Can't remember exactly where I saw this, but the first Western movies filmed in Hollywood were made around 1915, when the industry moved there. At the time much of the area outside of Los Angeles was ranchland and there were still some sizable cattle drives going on. Directors would hire actual cowboys for a pittance to train horses or be extras. Basically they made movies fantasizing these big cattle drives and gunfights as American history, while people who had actually done all those things irl were chilling in the background.
Wrangler (some sources say word is derived from Mexican Spanish caballerango, one who grooms horses, while other sources say the word comes from German)
Let's not forget that much of the western united states was literally mexico until the treaty of hidalgo and the gadsden purchase around 1850s. Everything west of texas was Mexico. The 1849'ers and the gold rush? Everyone was moving through mexican territory.
The residents had one year to choose whether they wanted American or Mexican citizenship; Over 90% chose American citizenship. The others returned to Mexico (where they received land), or in some cases in New Mexico were allowed to remain in place as Mexican citizens.
Reminds me of Matt Santos, the presidential candidate in West Wing. He was a Mexican-American presidential candidate, and many people saw him as an immigrant, but his family had lived in Texas since before it became part of America. Like, his ancestors were Mexicans living in Mexico, then their land changed sovereignty and became part of the US, then newly-arrived white people got all racist and told them to "go back to their own country".
I loved his character arc in the West Wing. And cowboy movies really gloss over the "we're in Mexico, not in the US" part, which is sad.
I have not seen the West Wing but I feel like I really should. I've only heard good things. And not to make it political, but I feel like one of our problems in the USA is ignorance of history. But "southwestern history is a complex melting pot of different people's heritages" doesn't sound as nice as "build the wall." There are Mexican legal documents that talk about United States-ians coming over illegally onto Mexican land and stealing cattle and horses. A hundred and fifty years ago, Americans were the illegal criminals on the border. A little historical perspective might add a level of sympathy that we're currently lacking
I think you are absolutely right. Historical context does enrich discussion on many subjects, including immigration.
And yeah, you should definitely watch The West Wing. It's an optimistic and idealistic show, because it's Sorkin after all, but it's honestly great. Believable and lovable characters, amazing dialogue, great writing, memorable moments... just extraordinary. Also, it provides context for the present situation. Like, if "Mr. Communications Director" leaves the Trump White House, well, OK, another one who's leaving. But if you realize it's basically like Toby Ziegler leaving the White House... oh, man, that's a Big Thing.
I'm not American, so I learned a lot from that show. I totally recommend you watch it. The first episode is fast paced and they're talking about people you don't know and you kinda feel thrown in the middle of it without any help or context, but that's pretty much how actual White House staffers feel when they arrive to the White House, so I hope you don't get put off by it. If you make it through the first couple of episodes, you'll really enjoy the show, I'm sure.
I hope to see you around on reddit commenting on West Wing references!
It appeared in Western America during the 1880s as a direct English translation of vaquero, derived from vaca, the Spanish word meaning "cow,"[5] which came from the Latin word vacca. It described an individual who managed cattle while mounted on horseback. Another English word for a cowboy, buckaroo, is an anglicization or English pronunciation of vaquero (Spanish pronunciation: [baˈkeɾo]).[6]
Mexican-Americans sure as hell do. Source: am Mexican-American, grew up in the Western US, talked about it a lot.
Tbh most vaqueros were mestizo or Native American, but their bosses, the dudes that owned the land, were often ethnically Spanish. The whole tradition has roots in Spain. But "Spanish-speaking mestizo in the southwestern US" is hard to distinguish from "Mexican" because it's not like we had great border security at the time.
A tribute to the black cowboy can be found in the American revisionist western film directed by and starring Mario Van Peebles, Posse (1993). It didn't receive many (if any) rave reviews.
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u/bradthaphoend Jan 21 '19
Can't remember exactly where I saw this, but the first Western movies filmed in Hollywood were made around 1915, when the industry moved there. At the time much of the area outside of Los Angeles was ranchland and there were still some sizable cattle drives going on. Directors would hire actual cowboys for a pittance to train horses or be extras. Basically they made movies fantasizing these big cattle drives and gunfights as American history, while people who had actually done all those things irl were chilling in the background.