Dear El Gabacho,
I appreciate your trying to be politically correct regarding what to call us olive skinned, primarily from the south of the border and southwest of the midwest. Although, I must remind you that many of us do not speak our native tongue as well as some of you gabachos do. Don't feel bad, we will usually tell you if you have offended us or playfully laugh at you behind your back. We don't always know what to call ourselves either on that crazy census report, so we call each other names like compa, chica, bro, hija, girl, betty, primo and sometimes (when one has done a bad thing) more colorful names that sound much more fun in spanish than in english. Also, I am working on the population growth within our "population" (because many in my extended family are averaging 4 births as opposed to 3).
-Srta AR
Querida Srta AR,
Thank you for bringing up a great point. Not all Latinos speak Spanish. I remember when years ago I met a Latina co-worker and I started speaking Spanish with her until she cut me off, explaining that she didn't speak Spanish. When she was growing up, in the 60's, there was a tremendous fear that Latinos would not integrate or learn English, so her parents purposefully did not speak to her in their native Spanish tongue, and instead, spoke only the English that they knew, relying on the schools and her peers to teach her the rest. Now she only speaks English , albeit with a beautiful Mexican accent, but does not speak her "native" Spanish. I wonder what her padres would think if they knew El Gabacho was speaking only Spanish to his hijo?
Gracias also for bringing up the reproduction rate of your hermanos y hermanas in the US. Latinos average 3 hijos per family while the birth maintenance rate is 1.9, partly contributing to the relative growth of the Latino population in the US.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
What's a Gringo? What's a Gabacho?
Dear Gabacho,
What does gringo really mean? Should I be offended when I hear it? Where does that word come from? What about Gabacho?
Curious Gringo
Querido gringo curioso,
In a nutshell these words mean "white person" . While there are many theories about the origins of the word gringo (prounounced GREEN-go) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gringo the most likely seems to be that it is a derived from the word griego (gree-EH-go), which means Greek, as in, "It's Greek to me"...it's foreign or unintelligible to me. However, the word of the times (at least in the US and Mexico, and 65% of the US Latino population is Mexican) is gabacho, which comes from the Spanish (Spain) as a derogatory term for the French. Nowadays the Spanish (Spain) use the term guiri (pronounced GUEE-dee) for "white people" and Argentinos use the word Yanqui (pronounced SHAHN-kee). There is debate as to whether or not these words are pejorative, but context always plays an important roll.
What does gringo really mean? Should I be offended when I hear it? Where does that word come from? What about Gabacho?
Curious Gringo
Querido gringo curioso,
In a nutshell these words mean "white person" . While there are many theories about the origins of the word gringo (prounounced GREEN-go) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gringo the most likely seems to be that it is a derived from the word griego (gree-EH-go), which means Greek, as in, "It's Greek to me"...it's foreign or unintelligible to me. However, the word of the times (at least in the US and Mexico, and 65% of the US Latino population is Mexican) is gabacho, which comes from the Spanish (Spain) as a derogatory term for the French. Nowadays the Spanish (Spain) use the term guiri (pronounced GUEE-dee) for "white people" and Argentinos use the word Yanqui (pronounced SHAHN-kee). There is debate as to whether or not these words are pejorative, but context always plays an important roll.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Washing Dishes
Dear Gabacho,
I've never been to Mexico but I've been all around the U.S. Wherever you go you see Mexicans washing dishes, doing construction, cleaning, and other brainless activities. Where are the smart Mexicans?
Just curious, not racist.
Dear Curious,
It is no secret that many Mexican immigrants are here to work, and because of the economic situation in Mexico, it sometimes comes at the expense of a formal education. Sometimes you must make a choice between school or work. People need to understand that 1) uneducated does NOT (necessarily) mean unintelligent and 2) that there are plenty of smart (and well educated) Mexicans in and outside of the U.S., doing what their gabacho counterparts are doing...being doctors, lawyers, translators, pilots, teachers, managers, and any other number of chambas at which you can shake a palo mexicano. But it behooves us all to take this into consideration: if you were forced, economically, to migrate (legally or otherwise) to Mexico to work, what prestigious job would you hold down? It's hard to be white collared when you can't speak the language.
I've never been to Mexico but I've been all around the U.S. Wherever you go you see Mexicans washing dishes, doing construction, cleaning, and other brainless activities. Where are the smart Mexicans?
Just curious, not racist.
Dear Curious,
It is no secret that many Mexican immigrants are here to work, and because of the economic situation in Mexico, it sometimes comes at the expense of a formal education. Sometimes you must make a choice between school or work. People need to understand that 1) uneducated does NOT (necessarily) mean unintelligent and 2) that there are plenty of smart (and well educated) Mexicans in and outside of the U.S., doing what their gabacho counterparts are doing...being doctors, lawyers, translators, pilots, teachers, managers, and any other number of chambas at which you can shake a palo mexicano. But it behooves us all to take this into consideration: if you were forced, economically, to migrate (legally or otherwise) to Mexico to work, what prestigious job would you hold down? It's hard to be white collared when you can't speak the language.
Advice on learning Spanish
Dear Gabacho,
I've tried to learn Spanish many times, took high school Spanish, adult continuing education, Spanish CD's in my car, but I still can't SPEAK Spanish. Any advice?
Frustrada in Francisco
Querida Frustrada,
You have already overcome the most difficult obstacle...tener la ganas...you genuinely want to learn. There is a growing trend in this country to learn passively. Sit in a class, listen to a CD, pay money for some program and you will learn. Unfortunately, learning a language requires active participation and is a social experience. I have two simple and inexpensive tips. Go to your local used book store and buy an old Spanish textbook for a few bucks. Read and study this text because everything you need is in there. If you don't have the motivation to actively engage your brain for a few minutes a day, then you may not have what it takes to learn a new language. Next, find yourself an intercambio. This will be a person that speaks Spanish that wants to learn English. There is no shortage of these people, te lo aseguro. You can ask a Spanish speaker with whom you work, hang a flyer at a Spanish speaking church or a hotel where Spanish speakers work, your local grocery, etc. Then get together with your new cuate and teach eachother your respective languages. Nobody said learning a language was easy or comfortable, pero hay que quitarse la verguenza. Set goals and put it on your calendar. In a year from now, will you still be the same monolingual gabacha that you are now?
I've tried to learn Spanish many times, took high school Spanish, adult continuing education, Spanish CD's in my car, but I still can't SPEAK Spanish. Any advice?
Frustrada in Francisco
Querida Frustrada,
You have already overcome the most difficult obstacle...tener la ganas...you genuinely want to learn. There is a growing trend in this country to learn passively. Sit in a class, listen to a CD, pay money for some program and you will learn. Unfortunately, learning a language requires active participation and is a social experience. I have two simple and inexpensive tips. Go to your local used book store and buy an old Spanish textbook for a few bucks. Read and study this text because everything you need is in there. If you don't have the motivation to actively engage your brain for a few minutes a day, then you may not have what it takes to learn a new language. Next, find yourself an intercambio. This will be a person that speaks Spanish that wants to learn English. There is no shortage of these people, te lo aseguro. You can ask a Spanish speaker with whom you work, hang a flyer at a Spanish speaking church or a hotel where Spanish speakers work, your local grocery, etc. Then get together with your new cuate and teach eachother your respective languages. Nobody said learning a language was easy or comfortable, pero hay que quitarse la verguenza. Set goals and put it on your calendar. In a year from now, will you still be the same monolingual gabacha that you are now?
Why are there so many Hispanics?
Dear Gabacho,
Why are there so many Hispanics in the US? Also, is that cool to say? Hispanics?
White guy in Washington
Dear White Guy, there are 3 main reasons for the large and growing Hispanic population in the U.S. First, sharing a border with Mexico, a nation that pays 1/11 the U.S.' minimum wage ($5.85 / hr in the U.S. vs. $4.15 / day in Mexico) is significant incentive for many to travel to el Norte. That would be like you moving to Canada to make $60/hr as a minimum wage. Second, there have been Spanish speakers in the U.S. since the Spanish explorer Pedro Menendez de Aviles founded St. Augustine (the oldest continually populated city in the U.S.) in 1565. In fact, much of the U.S. has always been Spanish speaking. Present-day Arizona, California, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado, Nevada and Utah were Mexico before los gabachos claimed the land as spoils of the Mexican American war. On February 2, 1848 the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, ceding 55% of Mexico in exchange for $15 million dollars. Third and finally, Latinos are reproducing at a rate of 3 births per latina, compared to 1.8 births per gabacha and 2.1 birth per african american.
Whether or not it is cool to say, "Hispanics" is a matter of perspective. I find myself saying "Spanish speaker" a lot, because often times that is really the qualification that is relevant, and there is no disputing "Spanish speaker".
Why are there so many Hispanics in the US? Also, is that cool to say? Hispanics?
White guy in Washington
Dear White Guy, there are 3 main reasons for the large and growing Hispanic population in the U.S. First, sharing a border with Mexico, a nation that pays 1/11 the U.S.' minimum wage ($5.85 / hr in the U.S. vs. $4.15 / day in Mexico) is significant incentive for many to travel to el Norte. That would be like you moving to Canada to make $60/hr as a minimum wage. Second, there have been Spanish speakers in the U.S. since the Spanish explorer Pedro Menendez de Aviles founded St. Augustine (the oldest continually populated city in the U.S.) in 1565. In fact, much of the U.S. has always been Spanish speaking. Present-day Arizona, California, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado, Nevada and Utah were Mexico before los gabachos claimed the land as spoils of the Mexican American war. On February 2, 1848 the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, ceding 55% of Mexico in exchange for $15 million dollars. Third and finally, Latinos are reproducing at a rate of 3 births per latina, compared to 1.8 births per gabacha and 2.1 birth per african american.
Whether or not it is cool to say, "Hispanics" is a matter of perspective. I find myself saying "Spanish speaker" a lot, because often times that is really the qualification that is relevant, and there is no disputing "Spanish speaker".
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