifically through frequent visits to the homeland that these Galician-Americans are able to generationally sustain ties to the homeland and create a sense of national belonging. The frequent visits make it possible for many to create a strong Galician identity that is both transnational and locally situated. Through looking at the way these homeland visits construct a Galician identity, we can begin to form a new perspective on Galician nationalism, one that is reflected in the migrants and defined by mobility.
Highlights
IntroductionGalicia is an autonomous region and national minority in northwestern Spain with a long history of emigration
Galicia is an autonomous region and national minority in northwestern Spain with a long history of emigration. Much of this emigration has been towards Argentina, Cuba, and other Latin American countries; this research focuses on the migrants who immigrated to the United States, an area that has been surprisingly understudied
Galician-American homeland tourists studied in this paper view regular visits to Galicia as essential to constructing a Galician identity
Summary
Galicia is an autonomous region and national minority in northwestern Spain with a long history of emigration. Much of this emigration has been towards Argentina, Cuba, and other Latin American countries; this research focuses on the migrants who immigrated to the United States, an area that has been surprisingly understudied. Galician migrants to the US and their descendants are an example of sustained ties to the homeland even generations after immigration These Galician-American identities are obtainable through repeated homeland visits within a transnational field of continual mobility. Notion of imagined communities, this paper presents Galician-American national identity not as a static construction but rather actively imagined through transnational practices and in conjunction with complex identity negotiations. This research takes the approach that there are multiple ways in which Galicia is given meaning, focusing less on uncovering the origins and definition of Galician nationalism and more on the ways in which the nation is constructed or imagined by homeland visitors for purposeful aims
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