Gringos: 'Greasers' of the North

Posted by RickFeliz on January 18, 2001 at 05:33:25:

In Reply to: What does Gringo really mean? posted by LaredoJim on January 18, 2001 at 04:41:39:

"Gringos (GREEN-gohs) "'Greasers' of the North" Lukeville, Arizona is a small settlement on the U.S.-Mexican border in southwestern Arizona that serves as international gateway to the Mexican resort city of Puerto Penasco - better known in the United States as Rocky Point. In the eary 1960s an enterprising American businessman who owned most of the property surrounding the immigration and customs facilities astride the border began calling the area "Gringo Pass" in his promotional literature and advertisements. The businessman knew that the nickname would be easy for everyone to remember, and would attract attention to his store, service station, motel and other facilities at the gateway. As far as he was concerned, the image of "Gringo Pass" was totally positive. In earlier times, however, the use of the word "gringo" in any reference was likely to be derogatory. There are two interesting stories about the origin of the word gringo. One, reported as gospel, goes like this: During the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848 U.S. soldiers marching through the dry deserts of northern Mexico often sang the old ballad, "Green Grow the Rushes, Oh!" Mexicans began identifying the song with Americans and soon shortened "Green Grow" to "gringo", in reference to any American or English-speaking Caucasian. A more like explanation is that "gringo", an old word meaning "gibberish", was originally used to describe anyone who could not speak Spanish well. At any rate, the word quickly became a part of the Mexican national conscience after the invasion of Mexico by the United States in 1847 and the influx of foreigners into the country in the following decades. For more than a century after "gringo" came into common use it had a strongly derogatory connatation, and was more or less the equivalent of the English term "greaser", a name created by Americans living along the Mexican border as a disparaging reference to Mexican men (and apparently derived from the fact that they commonly used a heavy, aromatic pomade in their hair). By the 1970s most Americans living along the Mexican border, as well as those visiting Mexico from other parts of the country, had begun using "gringo" in referring to themselves, in a neutral and often humorous sense. Today, "gringuita" (green-GHEE-tah), the diminitive female form of gringo, is also often used by Mexicans as an affectionate term for foreign girls... Mario ("Mike") De La Fuente of Nogales, Mexico, played a significant role in helping to defuse the term gringo. He wrote an autobiographical book titled "I Like You, Gringo - But!" which was a bestseller on both sides of the border in the 1970s. Mike, whose father was prominent in Mexican politics in the early 1900s and was marked for execution by some of the rebel groups involved in the 1910 civil war, escaped with his family to Texas and lived there until he was in his early 20s. During that period he became the first foreigner ever to play professional baseball in the United States. After returning to Mexico, De La Fuente became a highly successful bullfight impresario, and built a business empire in real estate, publishing, banking and cable television in Nogales, Sonora. He also served for several decades as an unofficial "Ambassador of Goodwill" between Sonora and Arizona. The acceptance of the word "gringo" by foreigners, combined with the weakening of Mexican antagonism toward Americans, has taken virtually all of the virulence out of the term, and today it is generally used in casual reference to English-speaking non-Mexicans. "Gringo" is still a slang term, however, and should not be used by businesspeople or others in formal situations, even in casual conversation with people with whom they are not on intimate terms. Mexicans are especially sensitive to language, regardless of the circumstances, and take a high level of decorum seriously." NTC's Dictionary of Mexican Cultural Code Words by Boye Lafayette De Mente And there you have it. Regards, RickFeliz

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Re: Gringos: 'Greasers' of the North amamenena 20:22:18 01/18/01 (0)

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