Seeing a native headdress on a white-looking man has always felt off. It wasn’t even my own culture, and I still felt like he should not be wearing that. Or seeing people wearing a sombrero with a poncho, holding guns and saying “Hola,” or “Arriba.” When did it become acceptable for people to be culturally appropriate?
When it comes to costumes, people can be the most creative, but they can also be the most offensive. The not-so-classic poncho, sombrero, and guns costume goes back all the way to the 1920s, when legislators began to dehumanize Latinos by enforcing the stereotypes of Mexicans being poor, ignorant, and oppressed. American Hollywood westerns didn’t help either. These times were racist and unkind to people different from the rich, white men who dominated the U.S..
The sombrero originates in Jalisco, Mexico. The sombrero charro was a hat for skilled horsemen and was eventually used by Emiliano Zapata as a symbol for land reform. It then became a symbol for “lazy peasants” or an uneducated worker. The poncho doesn’t even originate in Mexico. It comes from indigenous Andean civilizations, which are now known as Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. It was inaccurately put on Mexican caricatures by Hollywood. The last accessory on this racist costume is the crossed Ammo belts and guns, which were used by fighters during the Mexican Revolution. This eventually was made to represent a “bandito” look, which enforced negative stereotypes about Latinos being a lawless and violent criminal threat.
This costume should have died off a long time ago and have even seen people talking about the idea of dressing up as ICE agents. Which is outrageous and I could never imagine how someone would have so much hate in their hearts to want to cause fear towards the undocumented communities. Many of them already fear leaving their home. Halloween isn’t an excuse to be a jerk.
Many schools make “Taco Tuesday” a thing and even dress up in these stereotypical costumes to show their “Mexican-ness” during Día de Los Muertos. Some even call it “Mexican Halloween,” which is just as offensive. In the current political climate, people are so quick to tell others, “go back to your country,” but are so willing to wear clothing that is native to not only Mexico but Latino America. My culture is not your costume and will never be your costume. Pick the many other costumes that are so much funnier than you saying “arriba”, because I promise you the only people who are laughing are laughing at you, not with you.