Hadleigh - Mexicos most wanted : the top 10 book of Chicano culture, Latin lovers, and Hispanic pride

Mexicos Most Wanted

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The Top 10 Book of Chicano Culture, Latin Lovers, and Hispanic Pride

Boze Hadleigh

Copyright 2007 Potomac Books, Inc.

Published in the United States by Potomac Books, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hadleigh, Boze.
Mexicos most wanted : the top 10 book of Chicano culture, Latin lovers, and Hispanic pride / by Boze Hadleigh.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-59797-149-2 (pbk.)
1. MexicoCivilization. 2. MexicoSocial life and customs. I. Title.
F1210.H23 2007
972dc22
2007020260

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper that meets the American National Standards Institute Z39-48 Standard.

Potomac Books, Inc.
22841 Quicksilver Drive
Dulles, Virginia 20166

First Edition

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my mother, Fresia,
her parents, Nina Leon and Ruben Garcia,
my sister, Linda,
and as always, to Ronnie.

For their invaluable help I thank from my heart: Ronnie, for computerese and so much else; Linda Fresia, for clippings and questions. I also thank my excellent and perspicacious editor on Mexicos Most Wanted, Kevin Cuddihy, himself a fine author.

For help with various photographs, I thank the kind and charming Georgina Gonzalez at La Opinion, now in its eighty-first year, and a tip of the hat goes to the newspapers gracious chief, Pedro Rojas.

Librarians aid in more research than is usually acknowledged, and libraries are a questing adults ongoing temple and schoola place to wonder and a place to learn. Thanks to five exemplary and helpful librarians: Dr. Cheryl Collins, Laura Frakes, Eva Mitnick, John W. P. Storck, and Wendy Westgate.

For inspiring help along the way, thanks to: Miguel Arteta, Luca Bentivoglio, Charitin, Manuel Cordova, Nancy de los Santos, Alberto Dominguez, Cris Franco, Gloria Molina, Janet Murguia, Lisa Navarrete, Susan Racho, Jerry Velasco, Antonio Villaraigosa, and Chris Weitz.

Gone but not forgotten, each individual was helpful and encouraging about a sequel to Hispanic Hollywood, be it film-related or not, Hispanic or more specifically Mexican/Mexican-American: Eddie Albert (so gracious at the NCLR conference), Charlie Earle (a publicist who believed in spreading the wealth), Freddie Fender (who said dont leave out the farm workers), Lalo Guerrero (who said do include lots of music), Carlos Montalban (a fine actor and older brother, often overlooked), Eduardo Palomo (a promising actor and booster of Mexico), Marc Allen Trujillo (president of Nosotros and local television host), and Raul Velasco, the helpful and enthusiastic host of the internationally popular television show Siempre en Domingo.

And to the hundreds of people over the years who wrote in about Hispanic Hollywood (and later, The Bronze Screen), thank you for taking the time to share your concerns, interest, and praise. English-language books and television material on Mexicans and Hispanics are indeed fascinating, underrepresented, and long overdue.

Hispanics are now the largest minority in the United States, with a population of more than forty milliontwo-thirds of whom are Mexican or Mexican-American. And almost half of all births in the nation are now Hispanic.

In California and Texas, Mexican-Americans will become the majority before 2020, and the last name Garcia (which the author shares through his mothers father) is on its way to becoming the most widespread U.S. surnamepartly because its more common in Spanish than Smith and Jones are in English.

Sales of salsa have long since surpassed ketchup sales in the United States, and the current president and COO of McDonalds is Hispanic (the super-chain now advertises Mexican food!). The countrys number four television network is Spanish-language Univisionwhich, however, does not imply that all Mexican-Americans speak Spanish. In Los Angeles, the number one evening news broadcast isnt on CBS, ABC, NBC, or CNNbut KMEX. And in 2007 a Mexican-directed English-language film was nominated for seven Academy Awards (and won one). In addition to Babel, Mexicos Spanish-language Pans Labyrinth was up for six Oscars and won three.

Although more than 13 percent of the population, Hispanics comprise less than 5 percent of the characters on television. And its only recently that Los Angelesthe second-biggest Spanish-speaking city in the world (number three is Madrid, Spain) after Mexico City, the worlds largest cityfinally elected a Mexican-American mayor... the first time since the 1800s.

Many of us are part Hispanic: John Waynes seven children and George Clooneys five cousins by aunt Rosemary Clooney are, and ex-Florida governor Jeb Bushs son, George P. Bush, is half Mexican. Yet Hispanics are underrepresented politically, and in the media, and stereotypes and biases still abound. Long ago, Life magazine called Hispanics the invisible minority. Sheer numbers are changing that, but despite Spanish surnames popping up everywhere, this usually gentle and hardworking super-minority hasnt yet learned that the wheel that squeaks loudest gets the grease.

One fifth of U.S. high school students are Hispanic, but so far not enough go on to college. And too many hide the fact that they speak Spanish at home. Newscaster and author Jorge Ramos has said that the United States is about the only country where its considered better to speak one language than two (this author, with a B.A. in Spanish literature, speaks five, including Spanish).

Interestingly, todays director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is HispanicEmilio Gonzalezand 20 percent of Californias kindergarten through twelfth grade teachers are Hispanic, as are 60 percent of the states construction/labor force, 58 percent of its cooks, and 53 percent of its janitors. Yet some politicians make a fuss about the enormous problem of immigrant workersthe laborers who take jobs nobody else wants, and for much less money. Maintaining the illegal status of so many Mexican workers is in fact a benefit for U.S. business, which thus pays less than minimum wage and avoids paying benefits.