Ask a Mexican

Dear Mexican: Do Mexicans Sling Racial Slurs at Each Other?

By Gustavo Arellano
Feb 5, 2015

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?

By Gustavo Arellano
Jan 29, 2015

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: What's With the Regional Rivalries in Mexico?

By Gustavo Arellano
Jan 22, 2015

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: Which Is Better – Cholula or Tapatío?

By Gustavo Arellano
Jan 15, 2015

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: What Is a Real Latina?

By Gustavo Arellano
Jan 8, 2015

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...
Ask a Mexican: The History of the Virgin of Guadalupe

By Gustavo Arellano
Jan 1, 2015

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...
Ask a Mexican: Why Should I Be Proud to Be Mexican?

By Gustavo Arellano
Dec 25, 2014

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...
A Guide to the Best Mexi-Themed Books for Holiday Giving

By Gustavo Arellano
Dec 18, 2014

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: Who Won at the Alamo?

By Gustavo Arellano
Dec 11, 2014

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: What Happened to Mexican Christmas Traditions?

By Gustavo Arellano
Dec 4, 2014

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: Why Do People Support Racial Profiling?

By Gustavo Arellano
Nov 27, 2014

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: Mexicans and Gabachos Are One and the Same

By Gustavo Arellano
Nov 20, 2014

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...
Dear Mexican: Felicidades on Ten Years!

By Gustavo Arellano
Nov 13, 2014

Dear Mexican: I'm interested in a job that says it is a plus to have an understanding of Latin, Spanish and Mexican music. I found out some names of musical styles such as Tejano, norteño, nariachi, banda, cumbia, merengue, flamenco, and so on. I'm wondering if there is a way...
Dear Mexican: I'm Half Mexican and Don't Speak Spanish. Get Over It!

By Gustavo Arellano
Nov 6, 2014

Dear Mexican: I'm a half-Mexican who's more American than Mexican (although to Cockasians, I'm sure I'm just another brown spot on their white carpet). I don't speak Espanole, nor do I care to — not because I'm ashamed, but because I just don't feel the need. If I lived in...
Ask a Mexican: Why Do Mexican Men Love White Women So Much?

By Gustavo Arellano
Oct 30, 2014

Dear Mexican: Why do Mexican men think all gabachas are like the girls in Bikini Car Wash? I am married, a conservative dresser, frankly not very good-looking at all (but I do have blond hair, so maybe that counts for something on a guy's internal whore-o-meter), but I speak karate-choppin'-good...
Ask a Mexican: What Do Mexicans in the U.S. Think About the Drug Cartels?

By Gustavo Arellano
Oct 23, 2014

Dear Mexican: What do Mexicans in the United States think of the violent drug cartels in Mexico? Do local Latinos cringe with disgust or fear when they hear another drug-cartel story on the news, or do they feel a sense of disconnect because they are living in America now and...
Ask a Mexican: The Truth About Donkey Shows

By Gustavo Arellano
Oct 16, 2014

Dear Mexican: I've heard that the Tijuana donkey show featuring a female whore is not real other than the fact that they do bring out a donkey and do some simulation for people who are drunk.Down-Low Loco Dear Gabacho: You're right. And after months of research, the Mexican can confirm...
Dear Mexican: Why Don't Mexicans Tip Well?

By Gustavo Arellano
Oct 9, 2014

Dear Mexican: Why don't Mexicans tip decently? I labor as a waitress in a local upscale steakhouse where, unfortunately, many Mexicans eat, and the lousy tips are starting to piss me off! Even blacks tip better! (Although, I gotta say, Mexicans are much easier to wait on. No constant requests...
Ask a Mexican: Why Don’t Mexicans Immigrate to the U.S. Legally?

By Gustavo Arellano
Oct 2, 2014

Dear Mexican: Why don't Mexicans get green cards and come into the United States legally? After talking to people who have, the process is not hard and only takes a maximum of three years to do. By coming in illegally, they are taking the jobs from legal Mexican citizens and...
Dear Mexican: When Chicanos Speak, I Hear History

By Gustavo Arellano
Sep 25, 2014

Dear Mexican: One of the things I have found enjoyable and profound is the use of language by Chicanos, mexicanos and Mexican-Americans. Humor and a sardonic sense of history, in my view, are encapsulated in many everyday expressions. Two examples I can think of are the use of huey (or...

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