Mexico #6

Using his keen powers of observation, my dad noted that I missed Mexico #6. Here is the post I started before my mom got here. I got distracted, so it's taken me until now to finish it. Enjoy ...

I don't know if this came across in my last post [Mexico #5], but for me, Veracruz didn't live up to its reputation as a relaxed, white-skirted place with a strong Caribbean influence. The city of Veracruz felt small and almost provincial. I got called chinita a lot, something that almost never happens in Mexico (remember, that's a reference to the capital city, not the country)--although the supermarket near the hostel does have a cleaning product called "La Chinita" (I think it's kind of like Ajax). China means both the country, China, and Chinese--though for masculine words, the adjective form would be chino (ending in o instead of a). So in this case, Chin[it]a is the feminine Chinese, or a Chinese woman. The addition of the suffix -ita is kind of affectionate, cute and small. An example: if your name were Fluff, in English you might get called Fluffy as an endearing nickname; Flufita would be the Spanish equivalent.

Also, china often refers to all of East Asia and all East Asians here in America Latina, something that annoys Korean and Japanese Americans to no end (not sure how Japanese and Korean Mexicans feel about it) and partially explains why the woman on the can of La Chinita cleaner is wearing a kimono and waving a fan with a big red sun on it. It does not answer the question of why you would think "La Chinita" is good name for your cleaning product, or what this might say about people's ideas about Asians or the use of race in general here. I will leave you to make your own speculations.

For my part, I feel privileged to view this kind of racial "event" as quaint and vaguely odd, instead of as a threat. I know that my race is seen, but I don't expect that to limit what I will be able to achieve in this life (although it's probably a good thing that I don't want to act; I think Hollywood is still pretty weird when it comes to Asian characters). Patrick sometimes wishes that "there was no history"--quite a statement, coming from a historian. No history, for a white man and an Asian woman. I understand his hurt with this, but I'm just counting my blessings. Our marriage will be totally legal; our children will be as free as I am; no one will spit on us in the street or deny us service because of our miscegenation; and we will be far from alone. Mixed-race couples are far more common than they were a generation ago, and the percentage of mixed-race marriages in the US continues to grow. In 1990, 1 out of every 23 marriages were interracial; in 2000, it was 1 in every 15. The numbers are even higher in states with large populations of Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans. It is another comment on our weird take on race in the US that African Americans--most of whom are of mixed racial descent in the first place, but whom we continue to categorize by the "one drop" rule--are still involved in a disproportionately small number of interracial marriages. In California, 13.5% of all marriages are mixed-race; in Alabama, the figure is 3.3%. It isn't for lack of races to mix, is it? There is an article on the demographics of interracial couples in the US with some nice charts here; it's by University of Michigan demographer and Brookings Institution Fellow William Frey. He doesn't get into the intersection of race and gender, but I did find the article to be informative. One thing that totally surprised me was that 75% of the marriages involving Native Americans (including Eskimos and Aleuts) are interracial.

Does this still count as a post about Mexico? My mom (who we put on the plane home yesterday) was very curious about what is "Spanish" and what is "indigenous" in this country. It's impossible to separate everything that way, but her question did lead to some interesting conversations. I thought the guide at the anthropology museum, answered another visitor's question about race very well; she said that in recent years, Mexicans have become more comfortable with and even proud of the notion that everyone is mestizo, or mixed Spanish-Indian. There has been increasing interest and pride in pre-Hispanic cultures (especially Aztec society, which has its large exhibition hall at the center of the museum). But at the same time, you wouldn't ask someone if they were indio; it's borderline insulting. To be Indian here is still associated with being lower class--and most of the models and actors have light skin, often light hair, and European features.

We have more in common with Mexico than we realize. For another quick example: the last election here was very close, won by a margin of less than 200,000 votes. The conservative candidate won. The supporters of the liberal candidate continued for some time to contest the election results. Sound a little familiar? Some major differences: 1) Here, I don't think there were any problems with voters having access to polling places (remember the stories about long lines to vote in some areas of the US). 2) The non-partisan election commission certified the election as it stood. Imagine what you would think of this country if the election were decided by a state governed by the winning candidate's brother.

Here's a weird tidbit, which Patrick just got from our hostel guy. In Mexico, there's a stereotype about people who are lazy and always trying to cheat you: Cubans!

Time to go do more stuff!