‘Chinese chorizo’, the Mexican sausage grocers from China sold that forged links between the two communities in Tuscon, Arizona

Mexican chorizo is a spicy ground-pork sausage; a version nicknamed ‘Chinese chorizo’ was sold in Chinese grocery stores in Arizona in the early 20th century

Chef Feng-feng Yeh heard about this unity among Mexicans and Chinese dealing with the US’ racist laws, and the Tucson Chinese Chorizo Festival was born

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A vegan chorizo egg roll and a meat chorizo egg roll topped with a fried egg and a papaya and carrot slaw at Boca restaurant in Tucson, Arizona, served as part of the Tuscon Chinese Chorizo Festival. Photo: AP/Terry Tang

Published: 7:15pm, 24 Oct 2022Updated: 9:42am, 25 Oct 2022

If not for the coronavirus pandemic, Feng-Feng Yeh might never have learned about a lesser known chapter of Chinese-American history in her hometown of Tucson, in the US state of Arizona.

Yeh was an executive chef in New York when the shutdown took away her job and career plans. She pulled up stakes and moved back home, turning to her passion for public art.

Looking for inspiration, Yeh delved into the local history of Chinese immigrants, which she’d heard only bits and pieces of. On the Tucson Chinese Cultural Centre website, she learned that Chinese-owned family-run grocery stores were a thriving industry in Tucson from the 1900s on.

More than businesses, they were lifelines for Mexican-American communities. The stores even started preparing Mexican chorizo – the spicy, ground-pork breakfast staple. It earned the nickname “Chinese chorizo”.

Allen Lew points to a display board at the Tucson Chinese Cultural Centre in Tucson, Arizona, highlighting his father’s grocery store business. Photo: AP/Terry Tang

“I was very moved by the story of friendship between Mexican and Chinese Americans at a time when all these pivotal immigration policies were being enacted that were quite racist,” Yeh says.