I grew up in SoCal (Westminster in particular), which is highly vietnamese, and in the context of SoCal, which is VERY Mexican. So, honestly, this aesthetic is very familiar to me. Most of my school friends(mexican and vietnamese) growing up were very into it. My Catholic parish was basically run by the Mexicans and Vietnamese communities. This combination is very common in LA / Southern California.
If you're back down there, the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art in Riverside is awesome - Cheech collected Chicano art all throughout his career and worked with the City of Riverside to open a museum to house it. It's a really beautiful collection - truly unique art, and provides a great view into the iconography and history of Chicano culture.
(Bonus points for hitting Tio's Tacos afterwards.)
Cholo culture is not a mainstream culture in Vietnam though, and is very overstated in the article - it's more counterculture and a mix of Cali Kieu who "returned" to Vietnam or people who are cult fans of content like the Fast and Furious franchise ("familia")
Hallyu is the primary mainstream culture having impact in Vietnam. Can't walk a meter without bumping into something Korean.
> particularly among older generations of Vietnamese, who are inclined to associate tattoos with gangs and violence
Younger generations too excluding the Thao Dien or the D3 type. You see plenty of heavily tattooed lecherous older Japanese men in D1, and everyone knows the implications of that.
That's a shame, I was hoping for a pozole blanco/pho mashup. I feel like that should really work. And carnitas on banh mi would be fantastic. The coffee culture would probably also be excellent.
I've been to different types of (quite excellent!) fusion restaurants in both Peru and Colombia, not to mention multiple cities in Mexico. Good, creative cuisine that draws from multiple cultures is most definitely not limited to primarily a US/Canada thing.
I'm not into Hip-Hop as a cultural thing but I love the way Mona aka "Sad Girl" does her linguistic code-switching, there's something intoxicating about it.
A text search for “cholo” yields no results. I found that kind of surprising. That is the type of aesthetic that seems to have spread the most but I would hope that all these people learn beyond more than gang-life stories. I’m thinking the stories of Rudolfo Anaya, “Corky” Gonzales, Sandra Cisneros, etc.
> The Viet Chicanos are wary of attracting the wrong type of followers as well, who may be in pursuit of a different kind of lifestyle. Despite their fierce appearances, many of the barbers who work at Liem’s shops are soft-spoken and humble and reject any perceptions of violence and crime. They say they want to perpetuate cultural appreciation, rather than appropriation.
It happens to food too. The "traditional" foods are never from just one place and it's always evolving and somewhere along the way someone adds their local cultural twist to something from the outside and it's suddenly so much better.
I cooked a recipe recently that was based on a dish that was made for American GI's in Japan after WWII ended. Okinawan Taco Rice
Now that's the only way I want to eat taco meat ....
On the other hand I'd argue flatbread with something on it is one of the base foods. Whether it came before or after the dumpling/packet family is a fun discussion.
agree; haven't been to Dallas, but in Westminster/Garden Grove and San Jose, where latin american communities and Viet immigrant/vietnam communities happen to live in close proximity, the cultural mashups and innovation have been striking in both ways. Some of the most remarkable dishes in one of the most remarkable restaurants in SoCal that I've eaten in the past few years were conceived of and cooked by a Mexican-american chef who grew up surrounded by Vietnamese food in Garden grove
Because they're both very Catholic. My Catholic parish was filled with this exact mixing. Easter Vigil Mass would be said in three languages -- English, Spanish, Vietnamese, complete with Mexican-Vietnamese Catholic hymn mashups (singing versus of the same song in different languages, with each choir taking a verse, one verse would be accompanied by mariachi, and the next by an organ, etc... fun times)>
It's been years since I've been to Vietnam, and I can't say I ever encountered this sub-culture. Closest was going on a few dates with a trophy-winning bachata dancer / dance instructor. But I'm not that surprised it has spread, knowing that it's "A Thing" here in Japan for ages as well.
Encountered a few other American/Caribbean sub-cultures though, like a twerk contest in a hip-hop club, and a reggae dive bar. These were 2015-2019 in Hanoi.
Bachata is surprisingly popular there, but it is mostly imported from expats moving there who enjoy it. An expat buddy of mine ran the weekly bachata nights at one of the local bars.
I think that’s overstating it. There are pockets in the largest cities, but that’s about it. Very few Latin Americans would be like, hey let’s go get some Chinese food, outside of the largest cities. It’s not like Canada or the US where even in towns in the middle of nowhere you can find a Chinese joint.
Now, some do call nannies “Chinese”, so presumably, many decades ago, some very poor Chinese took a voyage across the sea to poor countries because China was even more desperately poor. Also some Chinese as well as Philippine folks were brought over to Mexico as slaves and they were all labeled ‘Chinese’ kind of like how chino fabric originated in the Philippines but is called ‘chinos.’
Ok but Asians or people with Asian ancestry don’t even add up to 1% of the Mexican population. It’s miniscule. There are probably more middle easterners than Asians living in Mexico.
You'd be surprised. And sure, in the 1930's about 80% of Asian immigrants got deported out of Mexico. But even before and after, their descendants became very well integrated and mixed with the rest of society. Also, they tend to not identify as Asians, just like Mexicans unless it is very obvious or 2nd generation
People of Japanese ancestry top out at around 1% of all Brazilians. That’s not a lot or significant portion of the population. If you get to 5 or 7% we can talk about significance. On the other hand they tend to have outsized influence on the country, so you may be projecting that onto pop size.
I wonder how much of this is driven by hispanic immigration to Vietnam. United States folks go there to live cheaply, and surely the same is true of people in hispanic countries looking for a better economic deal.
When a buddy and I used to go out to bars, he would dress and act Mexican too. I think he enjoyed the style but, on some level, also the attention when girls would mistake him for being Mexican rather than his Chinese heritage.
What did my post say? Did it reference "this symbology" OR did it reference "Chicano culture" in the following statement:
"Everyone knows (including the Vietnamese barber) the deep, inextricable connection this symbology has to antisocial, criminal, and destructive behavior."
Looks like you equate Chicano culture to face tattoos, hair nets, and gangster clothing...not me.
Quibbling about this specific subculture / fashion trend aside, the original post with its pearl-clutching highfalutin language is funny for its naïveté.
Every so-called safe, educated, and cooperative society has a love for the renegade. Pirates and the Wild West. Outlaw bikers and gangsta rap. The Godfather frequently ranks as the best (American) film ever directed. In fact, the United States’ central mythos is built on venerating rules-breaking bad boys who bucked the system. You want to talk other cultures? Cossacks, ronin, bandits of the Water Margin, highwaymen, bushrangers.
Yes, there’s a whole spectrum of cultures and archetypes here, but to decry “this symbology”? Good luck, you’ll have to remove whatever deep-seated part of human psychology that is fascinated by the conventions-breaking wild and free.
Yeah, maybe read the article. Maybe see pictures of the subject of the article. Then tell me that symbology connects to a collective movement for exploited migrants.
Why are there so many Chicanos in prison? Anything to do with the systemic racism that the movement is about? Calling the "symbology" gang-connected is not the slam dunk argument you seem to think it is.
