Los Vendidos
...the farmworker because he did not speak English, and was not sophisticated enough, “What we need is something a little more sophisticated.” The second of the Mexican stereotypical characters is the salesman Honest Sancho. Honest sancho’s name is ironic because he is a used car salesman which are believed to be dishonest. Mexicans being sold as used cars by Sancho shows that he thinks that are not very reliable. He is the salesman who stereotypes the Mexicans and sells them. He has learned English and has become a sellout. He has become Americanized; he is willing to sell his fellow county mates to get some money. He mixes Spanish in his conversation when speaking English with the secretary because his English skills are limited. He says, “sophisti-que?” When the secretary tells him she wanted something more sophisticated than the farmworker. He is like the coyotes that bring Mexicans across the boarder to America and take money from them and often they let them die. The third stereotypical Mexican, the first of the Mexicans Sancho is selling, is called “Farmworker.” He is the working class Mexican who, despite working hard, earns less than he deserves. They work in the farms and picking produce, Sancho describes him as “built close to the ground” Referring to the stereotype that all Mexicans are short. He is presented as a tireless machine which can work in any conditions without complaining while maintaining his friendly attitude. “Take special notice of his 4-ply Goodyear huraraches, made from the rain tire. This wide brimmed sombrero is an extra added feature, which keeps off the sun, rain and dust” Sancho said, and he added “And our farmworker model is friendly.” On top of the hard work this type of Mexican is underpaid, “[he is] the Volkswagen of Mexicans. Pennies a day is all it takes [to keep them].” So they work hard but are economical like the Volkswagens cars which do not consume too much gasoline while maintaining their usefulness. This kind of Mexican is also homeless so any type of dwelling given to them would be better than what they have, which is essentially nothing, “You can put him in old barns, old cars, riverbanks. You can leave him out in the field overnight with no worry!” So, if they do not get paid as much as they deserve, it is because, according to the secretary, they don’t speak English. She refuses to buy this Mexican saying, “No! He just won’t do!” when Sancho tells her that this model does not speak English. The fourth stereotypical Mexican is an urban model called “Johnny Pachuco.” It is another type of Mexican, the one who is relatively young; he drinks smokes marijuana and is engaged in illegal activities such as sniffing glue and stealing, “You can keep Johnny running on […] marijuana. He also sniffs glue.” Therefore, he gets arrested rather often by the police. Sancho tells the secretary, “He gets arrested, but not without resisting of course.” He goes on to say, “a feature [getting arrested] no city model can be without” suggesting that all the Mexicans who live in the cities are criminals. He also has another feature which is speaking English along with Spanish; unfortunately, his English is limited to curse words and street jargon which he learned in the public schools. “Fuck-you!” he says when Sancho asks him to speak English which then the secretary gets insulted and asks him where had he learned such dirty language and Sancho responds, “Well, he learned it in your [American] school.” He is also used as a scapegoat, “He’s a great scapegoat” Sancho explains. The secretary kicks Pachuco and enjoys it: “He’s wonderful” she says while kicking him. The more Americanized Mexicans such as Jimenez and Sancho use the likes of Johnny as a scapegoat for the behavior of the gangs but the fact is Johnny learned those poor morals in the American education system but the secretary does not buy this model because of his poor morals. The fifth model is called “Revolucionario.” He is more advanced than the other models, “He rides horses, crosses deserts, plains, rivers, leads revolutions, follows revolutions, kills, can be killed, serves as a martyr, hero, movie star.” He is the revolutionary Mexican that is seen in the movies like “Viva Zapata” and “Viva Villa.” “Did you ever see Viva Zapata? Viva Villa, Villa Rides, Pancho Villa Returns Pancho villa Goes Back, Pancho Villa Meets Abbot and Costello? Well he was in all of them.” Pancho Villa was a revolutionary Mexican leader in the early nineties who defended Mexico against the Americans. These revolutionaries are genuine Mexican they were born in Mexico and are very rare as Sancho describes him, ...