And to add to that, dressing in jeans and flannel isn’t exactly celebrating anyone’s heritage. Personally, I think getting upset over someone putting on a moustache to show they’re Mexican is just as silly as getting upset that someone is wearing a sombrero. It’s all part of the ‘costume’ so to speak. Besides, stereotype or not, a lot of Mexican men wear moustaches so putting one one is part of looking Mexican.
If everyone around the world wears the same clothes, then clearly playing “dress up” is not a good way to spread cultural awareness. That’s what I’m getting at.
The point of these exercises is to expose kids to other cultures, right? But we’re not. We’re exposing kids to costumes that other cultures may have dressed in at one time. How is that useful to them?
I think it’s the lazy way out. Rather than trying to identify things about Mexican culture that are unique, interesting, and worth celebrating, the school has fixated on the most obvious and least useful stereotype they could possibly have come up with.
If you asked that Mexican guy in the picture what he’d wear to represent the culture and history of Mexico I wouldn’t be surprised to see the same sort of folk costume the kids were wearing.
Maybe I just don’t understand folk costumes because I live in a country that doesn’t have them. I can’t imagine dressing up like a pilgrim or a cowboy to teach people about America.
When your son’s grade does Italy this year, and they portray the women as having moustaches, then come back and complain.
It’s a fun show for a bunch of, what, 8 or 9 year olds. Not a dissertation on the rise of Mexico.
I think if you went to another country and asked the kids to dress up in a culturally significant way to represent Americans, some of them would show up as cowboys…I think that would be fair. It’s represented pretty widely in the media and real life and I think there’s a lot of people who want to make sure we don’t forget about that time in history. Pilgrims OTOH, I don’t think are really considered part of Americana.
Also, America is a bit hard since we have a lot of different cultures here. You can still find real live cowboys in one area and drive a few hours and find people working in factories or offices.
Wouldn’t a better representation of America be WalMart shoppers?
Dang, you’re right. Given reality, we probably can’t do much better than the cowboy stereotype. Yeehaw!
You may not, but we do. The thanksgiving pageant, with kids dressed up like pilgrims and native Americans is a staple still of elementary school life. My kids lucked out on no pagent, but they did come home with little paper pilgrim hats and bonnets as little kids.
Here in Minnesota, you can go our to Walnut Grove and participate in the Little House events in the summer, girls dressed up in prairie dresses and bonnets. And I’m sure we are not regionally unique.
And then we have the grown up civil war reenactors…
After the 1910 Revolution, Mexican culture was celebrated by the government–& by artists. That was the era of the muralistas. And the time the mariachis adopted the elegant charro costume instead of white cotton peasant garb. (Coincidentally, that was also the time many US “country” artists chose fine Western outfits over the Hillbilly attire preferred by the Grand Ole Opry.) The Golden Age of Mexican film featured many a cosmopolitan star in regional dress, singing songs about life on the ranch, drinking tequila & shooting his pistol in celebration.
The Ballet Folklorico was founded in the 50’s & set the style for groups celebrating Mexican dancing, music & costume–in Mexico & elsewhere. San Antonio, of course! And even in Houston…
(The mustaches are a little weird.)
White flags, plates of cheese, and monkey masks.
I think what’s offensive here is leaving partway through a performance. Either go prepared to stay for the whole thing, or don’t go at all.
Dang, BetsQ beat me to it. There is nothing ruder than parents who leave after their own kids, so that the last kids are performing to a bunch of empty chairs and cricket chirps. RUDE.
Wait …
Are you leaving before your son’s own finale? :dubious:
This is my take, as a Mexican, many of our historical heroic figures come with mustache, and bandito style dress.
My son has never been invited to participate in the finale - it’s only about thirty kids who get to do the last song. I just go back to his classroom and join the party they have for the kids (international food).
There are several hundred parents there until the end, I don’t think anyone misses me. It’s hard enough to sit through my own kid’s performance 
Welcome to the Straight Dope Castigation Board, OP. We have a fine selection of hairshirts in the gift shop if you didn’t bring your own.
Very true about the mustaches.
Right now it’s Fiesta time in SA, we are seeing the Folklorico costumes everywhere. Now some men have mustaches…but the majority are wearing goatees. Viva la Fiesta!
Nah, forget all of that. It’s bad enough that the school drags me to these performances and makes me feel guilty of child abuse if I don’t watch young kids try to sing or dance or do other things that young kids are obviously terrible at, and would themselves rather be doing other things, but still want Mom and Dad there to tell them they did a great job.
So, when my kid’s done, my parental duty is over and I hit that door running.
I don’t know why we’re picking on the French, but . . . I think Les Mis first and Can-Can (Moulin Rouge) second.
Just please tell me the Irish kdis didn’t wear Leprechaun Costume .
People getting offended by proxy for other ethnicities is going way over the top.
If you’re offended by somebody dressing up as a stereotype of your ethnicity then by all means complain about it if your skins that thin, but keep your nose out of it when its something that you probably don’t understand in the first place.
When I’ve been at gatherings of international co workers where much beer is consumed, you’ll see people walking around with bowler hats and rolled umberellas talking about tea drinking in affected upper class English accents, along with the boomerang carriers, wearing hats with corks, cowboys, clog wearers, vikings, you name it .
And guess what ?
NOBODY gets offended, not even a little bit, not even once.
Good job that theres no do gooders there to get offended on our behalf.