Thursday, February 21, 2008

Accident of Birth

Nester de la Torre is fighting with all the power his words have to justify the club keeping Jesus Padilla, even if it means glossing over the club knowing where Jesus was born. I'll bet Mascerano, wherever he is, is wondering why the club didn't try this hard to keep him around back in his day.

"En México, por motivos sociales existen compatriotas que tienen que ir a trabajar a los Estados Unidos, y el que por esa necesidad y que por accidente tu nacimiento se de en otro pedazo de tierra que no sea México ¿te quita todos tus valores, costumbres y raíces como mexicano?, osea que ¿si naces en un avión sobrevolando el océano ya no puedes ser mexicano?"

"In Mexico, for social reasons we have countrymen who need to go to work in the United States, and for that need and for the accident of one's birth on another piece of land that isn't Mexico, does that take away their values, customs and Mexican race? Or if you were born on a plane does that mean you're not Mexican?"

I'm not sure I understand the "accident of birth" argument. If it was such an accident, happenstance, why would Chivas follow the policy of fielding Mexican-born players for so long?

According to his birth certificate, Jesus' mother was born in California, so why wouldn't she stay in the land of her birth? All of his four sisters (two older, two younger) were also born in California, so the idea that the family passed through California quickly just when Padilla was born is weak.

Padilla's own argument is pretty weak, too. Though he admits his U.S. birth, he protests that he is Mexican and offers as proof the fact that he's not blonde. Stereotypes are alive and well.

8 comments:

CACuzcatlan said...

Oh snap, I must be Mexican too since I'm not blonde. This whole time I thought I was Salvadoran. Wait till I tell my family about this!

The Hammer said...

Don't do it Cacuzcatlan, I may not be Salvi, but I know what's going to happen to you if you say something like that to them.

::SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSMACK!!!!

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

"I'm not sure I understand the "accident of birth" argument. If it was such an accident, happenstance, why would Chivas follow the policy of fielding Mexican-born players for so long?"
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Because it generally wasn't an issue until recent years. A Mexican used to be simple: someone born in Mexico and whose ancestors were born there as well. With the massive Mexican migration, the question of what is Mexican has been more closely examined than before and slowly that definition has been evolving. There are many examples of this evolution in thinking such as the inclusion of Edgar Castillo in the MNT. Even though he is a "gringo" by birth, his inclusion in the MNT was not controversial and did not have the ripple effects as when Zinha, Caballero and Franco wre included.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
A.C. said...

Anon, your statements are inconsistent with the history of Chivas, including the example of Mascerano. He left the club because so many fans of the team did not want the tradition of Mexican-born players changed.

There wasn't that controversy when Mascareno played for the Mexican national team, either. It was strictly a Chivas thing.

A.C. said...

A warning to our brave anonymous posters - personal attacks not relevant to commenting on the post will be deleted. This is not a forum for flamers.

Anonymous said...

perhaps its just me but that press realease is incredibly ethnocentrist (the term most people should be using when they erroneously use the term 'racist'-FYI)
If an American club exec said this he'd be crucified.
Perhaps not being from Guadalajara I don't 'get' the need to 'keep to your own ethnicity (FYI-Mexican is not a race)' but it just seems to be as isolationist and ethnocentrist as many El Tri supporters accuse US supporters/club execs/citizens of being.