Guest Column
Paso del Norte group stereotypes Mexicans in El Paso, yet nobody complains
- Paso del Norte group stereotypes Mexicans in El Paso, yet nobody complains
- By Joe Olvera
- Come on, Mayor Cook, Glass Beach, Sanders/Wingo, et al, if you want to gain support for your wondrous plan to destroy El Segundo Barrio, surely there must be better ways of doing this than portraying Mexicans in such a negative and stereotypical manner. Let me say this, whomever doesn’t complain about the way our people are being portrayed by know-nothings, must agree with the portrayal, otherwise those people would be shouting bloody murder.
- Sin Fin
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- Contact Joe Olvera at: jolvera@aliviane.org
- ©, 2007 by Joe Olvera
The one thing that hasn’t been mentioned in this brouhaha over revitalizing El Segundo Barrio is the way Mexicans/Chicanos are being stereotyped and typecast. If you haven’t heard about the ad/slide that was shown to proponents of revitalization, it’s because the mainstream media refuses to bring it out. But, that’s okay there are other ways and means to inform the public. Thanks to the Internet and email, censorship is no longer the most powerful weapon available to mainstream publishers.
What I’m talking about is the way an obviously elderly Mexican man is portrayed in a slide that was produced by Glass Beach, with the obvious approval and support of Mayor John Cook, City Council, Sanders/Wingo – part of the team that produced the offensive portrayal - and sundry other individuals and organizations who more than likely did see the depiction, but chose to ignore its message.
The message? The ad/slide shows an elderly gentleman walking down the street, minding his own business. I’m sure nobody asked him if he wanted to be part of that ad, but that doesn’t seem to stop some people.
That very insulting ad/slide depicts that elderly man as:
*Old Cowboy – as opposed, I guess, to a new Cowboy;
*Male – well, he certainly looks like a man;
*50-60 years old, maybe even 70;
*Gritty- from working the fields, you think? Or maybe he owns his own business and is walking home after a tough day at the office;
*Dirty – again, from working the fields, you think? Although he does look clean as he strolls down the street;
*Lazy – now, how in the hell does Glass Beach know that the old gentleman is lazy? Do you remember when social scientists and the like would say that we Mexicans were lazy, bereft of ambition, and stupid? I ‘member, do you ‘member?’
*Speaks Spanish – yes, he’s probably bilingual too, although nobody asked him;
*Uneducated – perhaps he doesn’t have book knowledge, but he certainly has knowledge of life, don’t you think?
The bottom line is that this depiction of Mexican people is very offensive. Yet,
why is Glass Beach allowed to portray elderly Mexicans in this manner, without anyone complaining or bringing the perpetrators to task. What really concerns me is that the ad/slide was prepared by a public relations company run by an African-American named Wingo. I mean, this guy is black, and he stoops to present Mexican people in such negative terms? Where’s the justice in that? And, after Chicanos welcomed blacks to their barrios in the 1940s-1950s because they couldn’t live anywhere else, at least, not where white people resided.
But, that’s okay, if Wingo feels like he’s arrived and can now stereotype Mexicans the way his people were once stereotyped, more power to him. However, he does have some explaining to do, as does Mayor Cook, Somos El Paso, and the 300-plus people who attended that show at the Plaza Theater, but who didn’t complain when they saw the ad/slide. Someone remarked that it was only one ad/slide out of more than 100, but, to me, that’s the ad/slide that truly matters.
I mean, when that portrayal of our elderly people was shown, were there not gasps and groans from some of the Chicanos who were there? Were they not shocked or insulted that such depictions are still being shown? I would’ve been, and, believe me, if I had been there, I would’ve shouted at the top of my voice demanding that the slide be removed. But, as I understand it, nobody complained. Is it because they agree with the depiction?
The El Paso Times hasn’t run a story about the stereotype that was presented? Why? Does the Times agree with the depiction that elderly gentlemen and Mexicans in general are Old Cowboy, Male, 59-60 years old, Gritty, Dirty, Lazy, Speaks Spanish and is Uneducated? The only reason why I believe that the Times and others haven’t complained about the portrayal is that they agree with it. How sad, and this after we had thought we’d overcome those stereotypes.
So, I guess it’s back to the drawing board. Oh, but, wait, there’s more. When the offensive ad/slide was shown, another ad/slide also was presented. Only, this one portrayed what the Paso Del Norte Group and Glass Beach want El Paso to become. The ad/slide showed Penelope Cruz – a Spanish actress, and some Anglo actor as representing what the PDNG wants for El Segundo Barrio. Why, the very idea. There are very beautiful women and handsome men in El Segundo. We don’t need to recruit actors, or people who don’t know better to represent us.
To me, the media, including The El Paso Times, El Diario de El Paso, Spotlight, Newspaper Tree, et al, haven’t bothered to deal with this issue. Is it only me? Also, El Paso Times Editor Don Flores, when I challenged him to do a story about the negative portrayal of Mexicans by Glass Beach only responded that he didn’t belong to the PDNG. Does this mean that he agrees with the portrayal, does Times’ Editorial Page Editor Charlie Edgren agree with it as well, does Mayor Cook agree with it? The point is that nobody’s complaining, yet, they should be.
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