I think that Gustavo is on to something here because, homeboy touches on some very interesting questions that would make anyone wonder. The first question is particularly near and dear to my heart considering that I come from a tiny town of 18,000 people and there are no less than 5 chinese restaurants. Shout out to my girls at the Tea Garden, what up chinas?! My dad is particulary convinced that all Mexican's are, in fact, half Chinese because of our affinity for the crispy noodles and chow main. yum!
Or, did you know that Mexican women don't walk out the door without looking bien fufuruffu? It's a violation of a cultural rule. eeee, what would people think of you?The things that you learn, gente. The things that you learn. Visit Gustavo's column. Ask him a question. The answers might suprise you.
Here are some of the highlights:
Dear Mexican, My boyfriend is Mexican, and when we’re trying to decide where to go to eat, he almost always wants Chinese. Same with his family: when we recently visited some friends from Guadalajara, I was looking forward to some tortas ahogadas, but instead was served mu shu pork. Why do Mexicans like Chinese food so much?
Cuisine Confused in the I.E.
Dear Gabacha, Mexicans are eternally fascinated with Chinese, as this column has previously noted. Nothing piques our interest as much as the food. They eat what we eat: beans, pork, goat, turtles, rice, even dogs! But our interest in comida china boils down to economics, Cuisine Confused. Like Mexican food, Chinese is an ethnic cuisine where you can feast like a king on a day laborer’s salary. I can go to Hot Wok in Fullerton and order the three-item combo with fried rice, chow mein and a drink for about six bucks; not surprisingly, Mexicans fill up most of Hot Wok’s tables every time I visit. The value of Chinese food explains the popularity amongst Mexicans of instant ramen. According to the International Ramen Manufacturers Association, Mexicans consumed an average of 9.4 ramen servings in 2004, tops in Latin America and behind only the United States and Russia amongst non-Asian countries. Even the Mexican government distributes ramen to its poor . . . what’s that you say? Ramen is a Japanese dish? Don’t tell that to a Mexican, who believes anything Asian is chino even when it’s Japanese—right, Vietnamese readers?* * * *
Dear Mexican, [some female readers asked]Why do Mexican women dress up to go to the swap meet? …. Why do Mexicans put on their Sunday best to shop at Wal-Mart, Kmart, Target, etc.?
Dear Pochas,
… You gotta love our moms and aunts, ¿qué no? Despite living in abject conditions, never having enough money to purchase vaccines for the kids — let alone save up for a Prada this or Manolo that — Mexican women always primp themselves for something as simple as buying tortillas."
* * * *
Dear Mexican,As an Asian person, would I be considered a gabacho? Or do I fall into the yellow bucket labeled chinito, even though I'm not Chinese?
Dear Chino, Like Americans assume all Latinos are Mexican, Mexicans think all Asians are chinos — Chinese. When I used to go out with a Vietnamese woman, my aunts would speak highly of mi chinita bonita — my cute little Chinese ruca…. Chinese were the Mexicans of the world before there even was a Mexico, migrating to Latin America a couple of decades after the fall of Tenochtitlán.
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