A Gringo in Mexico, Part I

On being in the minority.

A story on National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition last weekend triggered some bittersweet memories of my time in the Mexico City with the City Philharmonic.

“Cuban Symphony Changes Tune” reports on a change of tide in the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba from a virtually all-white ensemble to one featuring a number of black musicians.

Never had I experienced racism on a personal level until I lived in a foreign country. Being in the majority in America I had no occasion to be discriminated against and was ignorant to the experience. Some of my non-white friends would tell me “you have no idea what it is like” – and they were absolutely right.

People that I encounter here in the U.S. generally assume that because the U.S. and Mexico share a border that both cultures are very much alike. This I learned, is simply not true. The American and Mexican cultures are as different as Americans are to the Chinese. For the most part though, the people I encountered in Mexico I found to be open and very patient with my foreign way of doing things.

With my long hair and beard, I stuck out like a sore thumb. In America my height at 5 feet 6 inches is fairly short compared to the average; in Mexico I was above average, or even tall. On subways in London and New York City, I have had to stretch a bit to reach the gripping rails and rings, but in Mexico City the subway rails were at the perfect height.

Gringo

Recently I have seen press stories criticizing the label “retard” (and its related slang,”tard”) which has become part of the popular American vernacular. Via the comedy entertainment that is in current fashion these terms have slipped into daily usage.

“What are you – a REE-tard?”

One of my older sisters is severely autistic and on top of it, was born with severe brain damage. Comedy sketches and sight gags that mock the handicapped and disabled people have always bothered me, having had some personal experience with the struggles that autistic people go through. Exploitative humor like this makes me cringe.

The Mexican word “gringo” is a slang term for a North American (or even just a foreigner in some contexts) that at least 15 years ago when I lived there, was in common usage. I never thought much of it until a Mexican colleague explained to me that the proper term is norteamericano. When I asked him why, he explained to me that gringo in fact is a controversial term and is akin to the “N” word for blacks, or the “F” word for gays.

Couple gringo with the profanity pinche he told me, and the term becomes more pointed – even racist, depending on the tone of voice. Before I had lived in ignorant bliss of this; now the bubble had been popped.

Part II >