The “sugar” immigration. Binational heterogamous couples in the marriage market of Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico

Abstract

This article addresses the issue of binational marriages in which the male is an American immigrant and the woman is Mexican. Through an ethnographic approach to the phenomenon, elements are provided to understand the socioeconomic and demographic composition of this type of couples. The study focused on heterogamous marriages, in which the American man is at least ten years older than the woman. It was found that in these couples, the man has a higher educational level and economic income. It is an exploratory study that seeks to understand the causes that lead to these civil unions in the marriage market. It uses a qualitative and virtual methodology to approach the phenomenon, for which it has contacted thirteen heterogamous binational couples in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico.