Here in Milwaukee we have 1 all spanish language channel. UNI. I don’t speak a lick of spanish, so I have no idea what the heck is going on. (sometimes I like to watch it while drinking Corona and pretending I’m on vacation in Mexico:rolleyes: )
My question is, where does this channel originate, and who are these people on it? Many of them appear more of recent European decent than Central American. Are these people Spaniards? Mexicans? Panamanians? Hondurans?
Brazillians? I wish they’d subtitle it in English, some of the shows seem enjoyable.
Hispanic, Spanish Speaking, Latino, gross simplification would be that it’s for spanish speakers and “Latin American’s” Was always enjoyable to watch HSN in Spanish.
Here’s more than you could possibly want to know: The “Business Description Report” from Yahoo Finance for Univision Corp. I couldn’t get anywhere on their website myself due to the whole Spanish language thing. Some highlights: It’s run out of Miami mostly. Most of the programming (especially the soap operas) comes from Grupo Televisa, who runs 4 TV stations in Mexico City. So I’d say the people are mainly Mexicans.
I wish my cable system had Univision so I could practice my Spanish. Well, practice listening to it, anyway.
The european-ness of the Univision cast is an American stereotype. I guess what I mean is, often when we think “Mexican” we think darker, olive skin, and dark hair. This is what we see on the news about “bad” Mexican neighborhoods here in the US, and what we see in the movies (usually “backwoods,” “dirty,” “old,” “desert,” or “poor” Mexico).
Since the conquest of Mexico, there’s been an informal class system in place, not unlike the USA (let’s not debate this part). In Mexico, like the USA, the light-skinned people pretty much are the middle class and higher, i.e., those of European descent who haven’t mixed. In the state of Michoacan, there’s actually quite a large number of “ethnically pure” French people, as white as you or I (well, I can speak for myself only, I suppose).
Why does the media portray all Mexicans as darker? Well, the immigrants, historically, were generally the poor. Also, the poorest parts of Mexico are the American border regions and the North in general.
So, really, there are a lot of “fair-skinned,” and even naturally blonde, people in Mexico…
Now, to www.univision.com. It seems that it’s not the Univision TV web site per se – it’s their web portal, more like a small Yahoo! in Spanish, although you can follow the links to Univision and Galavision.
Okay, found something
Here’s what I make of it:
“Univision.Com” forms part of the Univision Communications, Inc. which is part of the Univision Television Network, the TV channel that speaks Spanish to the biggest audience in the US; Univision Television Group, a company that operates TV stations (meaning broadcast stations–ed.) in Spanish, and Galavision, the leading Spanish cable TV channel in the country. Since June 2000 Univision Communications has its internet presence thanks to Univision.Com."
