Is "Gringo" an offensive or derogatory word?
My Mexican non-English speaking cousin-in-law asked me if I thought that "Gringo" was an offensive term. My response was "no". My reasoning is that "Gringo" is a slang term for non-Mexican North A...
Forum Discussion
cbshoestring wrote:
"However, the word gringo originated in Spain long before there was a Spanish-speaking Mexico and at one time, the word in Spain was often used to refer specifically to the Irish"--Wikipedia.
HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY.
We are currently staying just north of San Patricio in Mexico. It's quite the celebration here with lot's of fireworks and festivities for the week before St. Patrick's Day. Irish soldiers fought against the US in Mexico during the war 1846-48. Many were US soldiers (Irish immigrants) that were conscripted into the US Army, were very poorly treated, and defected. Some were given property in Mexico as a reward after the war, but many were hanged. It's an interesting bit of history, and probably helps account for blue-eyed Mexicans.
There's a current discussion on some message boards here in Mexico about the term "Gringo". US citizens seem to accept the term, while Canadians are not as embracing of it. We use it to describe ourselves, but our Mexican friends do not use the term.
