Editorial Voice

Dear Mexican: Do Mexicans sling racial slurs at each other or casually refer to each other as “wabs,” similar to the way blacks call each other “nigger?” What’s your take on the whole “nigger” thing, anyway?Kingfish the Cabrón Dear Blackfaced Wab: What do I think of “nigger”? Um, it’s bad?…

Dear Mexican: Why is rock en español so mellow? You’d think that with so much injustice, Mexican rock bands would sound angrier.El Gigante de Anaheim Dear Anaheim Giant: You’d think so, right? Back in the Mexican’s rockero days, groups like Maldita Vecindad, Café Tacuba, El Gran Silencio and so many…

Dear Mexican: I have a hard time believing that the immigrants we see at Home Depot are the best Mexico has to offer. Why can’t we entice more of the cream of the crop of Mexicans to come up north? (Mexico has the richest man in the world, so someone…

Dear Mexican: I live in Tucson and go to Mexico frequently. I kinda like Mexicans. Many Mexicans die in the Sonoran Desert in the Tucson border sector, trying to get to el otro lado. This is because your buddies at la migra in the L.A. sector have pushed them over…

Dear Mexican: I’m in college, and I’m taking a class called Latina Pop Culture. I thought it would be educational and informative about the rich Latino/a culture, and I was eager to learn. But the moment I entered the class, it was evident that I, as a white girl, would…

Dear Mexican: How did the patron saint of Mexico get a name derived from Arabic?El Moro Judio Dear Jewish Moor: You’re referring to the Virgin of Guadalupe, the brown-skinned apparition of the Virgin Mary who tradition says appeared before the Aztec peasant Juan Diego in December 1531 just outside modern-day…

Dear Mexican: The other day, my Italian boyfriend asked me, “If you had the choice to be any nationality in the world, which one would you choose?” Being the proud Latina that I am, I said, “Mexican.” He said, “Why? What have Mexicans done that is so great?” The only…

Gentle cabrones: Behold my annual Mexican Christmas guide, in which I recommend the best Mexi-themed libros for you to give to your loved ones this Navidad instead of yet another tamale to unwrap. Buy them at your local bookstore or order online, but do buy! Lowriting: Shots, Rides & Stories…

Dear Mexican: I’m a third-year university student, a liberal-studies and Spanish major. My family, extended and immediate, always like the chisme. During a family carne asada, we were all talking when one of my tías asked me what I was doing with my life; she and the rest of my…

Dear Mexican: I teach writing at a local community college. My students are writing their final essays on a local problem; I have one student who has decided to write about illegal immigration (specifically Mexican). We were discussing, as a class, each student’s project, and this student made a comment…

Dear Mexican: I was reading the comments (big mistake) on an article I recently read regarding St. Charles, Missouri, adopting Arizona-style immigration law. I was shocked at the amount of people who support this law, and my question to you is, why can’t people see the bad implications of that…

Dear Mexican: Why do Mexicans and gabachos resemble each other so much? Both are very conservative about sex, marriage and family. Both are very Christian, either Catholic or Protestant. Both keep similar attitudes toward immigrants. Both are very patriotic or nationalistic. Both deal with the same social issues, like high…