¡ASK A MEXICAN!

Dear Wab: Of course it does. Because, while though the conquistadors raped and murdered countless indigenous folks, they represent order and progress to Mexico’s elite, the very people who have the money to erect statues and are more that proud to claim direct ancestry to the barbarians. Witness the furor that happened last year, when the city of Merida in the Yucatan erected a statue to its founder, the conquistador Francisco de Montejo. Even though Montejo laid waste to the Mayas back in the 16th century, and even though the descendants of the vanquished protested loudly, the city’s elites erected the statue. And the same controversy happens whenever someone commemorates Juan de Oñate, the conquistador who swung his sword through New Mexico, much to the delight of the Hispanos who claim no Injun blood in their veins and to the horror of everyone else. But it’s not just an elite-Mexican thing to side with the cruel — just look at the Southern love for the Confederacy.

MEET THE MEXICAN’S FRIEND! Legendary cartoonista Lalo Alcaraz will sign copies of his posters, calendars, and books this Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Calacas, 324 W. Fourth St., #B, Santa Ana, (714) 662-2002. Lecture, FREE; books, BARATO.

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