Esperanza,
Yes, an interesting question. My father (from Jerez, Zac) was very provincial in his thinking. He did not like blacks or Asians (yet I have found that several in his lineage were described as “mulato”), and he told me that his great-grandfather had blue eyes and was French. My searches have not turned up anyone described as French, but I think I know why so many people there think that if someone has blue eyes, they must be “French”. When I went with my parents to Jerez in 1962, we stopped to get gas in a small town and we had lunch there too. It seemed to me that most of the people in that town (don’t know which town it was) had blue eyes even if they were dark-skinned. I had the temerity (I am a sin verguenza too) to comment to a young man there (much to my father’s consternation) that I was surprised to see so many people with blue eyes in that town, and he said it was because “los franceses estuvieron por aqui”. I think he was referring to the French invasion in th
e 1860’s
. If my father had an ancestor with blue eyes, it was probably because of his Spanish or Basque heritage and little mixing with the indigenous people.
My husband’s mother and her sisters were proud of their European looks and told me that their ancestors were Spanish and had never mixed with the indigenous. I asked one of his aunts in Mexico City where in Spain they were from and she told me “Barcelona”. Well, I have researched those ancestors clear back to the Jalisco of the early 1700s and have found no mention of anyone from Spain, much less Barcelona. My husband’s more recent ancestors all seemed to have been merchants, city people, and his aunt would refer to some people in Mexico as “los inditos” or “los rancheros”. She was a profesora in Mexico City and was a former nun. Go figure.
Emilie Garcia
Port Orchard, WA —
Esperanza,
Yes, an interesting question. My father (from Jerez, Zac) was very provincial in his thinking. He did not like blacks or Asians (yet I have found that several in his lineage were described as “mulato”), and he told me that his great-grandfather had blue eyes and was French. My searches have not turned up anyone described as French, but I think I know why so many people there think that if someone has blue eyes, they must be “French”. When I went with my parents to Jerez in 1962, we stopped to get gas in a small town and we had lunch there too. It seemed to me that most of the people in that town (don’t know which town it was) had blue eyes even if they were dark-skinned. I had the temerity (I am a sin verguenza too) to comment to a young man there (much to my father’s consternation) that I was surprised to see so many people with blue eyes in that town, and he said it was because “los franceses estuvieron por aqui”. I think he was referring to the French invasion in th
e 1860’s
. If my father had an ancestor with blue eyes, it was probably because of his Spanish or Basque heritage and little mixing with the indigenous people.
My husband’s mother and her sisters were proud of their European looks and told me that their ancestors were Spanish and had never mixed with the indigenous. I asked one of his aunts in Mexico City where in Spain they were from and she told me “Barcelona”. Well, I have researched those ancestors clear back to the Jalisco of the early 1700s and have found no mention of anyone from Spain, much less Barcelona. My husband’s more recent ancestors all seemed to have been merchants, city people, and his aunt would refer to some people in Mexico as “los inditos” or “los rancheros”. She was a profesora in Mexico City and was a former nun. Go figure.
Emilie Garcia
Port Orchard, WA —
I’ve heard this story about the French Intervention many times. But there were very few actual French soldiers involved. Mainly officers commanding native troops.
I have several tenants from the state of Guerrero. From the outskirts of Acapulco. They call their home area “Tierra Caliente.” And they see things very differently than I do.
The skin disorder vertiiglio runs in my family. My tenants insist the discoloration is due to the mezcla. That the Indian and Spanish blood didn’t mix properly, resulting in uneven skin tones.
I am told that the small Pacific coast state of Nayarit has a high percentage of ojos de color.
I’ve heard this story about the French Intervention many times. But there were very few actual French soldiers involved. Mainly officers commanding native troops.
I have several tenants from the state of Guerrero. From the outskirts of Acapulco. They call their home area “Tierra Caliente.” And they see things very differently than I do.
The skin disorder vertiiglio runs in my family. My tenants insist the discoloration is due to the mezcla. That the Indian and Spanish blood didn’t mix properly, resulting in uneven skin tones.
I am told that the small Pacific coast state of Nayarit has a high percentage of ojos de color.
Hola Nathan:
The fact is that French infantry and cavalry numbered more than 3,000 at the
Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. They were reinforced by more than 5,000
Spanish soldiers. No one really knows how much intermixing there was
between these forces and the Mexican Criollos and Mestizos during the
occupation and reign of Maximilian. To complicate matters still further,
Maximilian’s personal guard was made up of a brigade of Austrian soldiers
selected for their size. My information is from a military history volume
titled “El Ejercito Mexicano”.
Jose Aguayo
Hola Nathan:
The fact is that French infantry and cavalry numbered more than 3,000 at the
Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. They were reinforced by more than 5,000
Spanish soldiers. No one really knows how much intermixing there was
between these forces and the Mexican Criollos and Mestizos during the
occupation and reign of Maximilian. To complicate matters still further,
Maximilian’s personal guard was made up of a brigade of Austrian soldiers
selected for their size. My information is from a military history volume
titled “El Ejercito Mexicano”.
Jose Aguayo
Jose,
You know, I have heard about the Mexican government in Mexico City at one time wanting to emulate the monarchies of Europe. I think I heard about a president named Diaz I think (who my father described as “a very bad man”), who was a mestizo, I think, not very dark, but not white enough, so he used white powder to make himself look white. When he invited some crowned heads of Europe to visit, he had these tall handsome white dragoons keep all the little brown indigenous people off the streets where the royal entourages would be passing in their carriages. I think he wanted to make the city look European, even to the color of the citizens. Was he emulating Maximilian and also recruited guards for their color and size for show? Has anyone else heard that story?
Emilie Garcia
Port Orchard, WA —-
Jose,
You know, I have heard about the Mexican government in Mexico City at one time wanting to emulate the monarchies of Europe. I think I heard about a president named Diaz I think (who my father described as “a very bad man”), who was a mestizo, I think, not very dark, but not white enough, so he used white powder to make himself look white. When he invited some crowned heads of Europe to visit, he had these tall handsome white dragoons keep all the little brown indigenous people off the streets where the royal entourages would be passing in their carriages. I think he wanted to make the city look European, even to the color of the citizens. Was he emulating Maximilian and also recruited guards for their color and size for show? Has anyone else heard that story?
Emilie Garcia
Port Orchard, WA —-
