Two Mexicos

Thursday night, near the tail end of a barbecue party in Chihuahua, the host borrowed a page from John Edwards and launched into a brief, but entertaining diatribe on the subject of "Two Mexicos." His passionate rhetoric was no doubt fueled by at least half a dozen Modelos and several pulls on the omnipresent bottle of Tequila clutched in his meaty hand. He was addressing me and another American co-worker.

"You know, those Mexicans who live in the U.S.? The ones you call F***ing Mexicans?"

He didn't mean us specifically, but Americans in general.

"Let me tell you something; they're not real Mexicans. You see, there are two Mexicos. This...us...here...THIS is the real Mexico. Them? They're not really Mexican."

This isn't the first time I've heard this attitude expressed and I imagine it's much more common than most Americans would think.