# Amish in Tijuana



## lbs_momma

There is a compound in Tijuana close to us in Playas where some Amish live (forgive me, I'm assuming they are Amish but possibly Quaker or Mennonite).

What I wonder is how they interact with the community?

I do see them at Walmart and Calimax frequently so not sure if they grow their own food.

I wonder if they buying or selling or creating goods here for financial sustainment? I am never brave enough to stop them and ask.

Does anyone know how they create income here?


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## perropedorro

lbs_momma said:


> There is a compound in Tijuana close to us in Playas where some Amish live (forgive me, I'm assuming they are Amish but possibly Quaker or Mennonite).
> 
> What I wonder is how they interact with the community?
> 
> I do see them at Walmart and Calimax frequently so not sure if they grow their own food.
> 
> I wonder if they buying or selling or creating goods here for financial sustainment? I am never brave enough to stop them and ask.
> 
> Does anyone know how they create income here?


Interesting. I've never seen Amish or Mennonites in TJ, but given the diverse accumulation of other folks it wouldn't be surprising. Although they tend to be farm people, they're often found in big Mexican cities selling cheese. What's the location and nature of this community near Playas?


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## lbs_momma

perropedorro said:


> Interesting. I've never seen Amish or Mennonites in TJ, but given the diverse accumulation of other folks it wouldn't be surprising. Although they tend to be farm people, they're often found in big Mexican cities selling cheese. What's the location and nature of this community near Playas?


I really know nothing about them other than seeing them near our beach a lot, near local hotels and sometimes they host visitors at a local house in our neighborhood. 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g150776-i24858240-Tijuana_Baja_California.html

I know they use a van to cross the border into San Diego, as I see them there also. They do keep to themselves pretty good though, so I guess I'm not surprised you haven't seen them.


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## RVGRINGO

Those communities have been in Mexico for generations, so most are Mexican citizens. They often earn cash by selling their produce; cheeses, baked goods, etc., and sometimes operating "tourist traps", just as you might find in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, or other such places.


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## chicois8

When I was living in Nayarit once in awhile the Mennonites would appear in Bucerias standing on the center island of highway 200 selling cheese and cookies.......


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## Isla Verde

Here's a concise history of the Mexican Mennonite community: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mennonites_in_Mexicohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mennonites_in_Mexico


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## perropedorro

Isla Verde said:


> Here's a concise history of the Mexican Mennonite community: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mennonites_in_Mexicohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mennonites_in_Mexico


Yup, they've been there for a while and other not-quite-mainstream Christian groups from the U.S. have also taken refuge in Mexico, starting with Irish Catholics who formed the Batallón de San Patricio. Mormons also migrated south to establish a presence in Chihuahua and Sonora, even producing the Romney political clan that backwashed to NOB. Mennonites fit right in. Fortunately Mexico hasn't taken in any of the real religious crazies, like the Jim Jones cult that went to Guyana and made tragic history.


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## lbs_momma

Isla Verde said:


> Here's a concise history of the Mexican Mennonite community: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mennonites_in_Mexicohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mennonites_in_Mexico



Thanks for the wiki reference!

Had no idea the Mennonites were the creators of Queso Chihuahua:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queso_Chihuahua


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## NCas

I've seem them in Playas de Tijuana too, either walking on the beach or by a hotel. I've never seen them sell anything though, but when I was living in Queretaro I would see some of them sell their products on the street though that was rare. I would not mind trying their products but I would not know where to even look for them.


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## lbs_momma

NCas said:


> I've seem them in Playas de Tijuana too, either walking on the beach or by a hotel. I've never seen them sell anything though, but when I was living in Queretaro I would see some of them sell their products on the street though that was rare. I would not mind trying their products but I would not know where to even look for them.


Well I have to stop them and ask now  

I'll let you know @NCas if I find out where in Playas or TJ they sell things.


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## NCas

lbs_momma said:


> Well I have to stop them and ask now
> 
> I'll let you know @NCas if I find out where in Playas or TJ they sell things.


Yes! please do so if you ever find out. I'm also wondering what item they sell.


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## ElPocho

They are down here in Merida.
They are Mexicans, even though their Spanish does not seem like they were born here.
I saw one and his daughter walk past my house yesterday


Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk


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## ojosazules11

ElPocho said:


> They are down here in Merida.
> They are Mexicans, even though their Spanish does not seem like they were born here.


Their Spanish sounds like a second language because it generally is. First language in most of the Mennonite Colonies is still German or Plattdeutsch (low German). Many Mexican Mennonites still have Canadian citizenship as well. As outlined in the Wikipedia article, the Mennonites who moved to Mexico were more conservative and isolationist, and they emigrated from Canada to Mexico in response to being required to enroll their children in public school in Canada.

I’m Mennonite, same ancestry, but less conservative ancestors in that they didn’t choose to continue in separate enclaves. Also we don’t wear specific clothing, we don’t have restrictions on technology, etc. Most Mennonites in Mexico are Dutch/German background, with sojourns through Prussia and Russia (Ukraine). Amish are from the Swiss side of the Mennonite/Anabaptist family, a different branch. I’m from a “mixed” Mennonite family: Dutch-Prussian on my dad’s side, Swiss on my mom’s, including some Amish ancestors. I see one of my uncles is cited in the references for the Wikipedia article.


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## lbs_momma

NCas said:


> Yes! please do so if you ever find out. I'm also wondering what item they sell.


Ran into a group at Walmart today and confirmed that the compound in Playas is actually a medical center. I did read somewhere that a lot of them do relocate here because of the less stringent requirements on medical treatments.

Sweet lady but you should have seen the look on her face when I asked her if they sell any cheese


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## NCas

lbs_momma said:


> Sweet lady but you should have seen the look on her face when I asked her if they sell any cheese


So that's a 'no' on the cheese. The search continues for a good cheese place in Playas.


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## lbs_momma

NCas said:


> So that's a 'no' on the cheese. The search continues for a good cheese place in Playas.


LOL
She did tell me that the Mennonites are also in the area and do sell cheese. I think I've seen them come door to door in Playas. The two cutest boys in overalls, baseball caps and cowboy boots showed up one day, said they were from Chihuahua and were selling cheese and cookies. I then saw them again at the border a few days later. 

They couldn't have been more than 8 and 11 years old - dressed like this:
mennonites.jpg

It's all becoming more clear now - flag them down if you see them again ~


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## Bobbyb

The Mennonites in Chihuahua originated in Canada. Manitoba. They are very industrious and have trailer and metal fab shops as well as apple orchards. They are known to smuggle drugs into Canada when visiting relatives. I am always shocked at that fact! They have special citizenship rights.


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## Orfin

Saw a guy in the busy streets of Mazatlan selling what looked like petty baked goods, or could have been cheese shaped like baked buns. 
He looked not like your typical Mexican. He had a lot more of the Germanic or European look. Like a white ******, except hustling petty goods in the streets and dressed just like the Amish men do. He didn’t have the hat though.
Also you could see the very reserved and simple nature he had, just by how he carried himself. He stood out as definitely not like the others. In every way. Even how he talked.
He was definitley Mexican though with how his Spanish sounded and the worn look in his clean young face, probably from all the traffic smoke and roughng it in the sun all day and maybe even sleeping in the streets until he sold all his stock before making his way back to whatever far back-country settlement he came out of.

Menonites. Not Just Mexico. They range all over through central America and down through South America. They stick so much to themselves that their look is still very much preserved in the orignal look they came with from Europe so long ago. 
I heard some people in Latin America refer to them as “the Germans”. I guess most of them came from Germany into latin America.


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## lbs_momma

Orfin said:


> I heard some people in Latin America refer to them as “the Germans”. I guess most of them came from Germany into latin America.


Yeah - the little boys that visited our house did say they were also German. Very polite, well spoken boys. Waaaaaay more behaved than my boys 

I just really admire their ability to survive and adapt.

I see the same with the Haitians that have come to Tijuana so recently. Hundreds have decided to make a go of it here and have started selling on the corners and border crossing with whatever product they can come up with. Also very polite and are making an effort with a handful of Spanish words to get them by. A smile also goes a long way for them...


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## canyonbreeze

I've seen them in Playas often. They have several houses at the south end. I used to see them often coming and going from a cancer hospital at the north end. I don't know if some of them maybe worked there or were getting treatment. I've also seen the same people in San Diego at tourist places. They are light skinned German or Dutch looking people. I'll ask them next time I see them.


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## sowjourner

lbs_momma said:


> There is a compound in Tijuana close to us in Playas where some Amish live (forgive me, I'm assuming they are Amish but possibly Quaker or Mennonite).
> 
> What I wonder is how they interact with the community?
> 
> I do see them at Walmart and Calimax frequently so not sure if they grow their own food.
> 
> I wonder if they buying or selling or creating goods here for financial sustainment? I am never brave enough to stop them and ask.
> 
> Does anyone know how they create income here?


Actually the Amish and Mennonites travel down to TJ/Playas for medical services because it's cheaper and for alt cancer treatments. Amish normally travel by train. the Mennonites can fly. Most all Mennonites do not dress is such a fashion that you could detect. So the Amish site see, etc while here so that's why you see them around.


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## Baja Vicki M.

The Cancer treatment centers in Tijuana are world renowned for having very good results with stem cell infusions, diet, and herbs. The Mennonite and Amish communities are not keen on invasive surgeries and are highly ANTI- nuclear - so no radiation. I lived side by side with the community in Upstate NY when a large number migrated following 3 mile island. Anyways, they keep a community here in TJ so that members from around the country can come here and stay for cancer treatment.


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## surabi

There is an award-winning movie filmed in a Mennonite community in northern Mexico, well worth watching. All of the actors were actual members of the community. 

The plot is a fairly standard one- a love affair between a married man and a widow in the community.

It's one of the slowest movies I've ever seen, but that seemed like it was quite intentional- contrasting the quiet rural life and landscape (one part has the camera focused on a barn for about 5 full minutes, with no change except birds flying by, and farm sounds in the distance) with the excitement the protaganists find in their affair. It also has a lot of what is called magical realism, a very Latin American style of writing and film making.

It's a movie that is quite haunting and sticks with you.



https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Light


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## Whitney111

lbs_momma said:


> I really know nothing about them other than seeing them near our beach a lot, near local hotels and sometimes they host visitors at a local house in our neighborhood.
> 
> Playas De Tijuana: There is an Amish community who moved to Playas De Tijuana from Wisconsin. J - Picture of Tijuana, Baja California Norte - Tripadvisor
> 
> I know they use a van to cross the border into San Diego, as I see them there also. They do keep to themselves pretty good though, so I guess I'm not surprised you haven't seen them.


About 30 go to Carl’s Jr.’s every day for lunch. In an upscale shopping center.


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