Cultural-Historical Continuity Between Sonora and Arizona

Abstract

Arizona and Sonora share a history of mutual development. Sonorans worked and lived in Arizona long before it became an American possession, and cultural ties continue to unite both states. While Sonora has always been the dominant source of Mexican migrants to Arizona, cultural-historical ties also influence contemporary patterns of undocumented migration from within Sonora. Eastern Sonora, often characterized as an area of stagnation and decline, has maintained migration links with Arizona. Western Sonora is also an important source for undocumented migrants, but not as important as would be expected with its larger population and economic linkages to Arizona. The undocumented migration rate to Arizona for the two regions does not differ. Economic indicators within the state of Sonora are shown to be inadequate to explaining the migration rate, and cultural-historical ties within the Arizona-Sonora culture region are presented as a better explanation.