I Want You Gringo!
 

Went to the Pomona Swap Meet yesterday and always stray over to the picture poster trailer where you have some great choices on every topic. I have noticed many controversial issues depicted in posters but have noticed a general overall appeal by the Latino community toward procuring one specifically. At face value is very agitating. Poncho Villa Looks out at you with a phrase "I want you gringo".

Actually without spending much time researching this I understand he was looking for Anglo conscripts to join the Mexican army. Propaganda purposes?

Will the history majors chime in on the poster and what it really means... other than what it appears at face value?

Thanks

Bobhttp://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1188242372.jpg

Didn't Pancho Villa predate WWI, when the Uncle Sam "I Want You" poster was first used? (IIRC, it was used again for WWII.) Please correct me if I'm wrong.

If so, it would seem to be a parody of the Uncle Sam poster...

I'd be hilarious to see an Uncle Sam recruitment poster in response saying, "I WANT YOU, BEANER".

It's a made up poster. It has no historic meaning. It was designed to get under the skin of Anglos who don't know any better. Guess it worked.

MRM,

Do you feel better? Did your penis grow an inch after that statement?

Thanks you!

Gavachos,
Mine did! But that made up for the inch it shrunk after the "beaner" comment by Jeff.

By the way, "gringo" IS a gringo word. Hispanics don't really use it if they mean to refer to Anglos in a semi-dismissive way. For that you use, gavacho. :D

Why doesn't anyone use "Honkey" anymore?

It was only used by black people....and its spelled "honky", honky!

I prefer "white-ass cracka'"

Dan,

I never saw it spelled out! :) Anyway-I am the Macho Gavacho to you :) My Late buddy used to call me that. Never really understood what it meant.

I have seen many posters that are very similar so I thought maybe it was modeled after a real one. It may be!

I find all those references to white people offensive. I prefer "boss" or "sir" ;) j/k

I lived in Costa Rica for a few years, Gringo is not a derogatory term there. Just like calling them Ticos or Ticas, it is what it is.

Lord Kitchener, Pancho Villa and Uncle Sam
 

Hi

This is my observations about the original question and some of the responses. Being half Mexican (the other half Spanish) and recently very interested in the Mexican revolution that broke out in 1910, I would be very excited to see that one of the main figures like "Pancho Villa" had issued propaganda oh this nature.

The poster as such is not inviting US Citizens to join up the Mexican Army but to fight alongside his rebel Army for the Mexican Revolution, US had economic interest in Mexico so they were already supplying Villa's army to continue the fighting in North Mexico.

Unfortunately unless someone is able to provide more arguments I truly believe this poster is not real and by the way if it was, it wouldn't be a plagiarised version of the Uncle Sam. You may notice that date in the poster cites issued in 1915, well… the original version of a poster of that nature was produced on request of Lord Kitchener (Chief Commander of the British Forces during WWI) and issued in 1914. I might underestimate Pancho Villa on this but provided his background I doubt he was interested in the War Propaganda produced in Europe in those days, so I don’t think this is real.

By the way the Uncle Sam concept although existed since the American Civil war did not come up with the join up image discussed in this forum until 1917.

Final note, "Gringo" is not an offensive or derogatory term per se, some of the theories of its origin date back to the Mexican - American War when Irish - American soldiers went off to battle chanting "(Green Grows the Grass in) My Old Kentucky Home" and "Green Grow the Lilacs", so Mexicans simplified the GREEN GROWS to GRINGOS due linguistic issues... but this is just a theory. Anyhow the only form that the word Gringo is offensive depends entirely on the context unlike "Beaner" which has no purpose other than denigrate Mexicans.


DI

This is exactly how I heard the origin of "Gringo" explained many years ago.

An intelligent, well-written, and knowledgeable first post (cboullosa)?

WHAT IS THIS PLACE COMING TO????

All teasing aside - welcome to the board cboullosa!
angela

Beg to disagree here..
 

Honky used in NE PA / Scranton area to refer to the blue collar folks.... kinda like rednecks but without the racist overlay that remains pervasive in the SE. Heard this term from relatives and friends long before heard it from any black people.

I got called a cracker once a long time ago by a woman in Fl. It caught me off guard and I almost laughed. She was trying to shoplift from the store that I worked in. I told her that if she left with the item that I'd call the cops. I was following her from the back of the store to the front of the store when she whipped around and yelled, " don't you follow me cracker!"

Yeah, I had the same reaction.

I do hear gringo used around here from time to time. I don't know if it's supposed to be negative or not. I don't understand enough Spanish to tell from the context.

Can't imagine that being a real poster. I thought Gen. Pershing & Pancho Villa had a gentleman's agreement before WWI that Villa would let Pershing chase him around Mexico. The reason was so Pershing could practice maneuvers to get the Army whipped into some kind of shape before going off to war. I heard another version of the "Gringo" origin - true or not. It was that during that time, American soldiers wore green long coats. The Mexicans referred to them as "green coats," which later turned into gringos.

I prefer Haole!

Can't find the Spanish... sounds lie wet-oh?