New Board Feature: Ask the Mexican

[Ponch ®]

I have a simple question, and it is based on an autopart (imagine that).

A car jack is called gato in spanish, but isn't "gato" spanish for cat?  If that is true, then how did "gato" = jack?

both are true. Gato=jack and gato=cat. I don't really know the origin of the word tho, when referring to the automotive related tool.

Mojo, I clicked on this thread expecting it to be funny and light hearted, which it is, but you seem to be answering the questions in a humorous but serious vein. So since you are providing actual answers, I would really like to know the answer to mine if you could.

Why do Mexicans barbecue in their front yard? Also, party's are always "front yard" activities. The reason I ask is that when I got divorced several years ago, I rented a house in a Mexican neighborhood (it was the cheapest I could afford at the time).

I was amazed by the fact that even though this neighborhod was on very large lots, with fairly nice, roomy back yards, EVERY Mexican family barbecued in the front yard, and in fact had all there social activities in front!

Please believe me that this question is not intended to be challenging or demeaning. I would really like to know why? I became familiar enough with my neighbors over several months to dare to ask them the same question, and the question pissed them off, even though that was not my intention.

Can you explain this - seriously.

Good question. I have noticed that too, but I really couldn't tell you why. My guess is that Mexicans are very social, and when you have a bbq in your front yard or porch, you can have your neighbors come by and hang out.

I can answer this one.


In Mexico...as in most latin cultures, the party is not just for you and your friends.  Its for everyone.  Anyone who shows up to a Mexican party, invited or uninvited will usually be offered food and beer.  Its a cultural thing.  That is one thing Americans can't seem to fathom.

True. If you throw a party and you need 100 people to show up, just invite 10 mexicans.

[Orange_Crush]

so why do Mexicans take a 4 hour siesta in the middle of the day? is because they are lazy? or are they really smarter than everyone else and figured out how to get a nap in the middle of the day and make it part of their culture and have no one question it for fear of sounding politically incorrect?

Must be a cultural thing. I remember when I lived there or went there on vacation, you could not get anything done between 2 pm and 4pm. All bussinesses close so the employees can go home and eat lunch or take a nap. Then they open from 4 to 7 or 8

The siesta is a very important part of the Mexican work day because the Mexican schedule (like the Spanish one) is so bloody bizarre.  In Mexico city, you get to work at 7:30AM and promptly go have breakfast with the office.  You return at nine and work 'till one when you go eat lunch with the office and then go siesta until four.  You return at four and work 'till eight when you go home and then eat at 10 PM and then go out shopping or whatever until one or two AM.  You get home and do the whole thing over again.

[Johnny SixPack]

So the siesta is to supplement the nightly sleep loss?

[derailed]

The flames, wheels, etc. is a way of personalizing their vehicles at the lowest possible cost. This is mostly done by nacos (the mexican equivalent of white trash). The Old English-type letters usually announce to the world the Mexican state from which the owner of the vehicle originally hails from. The proudest seem to be from Jalisco, Michoacan, and Sinaloa.

Tacky and lacking taste? Absolutely, but it really is no different than having a Rebel Flag license plate or a "In Memory of Dale Earnhardt 1951-2001" vinyl decal on your back window. 

Ain't that the truth. Cheesy is cheesy no matter where you're from.

[Lowprofile]

The flames, wheels, etc. is a way of personalizing their vehicles at the lowest possible cost. This is mostly done by nacos (the mexican equivalent of white trash). The Old English-type letters usually announce to the world the Mexican state from which the owner of the vehicle originally hails from. The proudest seem to be from Jalisco, Michoacan, and Sinaloa.

Tacky and lacking taste? Absolutely, but it really is no different than having a Rebel Flag license plate or a "In Memory of Dale Earnhardt 1951-2001" vinyl decal on your back window. 

Ain't that the truth. Cheesy is cheesy no matter where you're from.

Does JCWhitney publish a Hispanic version of its popular catalog? or do the vato's [sp] get their bling on at the local AutoZone? 

[Ponch ®]

The flames, wheels, etc. is a way of personalizing their vehicles at the lowest possible cost. This is mostly done by nacos (the mexican equivalent of white trash). The Old English-type letters usually announce to the world the Mexican state from which the owner of the vehicle originally hails from. The proudest seem to be from Jalisco, Michoacan, and Sinaloa.

Tacky and lacking taste? Absolutely, but it really is no different than having a Rebel Flag license plate or a "In Memory of Dale Earnhardt 1951-2001" vinyl decal on your back window. 

Ain't that the truth. Cheesy is cheesy no matter where you're from.

Does JCWhitney publish a Hispanic version of its popular catalog? or do the vato's [sp] get their bling on at the local AutoZone? 

AutoZone? What do you think we're made out of money? It's all about the outdoor swapmeets.

[Wakko]

[kab69440]

Like when I had to know where the term "Gringo" came from...

Where does the term "Gringo" come from?

I asked a Mexican I once worked with that very question. He told me "gringo" means "pale" in Spanish. Hence, I suppose that's why we white people are referred to as "gringos".

[TruckDriver]

Okay, since I actually learned a few things....

I have had a few Mexican friends over the years, and I just wanna say that "REAL" Mexican cooking is total kick ass food! But I have these questions I never asked.

Since I think there ugly, Why are Mexican car enthusiasts so obsest with cars that are lowriders and cars that bounce of the ground with hydraulics?

Why do Mexicans seem to love doing manual labor like landscapping, picking fruit, picking rocks? You see very few that drive truck, delivery van, or taxi in the U.S., least around here anyway.

What is with Mexicans preferring polka-ish Latin music over other types like hard rock and or pop music? I still have never met one that listens to anything else.

[bigroge1]

well there are some good mexican music and at times i don't like it that very much, i think the lowriders came from the zoot zuit era but i may be wrong

[Ponch ®]

Okay, since I actually learned a few things....

I have had a few Mexican friends over the years, and I just wanna say that "REAL" Mexican cooking is total kick ass food! But I have these questions I never asked.

Since I think there ugly, Why are Mexican car enthusiasts so obsest with cars that are lowriders and cars that bounce of the ground with hydraulics?

Well, see...YOU think they're ugly, but they're actually pretty cool, IMHO. They're car guys, just like us, and some of those cars are works of art.

Why do Mexicans seem to love doing manual labor like landscapping, picking fruit, picking rocks? You see very few that drive truck, delivery van, or taxi in the U.S., least around here anyway.

I don't think Mexicans "love" doing manual labor, but if its work and it pays, they'll do it - because you won't. At least here in L.A., you see tons of truck drivers - and most of them own their own trucking bussinesses.

What is with Mexicans preferring polka-ish Latin music over other types like hard rock and or pop music? I still have never met one that listens to anything else.

Because it's their cultural music. And believe me...they like pop music...and it's worse than anything Britney or Justin Timberlake has ever put out. Mexicans don't like hard rock? Why do hard rock and metal bands sell out Mexico City's 100,000 seat soccer stadium?  There are some great mexican rock bands out there...if you want to know some names and check them out, I'll point you in the right direction.

[dkn1997]

Why do Mexicans seem to love doing manual labor like landscapping, picking fruit, picking rocks? You see very few that drive truck, delivery van, or taxi in the U.S., least around here anyway.

Nobody loves that kind of work, Mexican or otherwise.  I manage a service department with 11-13 men in full season swing.  I have 6 Foreman, 2 of whom are from South America.    Believe it or not, what seperates them and their caucasion counterparts from the lower ranks of laborers is a driver's license and english skills.  It is near impossilbe in new york to get a driver's license if you are having any sort of immigration problems.  Before 9-11, it was easier.  I had a foreman I had to let go because he got a DWI and when he was eligible to get his license back, he could not due to immigration problems.  He had come here in the mid 90's and got a licence real easy, but once he lost it, could not get it back.  turns out that he may have been using a fake social security number, and without a legit ss#, NY is not giving you a license.

white guys would be doing the same landscaping, picking fruit, and "rocks" if they did not have a license or could not speak english.  We have several Ukranian labors who are in their jobs because of the same lack of a license or English.  So it's not a mexican or latino thing.

[diego-ted]

Why do Mexicans like Corn Tortillas
Why do Spanish Peeps like flour tortillas
Where do New Mexicans fit in?
Red Or Green.
Have you had a Sopapilla?
Why do Mexicans like chebbys
Do you live "la vida Loca"?
Do you belive in La Yorona (SP)? or the cu coy?
Tecate or Corona

Diego

[Ponch ®]

Why do Mexicans like Corn Tortillas
Why do Spanish Peeps like flour tortillas
Where do New Mexicans fit in?
Red Or Green.
Have you had a Sopapilla?
Why do Mexicans like chebbys
Do you live "la vida Loca"?
Do you belive in La Yorona (SP)? or the cu coy?
Tecate or Corona

Diego

- Because back in pre-Hispanic days, corn was one of the main crops for the native inhabitants of Meso-America, more specifically the central part of what is now Mexico.

- Don't know.

- Between Arizona and Texas

- Red

- No, but I've heard of them

- Because Chevy's have always been cheap and easily obtained.

- Not no' more, but in my younger days...

- Not anymore, but when I was a little kid they were pretty scary.

- Tecate. Only white people like Corona. Mexicans think it tastes like pisswater

[Old Moparz]

Cool idea Mojo, but I've been chatting with a cute MA chic from your neck of the woods on a music forum, so I get a lot of answers from her when I need them. I suppose whatever she can't tell me, I'll ask here. Like when I had to know where the term "Gringo" came from, she had no clue since she doesn't speak Mexican, but it was fun asking her & raising he blood pressure. 

Instead of googling it, I'll ask you.

Where does the term "Gringo" come from?

I know this, but I can't remember. You should google it and post it here.

Another stereotype easily proven, thanks. 


Lazy hubcap swiping Beaner. 

[69_500]

Why is every show that is on the mexican cable channels, have an older man with a young beautiful woman as a cohost? Are there no young male actors capable of hosting a show?

Mind you I'm not complainging about the young attractive female cohost, I'm fine with those.

[Danny Gutierrez]

Why does everyone think I'm white?

Why does my Spanish suck so bad even though I heard it spoken daily since I was born?

How come nobody knows that New Mexico is one of the 50 states?

[bull]

Is there a Mexican conspiracy to take over the US?

Why don't Mexicans (or any immigrant for that matter) learn the language before they come here? Is it because the education opportunities aren't so good there? If so why don't more of them choose to learn it once they arrive?

Is it true that many illegal Mexican immigrants are criminals?

[73-charger-383]

are the "donkey shows" real??

[mikepmcs]

Like when I had to know where the term "Gringo" came from...

Where does the term "Gringo" come from?

I asked a Mexican I once worked with that very question. He told me "gringo" means "pale" in Spanish. Hence, I suppose that's why we white people are referred to as "gringos".

Here is your gringo answer.

http://ask.yahoo.com/20000821.html


I used to drive a slammed ford truck that had an airbrushed scene on the back and it read "gringo" 

I'm half mexican by the way, mom's parents were from mexico and she was born in mathis texas.  Actually i wish i knew more of the language except all the cuss words of course.   It would've came in handy over my 20 years in the Navy. 

v/r
Mike

[Charger_Fan]

are the "donkey shows" real??

[mikepmcs]

are the "donkey shows" real??

YES!

[dkn1997]

Is there a Mexican conspiracy to take over the US?

Why don't Mexicans (or any immigrant for that matter) learn the language before they come here? Is it because the education opportunities aren't so good there? If so why don't more of them choose to learn it once they arrive?

Is it true that many illegal Mexican immigrants are criminals?

hard to learn english in a country where it's not spoken as the primary language.  my problem is when any non english speaking person comes here and does not even try to learn english.  Our company tries hard, we had an office girl who spoke ukranian, spanish, and english.  we set up classes, posted signs in all three languages and nobody showed up.  I went online and called around found FREE english classes, I posted signs in multiple languages, told all of the guys (through our office girl who speaks their language) and nobody went.

maybe not totally their fault, as many who come here can't even read/write in their native language. 

[Judhudson]

Do the Mexicans want Carlos Mencia back?  I mean seriously, does anybody even like this guy anymore?   

[Ponch ®]

Why is every show that is on the mexican cable channels, have an older man with a young beautiful woman as a cohost? Are there no young male actors capable of hosting a show?

Mind you I'm not complainging about the young attractive female cohost, I'm fine with those.

The old guy is the likeable grandfather type, the chick is the eye candy. Notice that they also look very white (blonde, blue eyes) most of the time, especially the girls.

Is there a Mexican conspiracy to take over the US?

Yes, we're slowly taking over.

Why don't Mexicans (or any immigrant for that matter) learn the language before they come here? Is it because the education opportunities aren't so good there? If so why don't more of them choose to learn it once they arrive?

Because a lot of people don't spend their lives planning to move to the U.S. Most of them end up leaving when circumstances (no jobs, poverty) force them, so they never really learn the language. Once they get here, it's not that they don't choose to learn it, they really just don't have the time, working 2-3 jobs, etc. Maybe they'll pick up enough to get by with their jobs. I've known a few people that, when given the opportunity, jumped on it and did learn english and went on to better things...but it's not a lack of motivation. Think of how sometimes people here will complain about getting laid off, not finding a job, etc...and when someone *cough*Vainglory*cough* says "well...get your ass to night school and get a college degree", most of them say "how am I gonna go to college...I have to work to feed my kids". That's pretty much the same circumstance that immigrants find themselves in.

I'll be level with you though - there are some (a minority, I would say) who really don't care to learn the language, because a) they don't want to seem like they're "selling out" and turning their back on their culture or b) they think they'll only be here for a few months or a couple of years and then go back to Mexico...so why bother?.

Education, believe it or not, is in some ways superior and ahead of what we're used to here. When I lived there, kids were already doing algebra problems and finding square and cube roots for 4 digit numbers (no calculators), and beginning physics and biology...in the 5th grade. I was so far behind that it took me a year just to become an 'average' student. That's why there you can go straight from high school to the equivalent of graduate school - medicine, law, etc. The problem is a lot of kids have to drop out to help their families economically. That's why you'll meet a lot of bus boys here who'll tell you "I was halfway done with my architecture degree, but...."

Is it true that many illegal Mexican immigrants are criminals?

Yeah, but so are many Americans. The numbers are proportionate

Do the Mexicans want Carlos Mencia back?  I mean seriously, does anybody even like this guy anymore?   

His dirty little secret is that he's not even Mexican. He's actually Honduran and German...but he pretends to be Mexican for his act. And he just isn't funny. I never liked him because he's a hack who steals other comedians' material.