Spanish speakers.... Which is the best answer to my question...?

Question

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=At19nk8UheWOgM1XnZ9WJ6MgBgx.?qid=20060924071949AACW65a

I asked why there was so much racism towards black people in Mexico on the Mexican YAnswers and got quite a few answers.. all in spanish.. anyone know which oneis the best answer? thanks!

online translators are rubbish and never translate correctly so i won't be using those!

Answer 1

Highlight the answers then cut and paste them into the box found at

http://babelfish.altavista.com/

then select translation spanish to english and pick your own best answer.

Answer 2

I 'm mexican interesting story but most of the times we treat foreigner the best way possible, we have always been nice to tourists, i think the way they looked at you was more about curiosity. True we treat white tourists a bit better than black , i personally have never talked to a black tourist... The first impression they gave me when i was a kid was they were violent , but now I'm 27 and I'm curious about knowing more color people. The truth is we in general haven't had too much contact with black people but i remember a friend who had a black mate and he said he was very cool....
Just give some time to this society and you will see things will change as globalization grows, pay no attention to this and you'll see things will change and once you get to know a mexican you'll find they usually are very very friendly like Asians i think.

the best answer is from Aleph i think

Answer 3

Oh, well... I would vote for Aleph´s answer, who explained that the reason Mexican people kept staring at you was because of curiosity and not because they were pointing at you, but since you seem really convinced that there are much racism against black people in Mexico, I guess you wouldn´t like that answer.

So you can choose civicrojo´s answer... he says that most Mexicans are arrogant and ignorant. If that makes you feel better, pick up that one.

There is also alphabravotango´s answer... he says Mexicans were just taking revenge on you because they are treated poorly in other countries... completely unjustified, but whatever...

lourdesmoran62 explained the same thing as Aleph... that it were your exotic looks what caught the attention of Mexicans, and they were not making fun of you at all. The only difference is that she didn´t apologize.

Again, it´s your choice. I only wonder what kind of answer were you really expecting.

By the way, Mexico has native black citizens, only there are not so many. People did keep black slaves for a time... slavery was declared unconstitutional and punished by death around 1810.

Some black citizens remained in Mexico, while others just moved to other countries. Most of them just mixed with the rest of the population... we never had serious issues about marriage between races.

We have some beloved figures in Mexican cinema and television, like Socorro Avelar, René Muñoz, Johnny Laboriel and his sister Ella, who are black, and a black idol comics icon, Memín Pinguín (whose image in stamps was found offensive by Jesse Jackson, even though it was obvious that Mexicans adore Memín).

No; Mexicans (and that is a shame) are usually racist among themselves, no to foreigners, no matter the color of their complexion. But it's ok if you choose to believe otherwise.

Answer 4

Of those on your page in Spanish, there is no best answer in the lot. They are all apologists but don't answer your question. I would suggest some reading that might help you answer it yourself.
You seem to speak Spanish so: 1. "Mexico Mutilado" by Mario Moreno. 2. "Distant Neighbors" by Alan Riding (Eng. or Span. version).
If I may venture my answer to your question, it is the same as in other societies where there is competition by identifiably different race groups for jobs and status. There are, or were, no native blacks in Mexico. Any "imported" culture, as the blacks from the carribean are to the Mexicans will be discriminated against. Mexico is no different in this than almost any culture in the world today, sorry to say.

Answer 5

g'day, I lived in Mexico for 5 years before coming back home to Australia. From the answers given, the non-Mexican had all taken the opportunity to agree with you to put down the Mexicans. The Mexicans all offered a compassionate hug and apologised for their "paisanos" (countrymen).

Hugo's answer seemed a genuine effort to make you feel better.

A Guatemalan living in USA (civicrojo) also felt discriminated by the Mexicans, even those living in US.

A Mexican girl near the bottom suggested the attention you got was more because they hadn't spoken to many tourists of your skin colour. (did that sound more like an excuse than a reason?) but she did "lament over the terrible personal experience you had"

BTW, if you want to continue with your Spanish, watch out for the feminine form of adjectives - (no soy americana)

Answer 6

hello, I´m mexican and i just read ur story. I really dont know what to say.
There are not many black people here in Mexico, so i think if people look at them is because they kind of exotic.
I have 2 black friends living in mexico and there are the most popular guys i´ve ever known. If we are in a disco THEY are the ones who receive drinks for free (compliments of some girl).
anyway, i´m really sorry if u or ur friend felt out of place or victim of some racist people. Not all mexicans are like that.

Answer 7

They are all very apologetic which is nice to know and obviously seems as though you were just very unlucky and had a bad experience. Had a read of them all and would have to say that "aleph" gave the best answer.

And you are correct, on-line translators are rubbish!

Answer 8

Based on the answers from Mexico and my own experience I can tell you it's common to be looked at when you're different, but that's because you call their attention, not because they dont't like you (this is for the common people).
As for the hotels and cops, unless you were going to a place that's close to Cuba (from where we get many immigrants), it's not so common to get that kind of treatment.