Dear Mexican: I’m totally serious about my email, so please forgive me if my question sounds ridiculous. I also mean no insult to anyone about my question or questions in this email. There are a lot of antsy/jittery people along the United States’ southern border. Lots of those antsy people seem to want to grab anyone who looks like a Mexican, or acts like a Mexican, and deport anyone who appears to be a Latino into the nations south of the U.S. border. I’m mostly Caucasian in ancestry, but I’ve been told that I have American Indian roots plus American Indian facial features. So, I’m a mustached guy who looks like Freddy Prinze, Sr., but I have a skin tone that makes me look like Freddy Prinze, Jr.. So, if I go to the Southern border states, will police check me for my papers because I look like Freddy Prinze, Sr.?
Rob AKA a Guy Called “Swarthy” by Some White Irish Friends
Dear Gabacho: You know it!
While waiting for radiation treatment, I noticed a sign on wall: “If you are pregnant or may become pregnant … ” The Spanish translation used the word embarazada. Why “embarrassed” to be pregnant for these fecund people?
Old Fart from Vegas
Dear Gabacho: You know what they say when you assume — it makes a culero out of you and you! Embarazada doesn’t mean “embarrassed” in Spanish; it means “pregnant.” But how two words that come from the same root took on such dissimilar meanings is one of those great etymological stories that makes this columna so pinche nerdy when it’s not shockingly vulgar. The English “embarrass” came from the French word embarrasser, itself deriving from the Spanish embarazar, which still has an alternate mean of “to impede.” That word came from the Portuguese embaraçar, and the Royal Spanish Academy theorizes that word originated from Celtic because its root palabra existed before the Romans conquered the Iberian Peninsula. Why a word that signifies a blockage came to represent pregnancy is unknown to etymologists, but the Mexican theorizes it’s just a pre-Christian pun for a cock block — there’s that vulgarity of mine! The proper Spanish word for “embarrassed”, by the way, is avergonzado, which originates from the Latin verecundia and more accurately means “shame.”
I work in a white-collar computer job, so when the weekend rolls around, I like to do my own yard work. Weeding, planting, pulling out stumps, trimming — you name it. When I do it, though, there are usually Mexican workers in the neighborhood, and they always look at me strangely. Are they thinking, “Hey, we could do that work for you, buddy”? Or “How about that: a white guy who can actually do manual labor!” Or maybe something else I haven’t thought of?
I Can Trim More Than One Kind of Bush
Dear Gabacho: You know it!
GOOD MEXICANS OF THE WEEK! For those of you looking for Mexican curios or ironic T-shirts with a Mexican theme (like the Star Wars logo spelled “Estar Guars”), Calacas, Inc. is for you! They’re based in the Mexican’s home base of SanTana but have an online store and co-sponsor one of the biggest Día de los Muertos celebrations in Southern California (happening on Fourth Street this Sábado). Best of all? The people who run it are Jackie (the gabacha) and Rudy (the Mexi) Cordova, proving that not only does the Reconquista will take over all white women, it’ll also produce cute, smart kiddies! Visit them online at calacacinc.com.
Get all your Mexican fun at myspace.com/ocwab, youtube.com/askamexicano, or send your questions to themexican@askamexican.net!
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519