¡Ask a Mexican! was a syndicated satirical weekly newspaper column written by Gustavo Arellano in the Orange County, California alternative weekly OC Weekly. Publication of ¡Ask a Mexican! began in 2004 as a one-time spoof, but popularity has made it one of the weekly's most popular columns. [1]
History
Every week, readers submit their questions about Mexican-American people and culture, including their customs, labor issues, and illegal immigration. Arellano usually responds to two queries a week [2] in a politically incorrect manner often starting with the words "Dear Gabacho." The column appears in about a dozen newspapers across the country. [3] 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. [4]
The columns were collected in book form in 2008 as ¡Ask a Mexican! (Scribners, ISBN 978-1416540038).
On October 13, 2017, Arellano resigned his position with OC Weekly after refusing its owner's directive to fire half his staff. He told Tom Leykis that the paper owns the " copyright" (actually trademark) on the name ¡Ask a Mexican!, but that he intended to continue writing for other venues. [5]
References
- ^ Daniel Hernandez, " Inquiring Gringos Want to Know", Banderas News, September 2006. Accessed 2010-10-21.
- ^ Tim Gaynor, " Confused by your neighbors? Then Ask a Mexican!", Reuters, 1 May 2007. Accessed 2010-10-21.
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^
Ep. 213: Jeff and Dan "Ask A Mexican" with Author and Journalist Gustavo Arellano (Podcast). Virtue in the Wasteland. 16 January 2017. Event occurs at 00:05:16. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
...it used to be, at its height, ... in 39 markets across the United States. Unfortunately with the death of journalism ... I gotta make a new census, but at this point I'd say about 12 newspapers...
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^
"Gustavo Arellano". Simon & Schuster Authors. Simon & Schuster, Inc. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
He has received the President's Award from the Los Angeles Press Club, an Impact Award from the National Hispanic Media Coalition, and a 2008 Latino Spirit Award from the California State legislature.
- ^ Masunaga, Samantha. "OC Weekly editor Gustavo Arellano resigns from alt-weekly newspaper in dispute over cost cuts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
External links
- OC Weekly
- Mireya Navarro. " The Mexican Will See You Now". The New York Times, 23 June 2007.
- Interview with Arellano on Ask a Mexican, February 10, 2016, C-SPAN