¡Ask a Mexican!
Encyclopedia
¡Ask a Mexican! is a U.S. syndicated weekly column written by Gustavo Arellano and published by Orange County
's alternative weekly
OC Weekly
. It was first published in 2004 as a one-time spoof, but it ended up becoming one of the weekly's most popular columns.
Every week, readers submit their questions based on Mexicans, including their customs, labor issues, and illegal immigration. Arellano responds to two queries a week in a politically incorrect manner often starting with the words "Dear Gabacho
." The column now appears in 37 newspapers across the country and has a weekly circulation of over 2 million. Arellano has won numerous awards for the column, including the 2006 and 2008 Best Non-Political Column in a large-circulation weekly from the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, the 2007 Presidents Award from the Los Angeles Press Club and an Impacto Award from the National Hispanic Media Coalition, and a 2008 Latino Spirit award from the California Latino Legislative Caucus.
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
's alternative weekly
Alternative weekly
An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper, that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting local people and culture. Their news coverage is more...
OC Weekly
OC Weekly
OC Weekly, a sister publication of both LA Weekly and The Village Voice, is a free, left-wing weekly paper distributed in Orange County, California and also in Long Beach....
. It was first published in 2004 as a one-time spoof, but it ended up becoming one of the weekly's most popular columns.
Every week, readers submit their questions based on Mexicans, including their customs, labor issues, and illegal immigration. Arellano responds to two queries a week in a politically incorrect manner often starting with the words "Dear Gabacho
Gabacho
Gabacho is a word used in the Spanish language to describe foreigners of different origins:* In Spain, it is used as a pejorative for French people. It comes from Occitan gavach...
." The column now appears in 37 newspapers across the country and has a weekly circulation of over 2 million. Arellano has won numerous awards for the column, including the 2006 and 2008 Best Non-Political Column in a large-circulation weekly from the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, the 2007 Presidents Award from the Los Angeles Press Club and an Impacto Award from the National Hispanic Media Coalition, and a 2008 Latino Spirit award from the California Latino Legislative Caucus.
External links
- ¡Ask a Mexican!
- ¡Ask a Mexican! (OC Weekly)
- Mireya Navarro. "The Mexican Will See You Now". The New York Times, 23 June 2007.