Torreón

Geography and history

The first victims were Chinese agricultural workers killed in orchards and gardens by advancing revolutionary forces on 13 May 1911.^[2] The massacre was an expression of anti-Chinese racism that swept North America in the 19th and early 20th centuries.^[2] The massacre killed half of Torreón’s Chinese population at the time.^[2] Mexico agreed to pay 3.1 million pesos in gold in reparations to China, but the payment was never made.^[2]

Nobody was ever charged, tried, or convicted over the massacre in Torreón.^[2] Revolutionary general Pancho Villa was the most notable figure to capture Torreón, which was seized multiple times during the Mexican Revolution.^[3] In 1911, revolutionaries killed 303 Chinese immigrants in Torreón over a span of ten hours, an event known as the Torreón massacre.^[3] An important convention held in Torreón during the revolution resulted in an agreement among the rebel forces.^[3]

Standing 21.80 meters tall, the Cristo de las Noas statue is located on a hilltop that also contains a Catholic church and provides a panoramic view of Torreón.^[1]

What the cited sources add

Before the massacre, Chinese migrants opened a bank, built a tram connecting Torreón with Gómez Palacios, and ran most local laundries.^[2] Some locals, including a lumberyard owner, sheltered Chinese residents from the mob.^[2] Most survivors fled Torreón, though some later returned, and the local Chinese community now numbers about 1,000.^[2] As part of a series of events acknowledging difficult periods in Mexico's past, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador planned to go to Torreón to apologize for the massacre.^[2]

According to a report, local historians regarded the massacre as merely a minor story.^[2] The Chinese community in Torreón, while not the largest in Mexico, was the wealthiest, as stated in a news article.^[2] In his book, Herbert argues that anti-Chinese prejudice was widespread in Torreón and challenges the idea that the massacre was a spontaneous event.^[2]