Dear Gabacho,
I'm going to be speaking to a group of (Spanish speaking only) Mexican immigrants in a ski resort town in Colorado about applying for a job in the U.S. and preparing themselves to be interviewed for a job. What advice would you give to them?
Hiring in the High Country
Dear High,
Beside the usual advice of arriving on time, having a neat appearance, researching the company ahead of time, etc. I would stress that they speak about their previous experiences in Mexico, either through an interpreter or by translating their resume / letter of interest. It is important to realize that just because someone comes to the United States and cleans rooms does not mean that that is all that they know. I am constantly surprised at the diversity of experiences that immigrants have had and the utter lack of acknowledgement of those experiences on the part of the people that manage them at work.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Fence between US and Mexico
Dear Gabacho,
I heard that we're building a fence between us and Mexico. What's going on with that?
Wondering in Washington (state)
Dear Wondering,
The border between the United States and Mexico is a diverse stretch of land 1,950 miles long that runs between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, crossing desert, mountains, Indian reservation, gorges, rivers, and high density urban areas. On October 26, 2006 the Secure Fence Act was enacted, which instructed the Department of Homeland Security to secure about one-third of the 1,950-mile border between US and Mexico with 700 miles of double-layered fencing. As of February 2008, 302 miles of barrier have been constructed mostly on federal land in Arizona, New Mexico, and California, and slightly over half (approx. 165 miles) of this has been built under the new law. Is the fence good or bad or even working? That seems to depend largely on whom you ask and where you live. The Christian Science Monitor has a very interesting article and a three part audio series (approx. 2.5 minutes each) about the fence. Most interesting is the diversity of opinions on the fence from the people that live and work near it everyday.
I heard that we're building a fence between us and Mexico. What's going on with that?
Wondering in Washington (state)
Dear Wondering,
The border between the United States and Mexico is a diverse stretch of land 1,950 miles long that runs between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, crossing desert, mountains, Indian reservation, gorges, rivers, and high density urban areas. On October 26, 2006 the Secure Fence Act was enacted, which instructed the Department of Homeland Security to secure about one-third of the 1,950-mile border between US and Mexico with 700 miles of double-layered fencing. As of February 2008, 302 miles of barrier have been constructed mostly on federal land in Arizona, New Mexico, and California, and slightly over half (approx. 165 miles) of this has been built under the new law. Is the fence good or bad or even working? That seems to depend largely on whom you ask and where you live. The Christian Science Monitor has a very interesting article and a three part audio series (approx. 2.5 minutes each) about the fence. Most interesting is the diversity of opinions on the fence from the people that live and work near it everyday.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Are Latinos racist?
Dear Gabacho,
Why don't Democratic Latinos support Obama? Is it because he's black?
Black guy in Atlanta
Dear Black Guy,
Why don't the Obama Latinos support Clinton? Is it because she's a woman? To answer your real question let me just say that I think that some Latinos are racist and some aren't, and everywhere in between, just like among any other group of people. I think that the reason Latino voters have been supporting Clinton in the primaries instead of Obama is that Clinton has name recognition, and the positive economic associations that go with that name. That'd be my guess.
Why don't Democratic Latinos support Obama? Is it because he's black?
Black guy in Atlanta
Dear Black Guy,
Why don't the Obama Latinos support Clinton? Is it because she's a woman? To answer your real question let me just say that I think that some Latinos are racist and some aren't, and everywhere in between, just like among any other group of people. I think that the reason Latino voters have been supporting Clinton in the primaries instead of Obama is that Clinton has name recognition, and the positive economic associations that go with that name. That'd be my guess.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Not Motivated in New Mexico
Dear Gabacho,
I work as a Human Resource director for a resort and about 15% of our employees are Spanish speakers. Many have been with us for years. We have a couple of ladies in housekeeping that have been with our company for over 12 years, doing the same job! How is it that someone could work in the same job for so long? Wouldn't they want to move up a little? And how can they still not speak English??
(are they) Not Motivated in New Mexico?
Dear (are they) Not Motivated,
Of course if you spoke Spanish, or they spoke English, you could ask your employees what's going on. But the obvious language barrier is also masking a significant cultural barrier. Getting a promotion might not be on your employees' wish list. A promotion could alienate them from their peers and could mean more exposure to guests and English speakers, which could be an uncomfortable and stressful proposition. Your employee might be content to work in the same job because it's reliable, predictable, and she gets to work with her friends, family and peers, all of whom are fellow Spanish speakers. This also helps explain why she hasn't learned English yet.
"Nativist theories hold that children are born with an innate propensity for language acquisition, and that this ability makes the task of learning a first language easier than it would otherwise be." But language acquisition is also hampered simply by being an adult. Most adults work, have family and friends, hobbies, housework, bills to pay, kids, etc. They're simply too busy to go to task with learning a new language.
I work as a Human Resource director for a resort and about 15% of our employees are Spanish speakers. Many have been with us for years. We have a couple of ladies in housekeeping that have been with our company for over 12 years, doing the same job! How is it that someone could work in the same job for so long? Wouldn't they want to move up a little? And how can they still not speak English??
(are they) Not Motivated in New Mexico?
Dear (are they) Not Motivated,
Of course if you spoke Spanish, or they spoke English, you could ask your employees what's going on. But the obvious language barrier is also masking a significant cultural barrier. Getting a promotion might not be on your employees' wish list. A promotion could alienate them from their peers and could mean more exposure to guests and English speakers, which could be an uncomfortable and stressful proposition. Your employee might be content to work in the same job because it's reliable, predictable, and she gets to work with her friends, family and peers, all of whom are fellow Spanish speakers. This also helps explain why she hasn't learned English yet.
"Nativist theories hold that children are born with an innate propensity for language acquisition, and that this ability makes the task of learning a first language easier than it would otherwise be." But language acquisition is also hampered simply by being an adult. Most adults work, have family and friends, hobbies, housework, bills to pay, kids, etc. They're simply too busy to go to task with learning a new language.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Not all latinos hablan espanol
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.
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.
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.
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