—Former Pupusa Eater
Growing up, I never noticed the difference between any Hispanic person. Yo pensaba if you spoke Spanish, it meant to me that you were Mexican (I was little, OK?). Of course, as I grew up, I started noticing all different kinds of Latinos but one in particular were Salvis. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s like this feeling that was always there, but I didn’t know about it. It was dislike and rivalry towards them. I mean, don’t get me wrong: I don’t hate them, I just dislike them. And I wasn’t the only one! I found out that many Mexicans feel this way, too, as do Salvadorans towards us. So, is this a universal feeling? Am I wrong for feeling this way? Are Mexicans and Salvadorans rivales? If so, por qué?
— La gordis de guadalajara
Dear Wabs: Historically, the Mexican- Salvadoran rivalry that so many readers correctamente note has a strong basis. Shortly after Central America gained its independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico tried to swallow the region into its burgeoning empire. The fiercest opposition? El Salvador. Eventually, republic-minded Mexicans stopped their country’s ambitions and allowed El Salvador and the other Central American provinces to create the United Provinces of Central America. That lasted into the 1830s, by which time Mexico was too busy dealing with another imperial power to care much about recouping its former holdings. And if you know anything about Mexico, it’s que we don’t take thefts of our lands lightly.
But that was then—this is ahorita, and there remains no reason for the two countries and their raza to hate each other. Presidents Felipe Calderón and Mauricio Funes met this summer and reached quite a few accords and bilateral agreements. Stateside, wabs and Salvis might compete for the same resources like other recent immigrants, but we’re both wetbacks in the eyes of the gabachos (and in the case of Salvis, to echo the legendary Los Tigres del Norte song, tres veces mojado). Let’s make peace, Salvadorans—our rivalry is pointless, and the fruits of a union much richer. Besides, hatred between nosotros merely blinds us to the menace between our ancestral lands: Guatemala.
CORRECTION: A couple of weeks ago, in explaining the discrepancies between English and Spanish in pronouncing the letter x, the Mexican stated St. Francis Xavier founded the Jesuits. The order’s true founder, of course, was Ignatius of Loyola. The Mexican apologizes for his error and blames the United States for stealing half of Mexico.
Ask the Mexican at themexican@askamexican.net, myspace.com/ocwab, facebook.com/garellano, find him on, Twitter, or write via snail mail at: Gustavo Arellano, P.O. Box 1433, Anaheim, CA 92815-1433!
I never met a Mexican who said hated Salvis.
I'm from El Salvador and my best friend is Mexican for more than 10 years.
I don't undestand why Mexican are always bulling at El Salvador. Por q no semeten con uno de su mismo tamaño. Mexicans are always hating at El Salvador but they for get the American hate them, I always hear spretions from my white friends saying "f**k Mexican" their so ugly, short people, ungly Indians,they live in the most getto places, their towns look worth then anything. Their is over 33,000 million Mexican in the usa, everytime they do something stupid, they make all latinos look so bad. The reson Americans don't legalize imegrants in becouse they don't like Mexicans. They just to fit in. Now my question is? Instead of Mexican bulling at the smaller country like El Salvador why don't Mexican humble their self and treat El Salvador the same way they want americans to treat them. Think about this before pointing finger, beside the United States are by our side most likely then being by the Mexican side. So Mexicans learn to be more humble por que mi lindos que son para q esten ablando como so lo fuera. Asta en las novelas prefieren usar actores blancos de descendencia europe. Aprendan aser umildes para q caigan bien y no mal.
partner to marry you, a mexican. It is pretty foolish to get a divorce
just because your mexican pals felt a inferior complex, and decided
lashed out to your Salvi partner that way. You can really see their
primitive behavior and cowardliness. Sadly it affects you too, because
instead of defending your partner, you turned and gave a stab in the
back. But i understand, my Salvi friends always try to not associated
themselves with mexican things also, their disgust towards mexicans is
pretty raw. While there are mexicans like your self who are clueless and
dislike Salvis for reason which you dont even know, which sounds
pathetic and childish ; )
Mexicans for pass reason…when the European (Spaniards) came to conquer
the Americas, the mexican indians in the Aztec capitol foolishly saw the
white settler as gods, while the indigenous peoples of Cuzcatlan in
today’s El Salvador Central America saw the Europeans as barbarian and
invaders. When the Spanish finally defeated the Aztecs, they proceeded
to conquer the Civilizations in Central America Guatemala, Honduras, and
El Salvador. The Spanish took mexican indians the (Tlaxcala indians in
particular) as auxiliaries, to help them conquer the indigenous in El
Salvador. Thus the indigenous people in El Salvador saw the mexican
indians as traitors to their own kind, that is were El Salvador’s hate
towards mexicans started. The indigenous people in El Salvador were able
to drive the Spanish and the mexican allies away for a while. Later,
when mexico and Central America freed themselves from Spain, the mexican
empire tried to swallow all of Central America, but El Salvador was the
first one to object and reject mexico for some reason. that is the
second reason why Salvadorian hated mexicans. After when the Salvadorian
Civil war had begun, the Salvadorians crossed mexico to the USA as they
do today, while crossing mexico, the Salvadorians face with violations
and abuse. When the Salvadorians reached the USA they carried that rage
and hatred with them, this laso happens to other Central Americans. That
is the third reason why Salvadorians hate mexicans. When living in the
USA the Salvadorians face abuse by mexican gangs and thus the
Salvadorians with their military experience grouped themselves like
hornet wasps and created their own gang and drove the mexicans away liek
bubble bees from their hives, this was is Los Angeles. fourth reason
why Salvadorians hate mexicans. Where as mexicans have no reason to hate
Salvadorians. Once I asked a Salvadorian if he was mexicans, and he
gave me a horrid look as if he thought mexicans were some kind of
insignificant insects. I didn’t understand it, until i did some
research. I found it funny when you said about the eww Salvi, because
this is only said by mexicans. While the ((ewww mexican)) is said by
other and most Latin Americans and Americas as well. I saw a Tyra show
where a white American dated a mexican and the her friends bother her
constantly saying horrible things about mexicans. I agree that the past
is the past and Salvadorians and mexicans should just get along..
im mexican i i dnt hate people from el salvador i think that not just becouse one did u wrong that they are all the same. there are bad mexicans bad salvadorenos bad of all color and race i just think its wrong that people think like that.