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[or82]

Hi all,

Excuse me if this question has already been addressed. The search function doesn't seem to be working.

I am a black female who will be moving to Mexico this summer to go teach for two years. I've been told that there is no are virtually no black communities in Mexico (apart from the South) and that I should expect to get many stares and inappropriate questions because of my race.

Does anybody have any experiences or can they shed some light on how Mexican regard black people or other from visible minorities?

Thanks

[Aabra]

I've only known one black person in the 3 years that I've been down here. (Guadalajara) I can confirm that you will definitely stand out. That being said I haven't really noticed any actual racism or any difference in the way they're treated. Take what I say with a giant grain of salt though as it's really hard to tell since I don't exactly see Mexicans interacting with blacks on a daily basis.

[hlamb]

I noticed some blacks in Veracruz, which has a slightly different feel to other parts of Mexico. Apparently a few came from the US as escaped slaves and others came directly there. That said, it was not a large community but seemed to be well integrated.

I currently work with a black female teacher. Sure, people comment because she's different but I wouldn't say she gets many more comments than I do, as a white female with light brown hair. She's here with her husband and tends to go places with him, rather than being out a lot on her own.

[Samantha]

I don't believe someone black will have any kind of a problem and the poster who said that blacks don't stand out any more than we do is correct, in my opinion. Mexicans stare all the time and I get stared at alot, mostly because locals aren't used to seeing foreigners deep in the working class residential areas. People are really curious is all.

We know a US fellow who trains helicopter pilots here. He is black and happens to hang out with Mexican friends of ours. It has never occurred to me to ask him about this, but maybe I will next time I see him. He has lived in Mexico nearly as long as I have and appears to enjoy it very much. I imagine if there was a problem he would have put in for a transfer.

[or82]

From what I've been told, the stares aplenty and odd questions from Mexicans with regard to my race are not hostile, just curious. As long as they are well-intentioned I take no issue!

I have read a little about the black populations located in Veracruz and Oaxaca state. I think I read that they were more numerous around the time of slavery but because of miscengenation and wiping out of various black and indigenous populations that very few black mexicans are found in present-day Mexico.

As for racism in Mexico, the questionable observations made by Fox a couple of years ago have lead many to raise eyebrows and wonder how Mexicans feel about black people. You may remember that he said that the Mexicans in the U.S. are so desperate that they have been forced "to take jobs that not even the blacks would take"(!)

Also, the controversial printing of a stamp depicting a character in "black-face" (admittedly a beloved Mexican cartoon character that was popular in the 30's) has put race-relations in Mexico into question.

However, these may be inaccurate observations, so please enlighten me!

Samantha, that'd be great if you could contact your friend; I'd love to hear about his experiences!

[cscx]

this past summer, a black friend and i went to six flags in DF. while we were in line, she was messing around with her cell phone and not paying attention. near us was a group of young children...maybe in 3rd grade or so. one of the boys came up to me and asked where i was from. i said the US. "and her?" he asked, pointing to my friend. i told him that she, too, was from the US. his expression was one of utter surprise and disbelief--he asked me if i was being serious! after explaining that she really was from the US, my new little friend backed away but kept staring at my friend, who was still obliviously playing on her phone.

nothing malicious...just a humorous kind of curiosity on the part of a small child

[El Gallo]

I think you will need to learn to be thick skinned if you come to Mexico. The culture is different here and what would be insensitivities in the US towards Blacks aren't even thought of here. People are referred to by the color of their skin here in a non-malicious manner. After a while I got used to my name being "guero" (way-do) meaning whitey.
The Spanish word for black is "negro" or "negra" so you can't be offended by that. "Working like a black person" is a compliment here for hard work. You will see a caricature of a pick-a-ninny used to advertise everything from candy and ice cream to a hair salon.

My personal shock of intolerance was when my 13 year old student showed up in class in a black T-shirt with a red swastika. My father got hurt fighting the Nazis in WWII and I was offended, pointing out that Hitler would have probably exterminated Mexicans before Americans because they are farther from blond hair and blue eyes. I ask indignantly if Mexican parents didn't understand history and teach it to their children. Eventually, I got over it realizing that free speech in Mexico is sometimes freer than in some so called "bastions of freedom" like the US.

If you come, leave your indignation at home and you will be better off.

[Prof.Gringo]

Here is a newspaper article that I found on the internet:

Blacks in Mexico fight for recognition

Hugh Dellios
Chicago Tribune
Jul. 22, 2005 12:00 AM

CUAJINICUILAPA, Mexico - No one ever put Melquiades Dominguez's face on a postage stamp. Nor Juan Angel Serrano. Nor any other of the descendants of Black slaves who live along Mexico's Costa Chica.

Nor did Mexico's Blacks have much say when the federal government ignited a racially loaded scandal in late June by issuing stamps of a popular 1950s-era cartoon character that the Bush White House and Jesse Jackson declared an insulting stereotype.

Though few bothered to ask, some felt insulted. Others thought the whole scandal an unfortunate distraction from their far more serious challenge of overcoming poverty and a lack of recognition.

While the figure on the stamp, Memin Pinguin, may be Mexico's most famous Black face, the country's real Blacks are nearly invisible to the wider population. Discrimination confronts them, they say, when police or airport officials insist they must be Cuban or Puerto Rican, question their credentials and make them sing the national anthem to prove their citizenship. Or when their children open a history textbook and find barely three paragraphs about there being Black slaves in Mexico once upon a time.

"They just don't see us," said Serrano, 41, a Costa Chica cattle farmer who heads Black Mexico, a group trying to raise the Black community's profile. "People ask us where we're from. They say we can't be from Mexico."

In a country proud of its mixed heritage, Mexico's Blacks are not recognized as a separate ethnic group. They have no specific government programs addressing their needs; the country's many indigenous groups do.

Federal officials estimate that there could be 500,000 Black Mexicans, concentrated in Guerrero, Oaxaca and Veracruz states.

"Their invisibility is practically total," said Jose Luis Gutierrez, adjunct director general of the National Council to Prevent Discrimination. "And their situation is more serious than the indigenous communities. They are the poorest of the poor."

[Prof.Gringo]

I see racism here everyday. It's different from the racism in the US, but it is racism. Look at the media here. Almost all of the actors, actresses, TV stars, magazine ads, billboards, etc. feature light skinned, fair-haired people. In a country where the overwhelming majority of people are darker skinned. I commonly hear people here say racist and very ignorant ideas about various ethnic groups, Indians, Asians, and blacks especially. When many students here talk about "Americans" they often only mean white Americans. They talk separately about Latinos and usually ignore that there are black Americans.

On a positive side there aren't any "hate" groups that I know of in Mexico. The discrimination and racism here are just something that's ingrained into the society.

[Phil_K]

In a way it is refreshing, the attitude to racism here. Coming from England, where racism can, and has, manifested itself in violence, I see little or none of that here. As others have mentioned, sure, you will stand out, but a Jamaican teacher I worked with was among the most popular of my colleagues and any comment you receive will be only out of curiosity, as it is with a whitey like I am. After more than five years, I am still consious that people look at me, and I am relatively dark skinned and dark haired. In fact with the "Malinchismo" (foreign is better) that prevails in Mexico, we are regarded highly. As in many countries, the "real" natives are more discriminated against within their own country... Aborigines, Native Americans etc... than foreigners from a completely different race.

[salsera_africana]

Hey or82,

I am really happy that another black girl will be in MX!! I studied in Xalapa, Veracruz in 2005 for a semester and I had the time of my life! Sure I got the stares and harmless whispers and even people wanting to take pictures of me, but in some wierd way, I feel like it's all due to curiousity. Many people thought I was from Cuba or sometimes France. It was a shock to them when I said I was from the U.S. Sometimes, I would say I was from Nigeria, many of the time to avoid anti-American comments and such. (My parents are Nigerian). I think you will enjoy yourself!!! Get ready for random people wanting to take pictures of you... That was something I never got used to. Many would ask you first, but some took the pictures without permission! I was studying with a black guy from France and everyone thought we were related, or they would think he was a basketball player and that I was some artist I never heard. It was fun, and after awhile I would play into it and say I was the artist they thought I was!! LOL!!!! (It was all in good fun!) Anyway, I plan on moving back to MX this August. I'll be in the Mazatlan area.
If you have any questions at all I can go more in detail with you through PM if you like.

Take care,

salsera

[MeekieEnMexico]

Hey! I am happy that you aksed this question...many people are uncomfortable with this.

As a black chick, the only racism I have experienced has been the stereotypical thoughts many of my friends had about AA before meeting them. But then again, in my city in Ohio, I have run across that as well.

In Mexico, you are looking upon as beautiful if you are white (guero) or a foreigner. Black is also very exoticized as well. While being followed down the street by taxi drivers and the like is not my idea of fun, its not a big bother.

Most people will think that you are from Brazil or France or Cuba. My sister and I got Brazil or the Dominican Republic or Jamaica like every other day. While I'm not denying my American heritage, it was really fun to pretend to be from another country, ha ha.

I have a best friend here in Mexico who is taking me to a laguna in Oaxaca near Puerto Escondido. His explanation of the people there was "THey are black, Meekie...I mean BLACK! BLacker than YOU!" I can't wait to see these "black mexicans", who are really ignored in Mexican history.

Where will you be in Mexico and what will you be teaching? I am in Puebla and although I am going home in June to graduate, I will be back in August.

I'll send you a PM with my e-mail address so we can share our Mexico stories!

Salsera--

Your experiences are so cool! I would like to send you a PM to hear more!! What are you going to be doing in Mazatlan?

[MeekieEnMexico]

[or82]

Wow Meekie and Salsera,

Thanks so much for your input! It's good to get info straight from the "horse's mouth" so to speak as to what visible minorities experience in Mexico... Though I'm not particularily enthused at the fact that I might be exoticized and stereotyped, I'm glad to know that I don't have to worry about any sort of hostility.

I was born in Canada but my parents are Jamaican and we are very deeply rooted in our culture so Mexicans will correctly guess my Caribbean heritage! I went to Cuba a few years back and people could not believe that I, a black woman, was from Canada, and not Africa or the Caribbean, it puzzled them.

I am intrigued by the little I know about the "black Mexicans" and look forward to learning more about them.

I'll be in Monterrey and will be teaching grade 7 in a private, bilingual, "international" type school. I look forward to trading stories!

-OR82

[MELEE]