Dear Mexican: I’m thinking of moving to Mexico. I’m a first-generation mexicano. My parents are absolutely against it, insisting that it’s violent and that I should be proud of being an American. I’m not looking to lose my American-ness, but I just want to add some more mexicano to it. Is there a movement of people of Mexican descent moving to Mexico?
I Am Not Joaquín
Dear Wab: No need to move to Mexico if you’re looking for more Mexican—just move to Los Angeles! El Paso! The nonracist parts of Tucson! Chicago’s Little Village barrio, or even Pilsen! You didn’t tell me much about who you are, so I’ll peg you as a pocho desperately trying to get in touch with his roots; you think a jaunt in the rancho will have you being más macho than Chente.
(Quick aside: Gabachos? This happens to all children of Mexican immigrants. Eventually, we all feel we lack in cultural authenticity and seek out our roots, usually by returning to the towns of our ancestors. But we return to the United States with little more than rancho gossip and a teenage wife—and we’re still American at the end of the día, a fact for which we overcompensate by renaming ourselves in Nahuatl or getting an Aztec-calendar tattoo.)
Maybe you’re not a pocho but are instead a child of immigrants who accompanied their parents on annual trips to their native villages, and you have a romanticized view of how life in Mexico is gracias to people spending a couple of weeks during holidays, when all the expatriates have returned to show off what they’ve earned in el Norte.
Snap out of it, cabrón. Mexicans do move back to Mexico all the time, of course—the Pew Hispanic Center’s report, “Mexican Immigrants: How Many Come? How Many Leave?” cited stats provided by Mexico’s National Survey of Employment and Occupation that figured 433,000 Mexis returned to la patria from February 2008 through February 2009, a figure slightly below previous years—but have you ever thought about why your parents left their home country and never returned?
Why do Argentinians think they are superior to Mexicans and other Latin Americans? Could it be because they have a British island?
Che Chingón
Dear Wab: One of the few jokes the Mexican knows—and it’s not even a joke, but more of a humorous observation—is that an Argentine is an Italian who speaks Spanish and thinks he’s British. It’s this supposed superiority complex that gets Mexicans’ chonis in a bunch, but I have news for you: All Latin Americans think they’re superior to other Latin Americans, and all of them think everyone else is snooty (ask a Colombian about venezolanos).
Mexis and Argies have no real historical beef outside of soccer, and our countries are more similar than either side would admit. They welcomed Nazis; we gave Che Guevara and Leon Trotsky a home. Their caudillos (Juan Manuel de Rosas, the Perons, Leopoldo Galtieri) were as buffoonish as ours, but more homicidal. They waged a disastrous war against England for a couple of islands (las Islas Malvinas to the carajos, the Falklands to the rest of humanity), while our efforts to keep Aztlán were laughable. And while Soda Stereo was a great rock en español band, I’ll take Café Tacuba over them any day.
So, Mexicans and Argentines: There’s no need to play the superiority game among ourselves—we’re equally jodidos.
GOOD MEXICAN OF THE WEEK!
UCLA Professor Robert Chao Romero is this columna’s go-to expert on all things chinito, and I’m excited to announce he’s finally published a book: The Chinese in Mexico: 1882-1940, a majestic piece of scholarship that mixes in data, anecdotes and vivid writing to show how Mexicans mistreated Chinese people for far too long—yet the Chinese persevered. Find it in your nerdier bookstores, or buy it online—but buy it!
Ask the Mexican at themexican@askamexican.net; be his fan on Facebook; follow him on Twitter; or ask him a video question at youtube.com/askamexicano!
This article appears in Nov 18-24, 2010.
Senor Mexicano,
In reference to the letter from the person wanting to move back to Mexico, I need to know where the “non-racista parts of Tucson” are that you stated in your answer. After 30+ years living throughout all parts of Tucson, I personally never realized that certain communities within our great and diversified city were so hateful and racist toward Mexicanos! Gracias for opening mis blinders!!!
Could you please advise me and the rest of the Latin community asap, so that we can avoid being persecuted and hated upon in these areas? Could you also please advise what type of people are being so racist (Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, Chinese, Peruvianos), so that we can avoid them at all costs, as well???
Gracias, Estimado, for the warning, your inteligencia, and for bringing the entire Tucson community closer together with your enlightened viewpoints! Your community service es bien constructivo.
Roberto P.C.
To Joaquinnosoy – I did what the Mexican suggested. I moved from the great cosmopolitan city of Chicago to a border town. Why? To work with Latinos (well, really Mexicanos) that are 90% percent of the population rather than be pigeon-holed. Is it totally Mexicano? Of course not – just like the US, every region has its flavor and this border town has its own and so does every pueblito in Mexico. I have learned a lot, though – like, I can take culture shock standing up :). I liked it so much, I ended up staying here & even blog about it – check it out http://www.quefregados.com.
FYI – Mexico is not the best place to move to right now cuz by the sound of it, you would make a perfect target for a cartel that will want to take your American parents’ life savings after they kidnap you. I can hear the gunshots in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico from my house, not the safest place to be right now.