Posted on 02/23/2006 12:15:19 PM PST by John Jorsett
Dear Mexican, Why do Mexicans call white people gringos?
It was the type of impolite question few people would dare ask in everyday Southern California, much less in print.
"Dear Gabacho," began Gustavo Arellano's answer in the OC Weekly alternative newspaper. "Mexicans do not call gringos gringos. Only gringos call gringos gringos. Mexicans call gringos gabachos."
Arellano went on to explain that gabacho is a sometimes pejorative slang term for white Americans, with "its etymological roots in the Castilian slur for a French national."
"Ask a Mexican," the newspaper headlined it.
The column, published in 2004, was meant as a one-time spoof, but questions began pouring in.
Why are there so many elaborate wrought-iron fences in the Mexican parts of town? What part of the word "illegal" do Mexicans not understand? Why do Mexicans pronounce "shower" as "chower" but "chicken" as "shicken"?
Arellano has responded each week, leading an unusually frank discussion on the intersections where broader society meets the largest and most visible national subgroup in the country: Mexicans.
Nothing is taboo. When asked to explain the inclination of Mexicans to sell oranges at freeway offramps, he fired back:
"What do you want them to sell — Steinways? According to Dolores, who sells oranges off the 91 Freeway/Euclid onramp, in Anaheim, she can earn almost $100 per week hawking the fruit. That averages out to more than $5,000 a year — and since it's the underground economy, she doesn't pay taxes!"
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
The "pendejo" mentioned above is really one of the worst ones. A-hole.
Does anyone (as in "angelenos") use "Chicano" anymore?
Meaning of "pendejo" - think pendulum, something that swings.
Only in America.
Nah....moron, not marron...
mmmm going to have to try this! I make a damn good burrito, My enchiladas ain't to shabby, My tamales need work though. Learned to cook Mexican food from a next door neighbor when I was stationed in San Diego. I taught her Cajun cooking.
Oh yes, Balzac. Something(s) that would tremble at the sight of a Sabatier.
LOL:)
I have never heard anyone use "Chicano" who wasn't in college.
I deal more with Mexican nationals than anything, they certainly don't use the term. And Mexican Americans I deal with just think of themselves as, well, Americans, or Mexican-Americans depending on the context. But never "Chicano".
Oralé....that would be Chebbe.
But I don't live in LA, I live in farm and oil country.
Oh boy! does not sound that good for the old ticker....
"Pachuco was what some Tex-Mexicans called gringos in the 60s here. I thought it was a bad word that meant whore. "
You got it backwards...back then Pachuco was a Mexican punk. It did not relate to good law abiding Mexicans.
No mirlitons, ya know! LOL. The hard part, really, is finding the pomegranates to get the seeds. They're mostly only available in late fall and through winter.
I only make them when I have pomegranates. I tried freezing some seeds one time and it just didn't work. There is a Spanish treat called "membrillo," which is quince paste. It's sort of like a fruit leather. It's red and can be cut into small pieces--I make it myself, but I've used it once as a substitute for the pom seeds - but it's not really "right" because it's not juicy.
Other notes - a "pitaya" is a "tuna," which is the pear/fruit of a prickly pear cactus. I find them year-round now at the regular grocery, but it's TX. The "acitron" is not citron but it's a cactus candy made in Mexico. You can use anything like candied pineapple or any of the fruitcake crystallized fruits. It doesn't need much.
There are recipes online. I don't use one anymore, or I'd post one or a link to one. Try ordering them sometime at an authentic Mexican restaurant--sometimes they will make them for you even if not on the menu. From Fiestas Patrias - Sept 15th, through about now are the best times of year. Mexicans are very proud of making them for gringos.
Me, too - but it's a term that seemed to have disappeared off the radar. I was given to believe it was only Mexicans living in Los Angeles, as to whom it pertained.
Well, I had *one* Mexican in a HS class with me and he used the word all the time, about everybody.
He was Castilian of some kind (meaning I think he was actually from Spain, but we burbanites called him "Mexican"), but a mystery to us. Older than everyone, no visible means of support, no parents, his own apartment, quite handsome, not a greaser, dressed well.
I got the impression the word might mean "pimp" at the time, but someone else said it meant whore. Shows what I know! No one talked about stuff like that back then, except the guys who went to Boys Town in Matamoros.
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