Thread: Today on Yahoo News, An Abominable Ad in Spanish....

Originally Posted by Oldglory

I think it is because in New Mexico most Hispanics are mostly of Spanish descent and not Mexican. Some are a combination of U.S. native indian and Spanish with no ties to Mexico at all.

Well it's about even. Spanish(18.7%), Mexican (16.3%) and that was in 2000, so those with the latter ancestry might outnumber those of Spanish descent today, who knows really. I guess the explanation is that those that do have Mexican ancestry are not recent arrivals, but instead AT LEAST 3rd or 4th generation that will have integrated into New Mexico and put up their restaurants.

In New Mexico, some Hispanics with mostly Spanish ancestry are sometimes referred to as Hispanos. Hispanos people are the descendants of Spanish conquistadors who settled in what is now New Mexico in 1598 and lived mostly around the northern part of the state for hundreds of years. As oldglory mentioned some of these people have no ties to Mexico because their DNA admixtures are Spanish and U.S. Native American. Some Hispanos do have ties to Mexico, but those ties go back a long time. When Juan de Onate helped settle what would eventually become the state of New Mexico, some mesitzos from Mexico came with him.

The Hispano culture of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado are different from the culture of other Hispanic groups in the US. These people still speak an archaic dialect of Spanish and they have traditions that aren't practiced by any other Hispanic groups in the US. These people do make some Mexican style cuisine but is different from what people from Mexico would eat.
Also many Hispanos have Jewish heritage from ancestors who fled Spain and during the 1800's, many Hispano women married French trappers who came into different areas in the state.

I forgot to mention that I do agree that Latin American resturants need to be like other restaurants in that the restaurant workers can all speak English and that everything is in English-and the workers need to avoid a scowl that says "Latinos only need eat here". There is nothing wrong with an "authentic" touch but one should never feel like they are eating in a foreign country-or made to feel unwelcome!

diane85,
very informative post. Thanks! I love reading up on the history of the South West.

Originally Posted by sacredrage

I forgot to mention that I do agree that Latin American resturants need to be like other restaurants in that the restaurant workers can all speak English and that everything is in English-and the workers need to avoid a scowl that says "Latinos only need eat here". There is nothing wrong with an "authentic" touch but one should never feel like they are eating in a foreign country-or made to feel unwelcome!

So like instead of "arroz con frijoles" on their menu, it should be "rice with beans" right? I agree.

But keep the names for quesadillas, tacos, enchiladas, and burritos. I don't know of any English translations for those.

Diane85, it's interesting what you said about the "Hispanos"-I guess I would qualify as being half of one! The typical Latino I see looks like a combination of Amerindian and African, with the Amerindian traits being dominant, and they are medium-brown skinned. My father's side of the family is "olive" skinned and the only Amerindian traits showing is that my paternal grandpa (born in Puerto Rico) and my aunt have the almond eye shape-noone else has it-and my grandpa and grandma both have a strong Semitic profile-and Grandma and her mother both had Sephardic Jewish maiden names-though my grandma denies any past Jewish people in the family, saying they've always been Roman Catholic. There are no visible African traits in anyone and Grandma says her bloodline was 100% Spaniard. So I would say that my dad's family is Spanish with Sephardic Jewish (possibly a little Arab too but I'm unsure about the latter) and a trace of Puerto Rican "Indian". I myself pass for all "Anglo" as Mom is 100% white and I got her skin tone.

googler, exactly-certain words that we've always used like "taco" and "burrito" should remain the same but "arroz con pollo" should simply be "chicken and rice" and since their rice is usually the yellow kind when served with chicken unless otherwise substituted, I'd call it "chicken with yellow rice" or "chicken with Spanish rice"!

Diane85, I forgot to mention that to my knowledge my father's fam has only lived in NY and Florida upon immigrating to the U.S. Also my grandmother said she and her Cuban-born husband (not my blood grandfather, who was from Puerto Rico) speak a combination of Castillian Spanish and Cuban Spanish. My aunt and father know Spanish but my aunt has never spoken it around any nonHispanic and my father says he's "forgotten how to speak it"-both act culturally mainstream. Everyone except the grandparents has been "Americanized" and all Grandma's kids married and had kids with "Anglos". My parents divorced when I was two and Dad's family was a "holiday family" meaning I only saw them on birthdays and holidays...and I was raised by my mom and her family, who have a strong Southern influence-so I see myself as all "Anglo" and about the only Latino influence I have on me is that I was eating black beans and rice long before it became mainstream!

Originally Posted by sacredrage

googler, exactly-certain words that we've always used like "taco" and "burrito" should remain the same but "arroz con pollo" should simply be "chicken and rice" and since their rice is usually the yellow kind when served with chicken unless otherwise substituted, I'd call it "chicken with yellow rice" or "chicken with Spanish rice"!

Me: "Can I have an order of Spanish rice and beans?"
Worker: "Perdon joven, perro que me llamaste?"
Me: "Yes, that will be it."

googler, what you experienced is inexcusable for someone living and working in the U.S.! If you ever watched the British comedy "Fawlty Towers", it's like having Manuel as a waiter!

Originally Posted by sacredrage

Diane85, it's interesting what you said about the "Hispanos"-I guess I would qualify as being half of one! The typical Latino I see looks like a combination of Amerindian and African, with the Amerindian traits being dominant, and they are medium-brown skinned. My father's side of the family is "olive" skinned and the only Amerindian traits showing is that my paternal grandpa (born in Puerto Rico) and my aunt have the almond eye shape-noone else has it-and my grandpa and grandma both have a strong Semitic profile-and Grandma and her mother both had Sephardic Jewish maiden names-though my grandma denies any past Jewish people in the family, saying they've always been Roman Catholic. There are no visible African traits in anyone and Grandma says her bloodline was 100% Spaniard. So I would say that my dad's family is Spanish with Sephardic Jewish (possibly a little Arab too but I'm unsure about the latter) and a trace of Puerto Rican "Indian". I myself pass for all "Anglo" as Mom is 100% white and I got her skin tone.

Arab heritage is possible in your family. I suspect I have some Arab heritage mainly because some last names common with Hispanics are rumored to be Arab rooted.

In my family which are Hispanos, the physical features vary quite bit. On my father's side of the family dark Amerindian features are dominant and my mom's side her family looks more European. My father is dark skinned and my mother is fair skinned. My skin tone is in between theirs. One of my brother is dark like my father and another brother who is deceased was fair skinned like my mom and my sister has a medium skin tone. My maternal grandmother had blue eyes and in pictures of her as a young woman her hair seemed to be light brown. My father's grandfather had blue eyes and blonde hair. In northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, there are a lot of Hispanic people who look more European than Amerindian.

One thing that irks me is how many people think dark hair, dark skin, and dark eyes are requirements to look Hispanic.