Cross-Border Views of Mexicans Tim Johnson - McClatchy Newspapers
go to original July 21, 2012

Mexicans living in their patria and Mexican-Americans living in theirs have different names for each other, often used with a pejorative connotation.

This 12-minute video includes clips of famous Mexicans and Mexican-Americans talking about how they are seen on the other side of the border, and also discusses views of social class. It is quite interesting.

Among those interviewed are Gustavo Arrellano, who writes the "Ask a Mexican!" syndicated column published in alternative weeklies, and the actor Edward James Olmos.

The key terms in the piece are "naco" which roughly translates to "low class," and "pocho," which is a derogatory way of saying someone is Americanized.

The blurb for the video piece adds this:

Popularized in the late 1970s by the comedian Luis de Alba, the term “naco” is commonly used to mean “low class” but to a younger generation, it can also mean “tacky cool” in a fashion similar to the U.S. hipster appropriation of trucker hats and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. Similarly, the term “pocho”, which was traditionally used in Mexico as a put-down against Americans of Mexican descent, has become a point of pride to a growing number of Mexican-Americans.

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