Mujeres Olvidadas Fronterizas: Forgotten Women Entrepreneurs in Mexican Border Towns
Abstract:
<p>On the Mexico border during the early to late twentieth century, four women—Delfina Rochin de Vergobbi, Alice Gatliff, Matilde Olague Alvillar, and Rosantina Calvetti—have been instrumental in shaping landscapes in Nogales and Agua Prieta, Sonora, Palomas, Chihuahua, and Acuña, Coahuila, respectively. These pioneering women entrepreneurs succeeded at a time when few businesswomen could be found on the Mexican border. Several launched, operated, and stocked with exotic merchandise the first curio stores in their respective towns. Through the production and distribution of postcards, these women advertised their retail enterprises and promoted tourism and popular landmarks in the towns. This presentation recounts some of the contributions and landscape signatures forged by these forgotten border women. </p>
Keywords: women entrepreneurs, Mexico border towns, tourist promotion, Dennis Dingemans Special Session
Authors:
Daniel D Arreola, Placitas, New Mexico; Submitting Author / Primary Presenter