The Broadside The Latino South
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Oct 9, 2025 In this discussion, Cecilia Márquez, Hunt Family Assistant Professor of History at Duke University and author of Making the Latino South, explores the nuanced history of Latinos in the South. She reveals how often-overlooked Latino contributions shaped the Civil Rights Movement. The conversation dives into the intriguing history of the South of the Border attraction, highlighting its mixed cultural messaging and ties to racial dynamics. Márquez also examines how Latino identity has evolved in the region, emphasizing the complex interplay of race and community.
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Latinos In The Civil Rights Movement
- Cecilia Márquez met Luis Zapata, a former United Farm Workers organizer who moved to Mississippi to work with SNCC.
- That encounter made her realize Latinos were active in the civil rights movement and inspired her book.
South Of The Border As A Time Capsule
- South of the Border is a Mexican-themed roadside rest stop on I-95 built as an immersive attraction full of Pedro statues and sombrero roofs.
- Cecilia Márquez calls it "a racist Disneyland" that reflects stereotyped imaginaries of Mexicanness.
Entertainment As Racial Escape
- Alan Schaefer created the attraction to attract travelers and later leaned into Mexican themes to make the site family-friendly and distract from alcohol sales.
- The site became a place white Southerners used to escape racial change and indulge fantasies about Latin America.
