I had a close friend that, although he spoke only English, referred to undocumented Mexicans as “mojados.” I never asked him where he got that word from, although I often wondered how a “Texas” word got into his Colorado vocabulary.
The translation of the word in English, “Wetback,” did achieve a measure of notoriety especially after 1954 when the Eisenhower administration conducted “Operation Wetback,” a short-lived effort that used military tactics to remove undocumented Mexicans from the United States. It was rather unsuccessful because it had trouble distinguishing between Mexican and American citizens.
The word was ingrained in our Texas culture because it was a way of diferentiating a Mexican from a Mexican American. We looked alike, enjoyed the same food, spoke Spanish and few could converse in English.
Most knew the word but did not use it because of its pejorative implication. I heard it employed in anger at some non-citizens displaying arrogance or what is commonly referred to as “uppity” as they seem to feel superior because they were here before the new arrivals.
At the same time, most in the migrant worker groups and their home communities took their direction and orientation from their employers, their contractors and the leadership of the cities, towns and villages where they worked or lived. We knew that Mexicans and Mexican Americans were a second class not only because of economic conditions, but also because since 1836 we were a conquered people with agricultural attributes.
We lived separate lives but acquired the same sense of history and values as the White community because we generally attended the same schools. When war came, we were the first to volunteer for the Marine Corps or be drafted into the army and die in disproportionate numbers in foreign killing fields.
Our Tejano way of life deeply respects the authority of our political rulers as well as emulates many aspects of the common attitude and economic life. Large in this view is a variation on the notion of democracy.
“You lead and we will follow” was a preamble to our relationship with the “majority” community that somehow ruled our lives. Yet, a couple of years back, the Tex-Mex community in fact became the demographic majority (40 percent to 39 percent) and growing, but it does not seem to have sank in.
Every large city from Houston to El Paso has a Latino majority with the exception of Austin and Dallas. Austin has a 47 percent to 40 percent White majority and in Dallas the communities are actually even at 39.9 percent to 39.9 percent.
One of the legacies of the Mexican colonial era was a patronato system with vertical authority and trust. In other words, hierarchical control flowed from top to bottom and in return, those above had the responsibility of looking after those below.
As a result of war and conquest, the patronato system came into contact with American democratic horizontal egalitarianism. This created many of stereotypes such as laziness and docile endurance.
The Latino proven work ethic has since erased the notion of laziness and the civil rights movements that of docile endurance. Much of the progress, however, is being masked by cultural assumptions created by some 200 years of being on the margins.
The American South is generally Conservative and Texas is no different. Yet this one area in that region represents a new vanguard at the heart of demographic change. It is that reality that is causing so much anti-Latino turmoil. Tejanos have the opportunity to walk the walk of a majority.
The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of LaVozColorado. Comments and responses may be directed to News@lavozcolorado.com.
