Internal organization of Mexican immigrant associations: an assessment from the place of destination

This paper analyzes internal process of Mexican inmigrants\ua0associations in different cities of California. The study is based on data collected from twelve first level associations\ua0or “clubes de oriundos”. Using qualitative techniques, wedocument the complexity of the internal organization of\ua0these associations, as well as the variety of individual and\ua0social efforts to keep them working. The research highlights\ua0the importance of the role played by the localities of destination\ua0in our understanding of the organization process of\ua0Mexican immigrants, as well as the possibilities of their collective\ua0actions. In this way, we discuss and complement the\ua0studies focused on Hometown Associations from the Mexican localities of origin. Our findings show that the "clubes\ua0de oriundos” are complex associations that impose a high\ua0organizational cost on its members, as well as spheres of\ua0sociability that members use to satisfy a set of social needs\ua0related to their position as immigrants