Mexicantown Margaritaville

The Paczki Principle

Citrusy and refreshing, like a real margarita
Rub salt on your votive holder! Pass the guacamole!! Ole!!!

Who knew Detroit had such close connections to tequila? But a large number of Hispanics who live in Mexicantown can trace their ancestry to Jalisco, the state in western Mexico known for its fields of agave from which the potent liquor is distilled.

Mexicantown is one of the last genuine examples of Detroit's long history as a checkerboard of tightly knit ethnic communities. Latinos first settled the 3.5-square-mile area-sometimes referred to as Southwest Detroit-in the 1920s, and though it was home to a number of other ethnic groups for decades, the area retained much of its Hispanic cultural flavor as residents of other neighborhoods scattered and those communities lost their distinctive identities. Neither a government effort to deport Detroit's Hispanics during a xenophobic phase of the Great Depression in the 1930s, nor the incursion of the I-75 freeway in the mid-1960s managed to erase Mexicantown's unique cultural vibrancy. A strong sense of community and well-organized business-development and social organizations has kept the neighborhood alive and even thriving over the years.

That spirit is visible in the numerous Mexican cantinas and taquerias that dot the commercial strips of Mexicantown along Vernor and Bagley avenues. Many other businesses in the area cater to Latino families, even tortilla factories, and the community is also welcoming to new immigrants from other parts of the Latin-American diaspora. A number of annual festivals and events, like the Cinco de Mayo parade and the summertime Mercados, or market days, continue to celebrate and promote the heritage of metro Detroit's estimated 95,000 Mexican-Americans, about 40,000 of whom hail from Jalisco.

One of Mexicantown's landmark buildings, the Hotel Yorba, was immortalized in a White Stripes song of the same name thanks to frontman Jack White, who grew up in the area.

Read more:

Casa de Unidad Cultural Arts Center

Mexicantown Community Development Corporation