The first known Mexican in Milwaukee was an anomaly. Acclaimed for his musicianship by the city’s German cultural elite, composer Raphael Baez married a German American musician and was fully assimilated into high society. “Although Baez found success and fame in Wisconsin, it was some time before other Mexicans followed,” writes Sergio M. González in his compact immigrant story. The early 20th century saw the first wave of Mexicans to the Badger State, nearly all of them agricultural or industrial workers and often relegated to the worst jobs. As shown by González, a doctoral candidate at UW-Madison’s history department, Mexican Americans were always productive contributors to the state’s economy and, eventually, its culture. Mexicans in Wisconsin name checks the United Community Center, Mexican Fiesta, Voces de la Frontera and other community groups and indicts the racist stereotyping by our current president.
