Not Too Brown
I've noticed that when it gets warm here, the women tend to complain how hot it is. It doesn't get that hot here in Ensenada, but it can get quite warm. At the ranch, I dress in jeans and a tank top on the warmer days. The women who are at the ranch begin complaining about how warm it is while we are working.
They wear long sleeves and hats all the time. And once I said, wear a shirt like this, pointing to my tank top. "Oh, no!" they say. "We will look like Indians."
There you go. To call someone "Indio" here is an insult. It means that one is uncivilized, ignorant and dirty. The shade of brown is important here. Where in the U.S., people prefer to be tanned and not too white, here they prefer to be lighter. It's kind of a status thing, I guess.
I didn't realize that it was that important in Mexico. But here in the North of Mexico, the people tend to be a lighter shade of brown, or even as white as me. Lighter is better. They very much like the color that the Gringos turn when they're in the sun and wish they looked like that.
Yet their skin is such a warm shade of brown, it's very lovely and I don't understand what the big deal is. Of course, I'm not them.
A very desirable trait here is a Mexican with green eyes. Apparently that combination is of a rare tribe that is highly regarded.
These little racial things are, of course, left over from the days of Cortez. It's amazing how a mind set can change and stay there and no one questions it.
I encourage people to enquire, to find out why rather than just follow the herd. This is exactly what the government here doesn't want, people who enquire.
My partner read an article to me about people who do well in Mexico...most of them are not Catholic, or not practicing Catholics. They are educated and independent thinkers. They are in the minority. Education and the Arts are not supported here.
I notice that the support for the Arts is also falling apart in the U.S. When I was in school, music was part of the curriculum. It is here, too. Students learn to play a recorder, marimba, guitar. Music is a major part of their lives.
At a party, I asked what music I should bring. I was told, 80's music. There was also a mix of Mexican rock. When the Mexican rock was playing, everyone was dancing. When the 80's music came on, they all sat down. It was pretty funny. Music is in their blood, music that is a rich mix of their heritage and that of their conquerers so long ago.
We're now off to the ranch.
They wear long sleeves and hats all the time. And once I said, wear a shirt like this, pointing to my tank top. "Oh, no!" they say. "We will look like Indians."
There you go. To call someone "Indio" here is an insult. It means that one is uncivilized, ignorant and dirty. The shade of brown is important here. Where in the U.S., people prefer to be tanned and not too white, here they prefer to be lighter. It's kind of a status thing, I guess.
I didn't realize that it was that important in Mexico. But here in the North of Mexico, the people tend to be a lighter shade of brown, or even as white as me. Lighter is better. They very much like the color that the Gringos turn when they're in the sun and wish they looked like that.
Yet their skin is such a warm shade of brown, it's very lovely and I don't understand what the big deal is. Of course, I'm not them.
A very desirable trait here is a Mexican with green eyes. Apparently that combination is of a rare tribe that is highly regarded.
These little racial things are, of course, left over from the days of Cortez. It's amazing how a mind set can change and stay there and no one questions it.
I encourage people to enquire, to find out why rather than just follow the herd. This is exactly what the government here doesn't want, people who enquire.
My partner read an article to me about people who do well in Mexico...most of them are not Catholic, or not practicing Catholics. They are educated and independent thinkers. They are in the minority. Education and the Arts are not supported here.
I notice that the support for the Arts is also falling apart in the U.S. When I was in school, music was part of the curriculum. It is here, too. Students learn to play a recorder, marimba, guitar. Music is a major part of their lives.
At a party, I asked what music I should bring. I was told, 80's music. There was also a mix of Mexican rock. When the Mexican rock was playing, everyone was dancing. When the 80's music came on, they all sat down. It was pretty funny. Music is in their blood, music that is a rich mix of their heritage and that of their conquerers so long ago.
We're now off to the ranch.
posted by Triana Elan @ 11:28 AM
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