[Xmca-l] Re: Stereotyping Latin America and Mexico at the U. of Louisville

[HENRY SHONERD]

Martin and all,
Here in Albuquerque El Dia de los Muertos has a strong presence during Halloween. Had the president and each of his staff at the Univerisity of Louisville put on face paint depicting a skull, I am guessing they would have been construed as commemorating the Day of the Dead, rather than poking at a stereotype of the lazy Mexican. The image below is used by Gustavo Arellano in his weekly syndicated column Ask a Mexican in lampooning stereotypes of Mexicans. He is not above lampooning Mexicans. Nobody’s perfect. I am reminded of who can appropriately use the N word (and where and when) without risking push back.  It’s about face, power and credibility. I was living in Oakland California, where the Black Panther Party was founded in the late 60s. “Pig” was coined by the party to identify cops. The cops appropriated the term in talking of themselves, thereby taking some of the sting out of being called pigs. Perhaps some of you remember Tom Wolfe’s book, Radical Chic and Maumauing The Flak Catchers, which the current brouhaha at the University of Louisville reminds me of. 
Henry
   



On Nov 1, 2015, at 1:50 PM, Martin John Packer <mpacker@uniandes.edu.co> wrote:
> 
> I happened to have lunch on Friday at a shopping mall here in Bogotá. I quickly found myself surrounded by ghouls and vampires (watching a vampire eat a hamburger, fake blood dripping down her chin, I found rather fascinating!), but I was surprised by a number of people wearing sombreros. Then the sound of a mariachi band floated up from below. Then a woman passed by made up as La Catrina. My conclusion was that association with the Mexican Day of the Dead has become an alternative to the commercial Halloween that is now common not just in the USA but many other countries. But perhaps I was wrong.
> 
> I took some photos...
> 
> Martin
> 
> [cid:7882FC03-8EF5-4B7F-9056-55964FF4CFB2]
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> [cid:300E2D0E-A023-4F6A-AE3F-BEF36D54A9A2]