Dear Mexican: A few years ago, I moved to Tucson and noticed that there were little piles of stuff accumulated on the medians of the main roads. It looks like what was Dia de los Muertos paraphernalia – I’m not so gringo as to not know what’s up. These little piles of beads are obviously memorials to deceased family and friends. My question is this: Why the need to litter the medians or roadsides? | 


Down Under, Mexicans Blow


Dear DUMB: “Paraphernalia?” I hope that’s what you call the tombstones of your relatives – actually, I hope you don’t, because that means you’re more of an insensitive baboso. Despite the strenuous efforts of hipsters, Día de los Muertos is actually a solemn holiday – everything used for a display has a personal meaning not easily purchased at Party City. Mexicans have a much more cordial relationship with death than gabachos, so descansos commemorating accidents can stay up for years in Mexican neighborhoods and no one gets their chonis in a bunch. How is remembering someone littering? As long as it’s not on private property, why does a roadside memorial bother you? May a pigeon perch on your cenotaph!

There seems to be a lot of questions on your take of what’s Mexican and why Mexicans do this or do that – my question is on heritage. My last name, Anguiano, is from a little village in Spain. Now, I learned that Arabs came to Spain at one time – could there be a chance that all Mexicans originated from Arabic peeps? I don’t know much – just like to have your take on it?
 |

Askin’ Arellano about Anguiano


Dear AAAA: You at least know your surname is habitational, which is more than most Mexis know about their apellido. And you also know that the Moors invaded Spain and infiltrated supposedly pure Spanish bloodlines far and wide. But Arabic heritage only went so far – yes, we worship a virgin with a partly Arabic name, but Anguiano’s home province of La Rioja was part of al-Andalus for only a few centuries until retaken by Spaniards in the 10th century. That’s when the word “Anguiano” first entered Hispanic chronicles, and the name for the village of the same name was chosen specifically because of its Latin origins – those are lost to history, but we can safely assume it had something to do with snakes, since the word angui is the singular form of snake in Latin. Eh, post hoc pendejo propter hoc.