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Rolly

Mar 11, 2012, 5:03 PM

Post #1 of 22 (3802 views)

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That gringo word gets a big laugh

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Four Mexican friends joined me for a pizza party at a new Italian restaurant in Torreón. Good food, good service nice place.
When the check came, I looked at the top to verify the waiter's name.
That's when I saw the table number and laughed. I passed the check around, and everyone had a big laugh.
MESA: GRINGO

I know some folks are offended by "gringo." I'm not, and I enjoyed a good laugh at this one.

Rolly Pirate

(This post was edited by Rolly on Mar 11, 2012, 7:02 PM)

chinagringo

Mar 11, 2012, 5:13 PM

Post #2 of 22 (3789 views)

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Re: [Rolly] That gringo word get a big laugh

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Rolly:

Here in New Mexico, there are obviously many people of Mexican heritage (who may not have ever been to Mexico) and might use Gringo behind our backs but are totally shocked when I refer to myself as a Gringo. During a conversation, the first time that I use the term, they are not sure that I have really used the term but then if I use it again, they really lighten up and the conversations get to be fun. Like you, I certainly have no problem with the term!
Regards,
Neil
Albuquerque, NM

RickS

Mar 11, 2012, 6:41 PM

Post #3 of 22 (3751 views)

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Re: [chinagringo] That gringo word get a big laugh

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Yes, but neither of your are very Politically Correct!!! and that's a compliment.

chinagringo

Mar 11, 2012, 6:57 PM

Post #4 of 22 (3737 views)

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Re: [RickS] That gringo word get a big laugh

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Thanks Rick! That is one of my goals at this stage in my life.
Regards,
Neil
Albuquerque, NM

richmx2

Mar 11, 2012, 11:25 PM

Post #5 of 22 (3680 views)

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Re: [Rolly] That gringo word gets a big laugh

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Be thankful it didn't read "MESA: VEIJO" :-)

http://mexfiles.net
http://voiceofmexico.com
http://editorialmazatlan.com

mazbook1

Mar 11, 2012, 11:52 PM

Post #6 of 22 (3676 views)

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Re: [richmx2] That gringo word gets a big laugh

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Or MESA: ANCIANO lol

Rolly

Mar 12, 2012, 5:33 AM

Post #7 of 22 (3663 views)

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Re: [mazbook1] That gringo word gets a big laugh

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I don't mind viejo or ancano, but really hate Pops.

Rolly Pirate

Sculptari

Mar 12, 2012, 7:51 AM

Post #8 of 22 (3626 views)

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Re: [Rolly] That gringo word gets a big laugh

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Further evidence that 'gringo' is a mainstream word with the mainstream generations is the new movie starting in Puerto Vallarta in April - "I Brake for Gringos". Definitely targeting a younger audience with this bizarre sounding plot:

"LOGAN's a high school senior with some insecurities. His PARENTS treat him like an immature kid. For the girl he's got a crush on, LINA, he doesn't exists. When he steals his Dad's vintage Camaro to impress her, he accidentally crashes it - and gets grounded for the whole Spring Break. But when crazed best friend BLAKE discovers Lina's going to Puerto Vallarta Mexico, Logan waits till his parents leave on an Anniversary Cruise – then heads for Mexico with Blake, determined to do it right this time.

But when he finally catches up with Lina in Puerto Vallarta, she's drunk and disheveled at a wild 'Foam Party', and she tells him to get lost. Logan's totally bummed, he came all the way for her, and she send him to hell, till he meets GABY, a beautiful and cool Mexican Girl – and after spending the best night of his life with her, he's in love – till he discovers she's a CALL GIRL – and wants to be paid. After an ATM excursion with Blake, Logan returns to the Motel to find Gaby's gone – and that she took his father's vintage Rolex, which he brought to Mexico to "impress" Lina.

With help from CHUY, a crazed Taxi driver, they track Gaby down – only to learn her twisted pimp, THE CANADIAN, has taken the Rolex – and wants $5000 for it. Gaby regrets this and she decides to help him get it back. So, they head for the one place Chuy knows you can make a lot of $$$ fast - El Palenque, the cock-fighting arena! After losing half their money, Logan convinces Blake to bet everything they have left on Greenie, a scrawny rooster who's a 20 to 1 longshot – but guess what? Greenie wins! Before leaving Logan, who's an animal lover, releases all the captive roosters – and gets chased by a mob of angry bettors.

Blake has his own misadventures – including a drunken night with the hot BABE who won the wet T-shirt contest – only to discover 'she' is a 'he'. Back home, Logan's friend EUGENE who's house-sitting has a secret agenda – filling the house with marijuana plants and grow lights. Eugene nearly gets busted by Logan's GRANDMA, but after she gets stoned on weed cookies, she gets a little crazy – going joy-riding in the Camaro – singing a Barry Manilow song at the wild Weed Party Eugene throws – but her biggest moment comes when she convinces the two COPS who're about to bust the party – to go off duty and join the party.

Logan's woes multiply when he, Blake and Chuy rendez-vous with the Canadian to trade $$$ for the Rolex – and wind up getting drugged. They wake up naked in a stolen Mercedes that belongs to the Mayor – that's parked in front of the Police Station! But Chuy's a badass bareass driver get away from the cops. Gaby hatches a crazy scheme to dogknap the Canadian's beloved French Bulldog – and trade the pooch for the watch. The Canadian tries one more double-cross before finally handing the Rolex over. That's when his bulldog swallows a chicken wing and starts choking – but Logan, whose own dog died in a similar way, saves the Bulldog.

Before leaving Mexico Blake hooks up with Lina - and Gaby surprises Logan by showing up on the plane - she's going home with him. Logan gets another surprise when he discovers Grandma & Eugene have repaired the Camaro – and when his parents come home, Logan gets respect for the first time in his life – as well as the car keys, to take his new girlfriend on a drive."

AlanMexicali

Mar 12, 2012, 10:04 AM

Post #9 of 22 (3577 views)

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Re: [Rolly] That gringo word gets a big laugh

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In Reply To

"Four Mexican friends joined me for a pizza party at a new Italian restaurant in Torreón. Good food, good service nice place.
When the check came, I looked at the top to verify the waiter's name.
That's when I saw the table number and laughed. I passed the check around, and everyone had a big laugh.
MESA: GRINGO

I know some folks are offended by "gringo." I'm not, and I enjoyed a good laugh at this one."

I use gringo sometimes to describe myself in Mexico and have had a laugh or two from Mexicans living in Mexicali or TJ but not from any living in San Luis Potosi were the word is not considered at all derogatory. That being the case I feel it is Americans who do not understand it's original meaning or Mexican Americans etc. that now see this word adulterated somewhat to be offensive for what ever reason.

"
Gringo From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(August 2011)

Three Gringos in Central America and Venezuela, 1896 book by Richard Harding Davis (poster by Edward Penfield)
Gringo is a slang Spanish and Portuguese word used in Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking countries in Latin America, to denote foreigners, often from the United States. The term can be applied to someone who is actually a foreigner, or it can denote a strong association or assimilation into foreign (particularly US) society and culture. While in Spanish it simply identifies a foreigner, without any negative connotation,[1] in English the word is often considered offensive or disparaging.[2] The word was used in Spain - although the word is nowadays rarely heard there - long before it crossed the Atlantic to denote foreign, non-native speakers of Spanish"

tonyburton / Moderator

Mar 12, 2012, 10:58 AM

Post #10 of 22 (3551 views)

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"A. Gringo" (the author)

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As loyal readers of my "Lake Chapala Through the Ages: an anthology of travellers' tales" (now available on Kindle) will already know, a 19th century British author used the pseudonym "A. Gringo" for his book about Mexico entitled "Through the Land of the Aztecs, Or Life and Travel in Mexico" (1892).

The following extract is from the biography of Arthur St. Hill (aka "A Gringo") that appears in chapter 35 of "Lake Chapala Through the Ages":

Arthur St. Hill, an English traveler about whom very little is known, arrived in Mexico in 1883. In the preface to this work, he states that “my object is simply to give a plain account of several years experience in the country, to show its recent progress and to enable the reader to judge the future.” He also writes that “prolonged periods of travel over the greater part of its territory, by rail, stagecoach and steamer, on horseback and in canoes have afforded me exceptional facilities for studying the country and all classes of the people.”

One reviewer revealed his own ignorance by referring to him as “Mr. A. Gringo”. Another described this as an “interesting little book descriptive of life and travel in Mexico from 1883 until a recent date”. He continued “We congratulate the author on the felicitous manner in which he has performed his task” in presenting the “Mexico of today” to us. “His work is a pleasantly written handbook, its only defect is the want of a map, and this is really unpardonable.”

St. Hill was an observant and enthusiastic visitor. He even saw fit to remark on the ready availability of lottery tickets “at every corner” with prizes from one to 100,000 dollars”. His acceptance of lottery tickets is in sharp contrast to the stance that Terry later felt obliged to adopt in the first edition of his famous handbook, when he wrote that, “mention of lotteries has been omitted intentionally because of the circulation of the Handbook in the United States–where anything in the nature of an advertisement of these games of chance is forbidden”. (Terry, 1909, p iv)

(This post was edited by tonyburton on Mar 12, 2012, 10:58 AM)

Sculptari

Mar 12, 2012, 11:17 AM

Post #11 of 22 (3532 views)

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Re: [Rolly] That gringo word gets a big laugh

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I have been quite comfortable with the word since 1976 when I bought "Gringos from the Far North - essays in the history of Canadian-Latin American Relations, 1866-1968" by Oglesby . Believe me - this book, and it's subject, are about as unfunny as you could ever get!! I believe the author subscribes to the popular folk song "Green grows the Lilac, etc, etc" which was sung by soldiers and cowboys. Here is Tex Ritter singing it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6GUdYa3Bpg Roy Rogers used to tell the same story.

(This post was edited by Sculptari on Mar 12, 2012, 11:24 AM)

Sculptari

Mar 12, 2012, 1:25 PM

Post #12 of 22 (3477 views)

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Re: [Sculptari] That gringo word gets a big laugh

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Another Tex Ritter 'hayburner', now in public domain, "Song of the Gringo" 1936. Here is a song from it "The Gay Vaquero" - American cowboys will be glad that this song never caught on!! We could have a whole other word for `cowboys``.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTXpjsGy8-M

sandykayak

Mar 14, 2012, 6:55 AM

Post #13 of 22 (3327 views)

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Re: [chinagringo] That gringo word get a big laugh

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IMO, it's HOW the word "gringo" is used. The tone and inflection make all the difference, as in "He's a yank" v. "He's a g*d da**ned yankee!" Or "el es un gringo" v. "el es un pinche gringo."

And even tho it is usually aimed at US gringos, it also makes it easier to use as a generic for all expats be they US gringos/Canucks/Limeys.

OTOH, for a Mexican to call an expat a "gringo" to his face could be considered insulting. There are many subtle nuances and no one will be pleased all of the time. "Some of my best friends are gringos!" :)
Sandy Kramer
Miami, Fla & El Parque

joaquinx

Mar 14, 2012, 7:29 AM

Post #14 of 22 (3318 views)

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Re: [sandykayak] That gringo word get a big laugh

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There is a chileno who lives down the street who often calls me a gringo. I respond by calling him a argentino. We both get a good laugh out of these names.
_______
My desire to be well-informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane.

sandykayak

Mar 14, 2012, 7:46 AM

Post #15 of 22 (3310 views)

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Re: [joaquinx] That gringo word get a big laugh

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To me an Argentinian is a "che" lol
Sandy Kramer
Miami, Fla & El Parque

AlanMexicali

Mar 14, 2012, 8:47 AM

Post #16 of 22 (3280 views)

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Re: [sandykayak] That gringo word get a big laugh

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In Reply To

"IMO, it's HOW the word "gringo" is used. The tone and inflection make all the difference, as in "He's a yank" v. "He's a g*d da**ned yankee!" Or "el es un gringo" v. "el es un pinche gringo."

And even tho it is usually aimed at US gringos, it also makes it easier to use as a generic for all expats be they US gringos/Canucks/Limeys.

OTOH, for a Mexican to call an expat a "gringo" to his face could be considered insulting. There are many subtle nuances and no one will be pleased all of the time. "Some of my best friends are gringos!" :)"

Yes how the slang words are in context is important. I have many friends at the OXXO 4 blocks from my house in Mexicali that my handyman introduced me to, he lives a few doors behind the OXXO, and over the years meeting there daily to chat I learned many things about Mexicali and the art of chatting. When I am in San Luis Potosi I learnt that there is a diffenece in meanings of some words, especially the slang words. The intensity of slang words varied when used in the same context there, for whatever reason and the politeness on the border, Mexicali, TJ and San Diego, to be considered a person "educado" [polite] is less intense also. San Luis Potosi is much more conservative and even clothing is considered part of being of the class and age [senior] wereas on the border American dress, very casual, is accepted as the norm. In San Luis beach type wear [sandals and shorts and loose colorful shirts] is for the beach only or jovenes. Tight clothes also for jovenes on women. On the border it is considered OK for women much older and even considered normal. The greetings are basically the same, but being a host is very ritualistically observed in San Luis and considered rude for a guest to get up to serve themselves or even ask for something as the host is constantly asking individually everyone what they need. On the border it is somewhat like that but not that extremely ritualistic. That being said I see many more differences the more time I spend in Central Mexico that are not the same, especially when comparing working class and the middle class disparity being much larger than on the border. It seems to be leveling on the border but in San Luis the daily mingling of classes has a definate vocabulary and actions taken where you know who is "so called" important and must respect the differences by your actions and words on both sides of the fence.

One day after Christmas I was going outside and my wife asked "were are you going?" I said to give the daytime security guards their Christmas "tip". She said we only moved here 3 weeks ago, to our new house in a residencia in San Luis. She said don't the "tip is for a years service. Next Christmas OK. Give them a box of cookies and one to the nighttime security guards also.

(This post was edited by AlanMexicali on Mar 14, 2012, 9:02 AM)

esperanza

Mar 14, 2012, 9:02 AM

Post #17 of 22 (3266 views)

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Re: [AlanMexicali] That gringo word get a big laugh

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Yes how the slang words are in context is important. I have many friends at the OXXO 4 blocks from my house in Mexicali that my handyman introduced me to, he live a few doors behind the OXXO, and over the years meeting there daily to chat I learned many things about Mexicali and the art of chatting. When I am in San Luis Potosi I learnt that there is a diffenece in meanings of some words, especially the slang words. The intensity of slang words varied when used in the same context there, for whatever reason and the politeness on the border, Mexicali, TJ and San Diego, to be considered a person "educado" [polite] is less intense also. San Luis Potosi is much more conservative and even clothing is considered part of being of the class and age [senior] wereas on the border American dress, very casual, is accepted as the norm. In San Luis beach type wear [sandals and shorts and loose colorful shirts] is for the beach only or jovenes. Tight clothes also for jovenes on women. On the border it is considered OK for women much older and even considered normal. The greetings are basically the same, but being a host is very ritualistically observed in San Luis and considered rude for a guest to get up to serve themselves or even ask for something as the host is constantly asking individually everyone what they need. On the border it is somewhat like that but not that extremely ritualistic. That being said I see many more differences the more time I spend in Central Mexico that are not the same, especially when comparing working class and the middle class disparity being much larger than on the border. It seems to be leveling on the border but in San Luis the daily mingling of classes has a definate vocabulary and actions taken where you know who is "so called" important and must respect the differences by your actions and words on both sides of the fence.

Excellent post, AlanMexicali. You are so right. There are many, many rituals to follow in every sort of social situation; too many foreigners never understand most of them. One example is the use of the greeting 'Hola', which where I have lived--in several cities in central Mexico--is generally heard among young people and between neighbors who see one another all the time. Otherwise, for a retirement-age foreigner to use 'hola' is overly friendly and age-inappropriate. Another example is how to act upon entering and leaving a room full of people: it's rude not to greet every person individually with a handshake and/or a kiss on the cheek, and equally rude not to say goodbye in the same way, individually to each person. There are lots of other similar rituals. Mexican society, at all socio-economic levels, is much more formal than that of the USA.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

mazbook1

Mar 14, 2012, 6:15 PM

Post #18 of 22 (3188 views)

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Re: [esperanza] That gringo word get a big laugh

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¡Excelente! esperanza. And by the way, AlanMexicali, I have no idea where sandykayak lives in México, but the slang word pinche she used can be an extremely vulgar pejorative word in the frontera areas, but is just a very mild pejorative, not considered vulgar at all, further south in Sinaloa where I live. Even pretty conservative, formal moms muy educadas use it to their hijos when irritated at them (or just joking around).

(This post was edited by mazbook1 on Mar 14, 2012, 6:17 PM)

Bennie García

Mar 14, 2012, 9:12 PM

Post #19 of 22 (3160 views)

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Re: [esperanza] That gringo word get a big laugh

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One example is the use of the greeting 'Hola', which where I have lived--in several cities in central Mexico--is generally heard among young people and between neighbors who see one another all the time. Otherwise, for a retirement-age foreigner to use 'hola' is overly friendly and age-inappropriate.

Oh rubbish. The word hola is used frequently amongst strangers of all age groups in Guadalajara which is one of the "several" cities in which you have lived. And that is not strictly my opinion but that of my muy educada wife and grown children.

(This post was edited by Bennie García on Mar 14, 2012, 9:34 PM)

Sculptari

Mar 15, 2012, 9:26 AM

Post #20 of 22 (3099 views)

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Re: [Bennie García] That gringo word get a big laugh

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I picked this up over on McClatchy blog. It is Will Ferrel and Diego Garcia Luna (who we are to understand is more well known than Ferrel in Mexico) on Jimmy Kimmel show promoting a new movie "Casa de mi Padre" It is right on topic for this thread - and is very funny. I believe it has some Mexican swear words - but nothing too bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7F0IB-i7_s

rayitodeluna

Mar 19, 2012, 12:18 PM

Post #21 of 22 (2901 views)

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Re: [Rolly] That gringo word gets a big laugh

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So far (in my whopping 3 months here) I havent heard the word to be used in a negative manner.
Examples of all the usages I hear daily :

My BIL calls his mother "mami gringa" .
BILs fiance is also pale skinned and is frequently called guera or gringa everywhere we go.
I get called gringa or guera when I visit tiendas alone (without my inlaws) always in a positive tone, asking how they can help or serve me.
My daughters also get called gringitas, always followed by "hermosa" . By family members, strangers, everyone.

That doesnt mean it isnt ever used negatively, but thankfully I have yet to witness it :)

~~~~~~ Enjoying life in northern D.F. with our family of Americans and chilangos.
Family and expat blog here : http://threecurlygirlys.blogspot.mx/ ~~~~~~

La Isla

Mar 19, 2012, 12:55 PM

Post #22 of 22 (2885 views)

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Re: [rayitodeluna] That gringo word gets a big laugh

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A couple of men I've met here have called me "gringuita" as a term of endearment, nothing negative there :).