Editor’s note: The “Finally, A Cold Latina” ad campaign was canceled in 2004, 2 years before my invasion of Mexico. Recently, I introduced sexy Mexicanas at a community event(mostly gringos) to add some local flavor. The young ladies were fully clothed. The strong minority reaction from about 10% of the audience was self-righteous and judgemental. Me thinks these ex-pat gringos and gringas forget the country in which they reside.
In Mexico, trying to enjoy beer or a weather report or a sporting event without sexy Mexicanas would be like living in Lancaster, PA. Hacer referencia al fondo de arte de este sitio, me gusta la cerveza local, el clima local, deportes y Ensenada Mexicanas muy mucho!
Call me insensitive (or hot?) but I thought the ad was catchy, funny and said a lot without saying much. Honestly, I couldn’t see what the big deal was all about and even remember thinking: “Damn! Who wouldn’t want to be hot?” Then, after talking to a few of my female friends, colleagues and acquaintances, I realized the ad was mostly upsetting to U.S.-born Latinas. Most of the foreign-born Latin American women (myself included) did not feel one bit offended, or simply didn’t think it was worth much discussion (some didn’t even get the ad, but that’s another story). In a nutshell, I thought the Latina reaction to the Tecate ad was typical of an American-born Hispanic woman, tainted of course with Political Correctness — a concept virtually unknown throughout Latin America.
Sure, saying all Latinas are “hot” is as stereotypical as saying all Mexicans are called Pedro and like to sleep it off under a cactus wearing a sombrero.
But what is still most striking to me about the Tecate discussion is how a billboard showing a bottle of beer and the words “Finally, A Cold Latina” caused such a commotion, when very few Congressmen — and women — still fail to point at what goes on daily on Spanish-language television. Want to see real sexism? Tune in to your local Univision, Telemundo or Azteca America affiliates to see scantily clad women showing a little more than their cooking or news-anchoring skills. Am I the only one seeing the irony here?
