I’ve spent the month of July in Puebla, in central Mexico conducting interviews and collecting materials dealing with immigration from different parts of the state of Puebla to suburban New Jersey. My interviews and travels have brought me from the capital city of Puebla, to the southern municipio of Tehuacán, and to Atlixco, about 45 minutes outside the capital. I’ve been able to connect with the family members of some of my informants from New Jersey, many of whom have graciously brought me around to more remote pueblos to conduct interviews and to get an impression of the life their family members left behind. I have also had the opportunity to collaborate with students and professors from the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla who are involved in similar research projects, and the insights and materials they have given me have been invaluable. Since this is my third time in Puebla, I have also gotten to see some old friends and have begun to master such complex tasks as taking the bus from place to place with minimal confusion.

Two highlights of my stay so far have been a trip to the volcanoes Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl, about 40 km from Puebla, as well as the chance to experience two patron saint festivals—one in the small town of Santa Ana Acozautla, near Atlixco, and the other in Xalinzintla in the municipio of San Nicolás de los Ranchos. During the patron saint festivals the towns’ churches are filled with flowers, the towns rent carnival rides, hold dances, set off fireworks, and serve typical foods and drinks like mole de guajolote and chiles en nogada. They are also an excellent example of the effect of transnational migration, since many immigrants in the United States contribute money for the celebrations, and request pictures and videos of them from their relatives in Mexico. All in all, this trip has been a great opportunity for me to become better acquainted with the state of Puebla, the number one sender of migrants to the New York metropolitan area.