Pochos and Gringas

Yesterday I saw some pochos on the beach, some guys that looked like they'd been raised in the States. Maybe it was the style of their tats or their Angels caps. Or the fact that they were playing American football. But they sure looked Mexican-American to me, not Mexican. They certainly weren't locals. But I was in the mood for a little English chit-chattery, so, when I noticed their wives/girlfriends/lady escorts sitting nearby on a blanket I decided to wander over with my adorable baby and try to make friendly.

I'm a little blind, though, so it wasn't until we were within a few feet of the misses that I realized they were giving me some pretty snobby looks. So, Hanix and I toddled over to the surf instead and played the always amusing game of catching Hanix before he was pulled out to sea. And that was that.
Hernan apparently observed the whole scene from where he was in the ocean. He's not blind like me. When he came back to the beach he told me that probably they were looking at me all bitchy because everyone knows that gringas who are with Mexican men either already had kids by someone else, have or had a substance abuse problem, are on the heavy side, or are just psycho crazy somehow. They were probably trying to figure out which one I am.

For real? I'd never heard that before.

Oh, yeah! he said, everyone knows that! Kids by another man, drug problem, extra chubby, or crazy as all hell.

So which one am I? Let's examine the facts. I didn't have any kids for the first six or seven years I was with my husband, and the one I've got now is most definitely his. I'm not a user, and alcohol isn't a problem. Got that? I don't have a problem with alcohol. I could quit at any time. Wait, actually, that's not even a joke. I did quit when I found out I was knocked up, and abstained for over a year. I think that clears me of substance abuse. As for weight, I was going to suggest I resemble Skeletor, until I googled him and was reminded that actually, for a skeleton, Skeletor was extraordinarily ripped. So, that doesn't fit. Shall we just leave off with "scrawny" and move on?



So, I can deduce that I'm a crazy bitch.

Sweet.

I shared my conclusion with Hernan, and he just replied "No, baby, you're great. You're the best," which kind of confirmed it, because why else would he try to placate me so quickly?

Has anyone else heard this before? Hernan assures me it's not his opinion, but that it's an extremely common assumption. All you white women with Mexican men - have you ever heard this? Do you fit the stereotype? I think it only applies to white American women with Mexican men, but I'm not an expert on this.

By the way, I didn't know what a pocho was, either. Hernan supplied the term. That makes it two stereotypes I learned in one day. Yay!