..........The use of the word gringo here is derogatory. It is an insult which I have become accustumed to and enjoy. Although there is a problem. The origin of the word gringo is quite simple. It stems from when the power hungry States invaded Mexico for not oil but water. The colour of their uniforms were green and Mexicans coined the phrase Green Go which developed into Gringo. Which unfortunately means I have to correct anyone who calls me a Gringo. Who says this blog is´nt educational?......
.........Police populate every corner of this city, especially around the two main tourist districts, Old Town and Mariscal. Clad in knee high Nazi boots and various coloured uniforms they seek out and punish offenders on the spot. And it is implemented instantly. A young kid was pinned against the wall of a KFC. Four police officers in SWAT gear took great joy in ramming his head intermittenly against the wall. They did not question him and grew irritable at any noise he made. I don't know what he did but there was a small stall holder pointing his finger accusingly at him. The punishment handed out by them certainly seemed harsh if, as I suspect he only nicked a packet of smokes. And as I sit here I am watching a stocky police man in black clothes randomly kick a homeless man with 4 army officers looking on vacantly. Latin American justice......
....The church of San Francisco in Quito has a dark secret. The divil himself helped build the thing. A local man, whose name I can´t remember, but will call him Juan needed help completing the church for a big festival. Work was going slowly until the divil showed up and offered to have it completed by the appropriate day. Juan accepted and the church was completed but slowly his soul seeped away until he assumed a crazed look about the eyes. Even today people don´t frequent the church because of the curse of Juan. .......
Thats it kids, more in a few days, when I will still be here because of another Spanish course.
Adios
On a Balcony
Ciaran and Vickis Apartment
Nature Rocks
Butterfly Toes
At The Borders
Yellow Rock
Chocolate Factory
Iguazu
Taking it to the Bridge
Ruth and I
Mad Rock
Inca Bridge
In A Glacier
Chilean border
Ciaran and Me
Nearing 30
Subte
Vicki and I
La Cigale Buenos Aires
La Paz Haircut
The Effects Of Altitude and Freezing Temps.
The Effects of A New Shirt
Fight Club
Head Shot
Gen, Hugo, Darren and me
Hugo, Gen and Darren
Sahara Club, Buenos Aires
Cold Salty Snowy Landscape
Lets Get It On
Rich gets his comuppance
What happens when you dare an English man to chew an explosive
Dynamite!
You Like Salt?
A bad Optical Illusion
Well Seasoned
With Rich, Lisa and Sabine
On Incahuasa
Salta, (That means jump)
With Richard
Natural Green Pillows, Bolivia
The Divil
The Coldest Place I´ve Ever Been
Lagoona Verde
Evil Dino Bus
Salar de Uyuni
Daliesque Rocks
Uyuni Salt Flats
Altitude Sucks
Isla Del Sol, Bolivia
No Disco
Me with Dan
Chewing Coco Leaves
With Lisa and Sarah
A Night in Rurrenabaque
With Sarah
After Stepping in Human Excrement
No I am not
From Isla Del Sol
Lake Titicaca
In The Swamp
With Lisa
Copacabana, Bolivia
Jungle Refuge
Uros, Floating Islands, Peru
Remembering Ireland
Pensive in Cuenca
Arriba Undulay
Hey San Cristobal De Las Casas(Mehico)
Mafin y Yo
Stranger On the Left
Drunk With Spanish Teacher
At The Forum Arequipa
Marcel, Darcie, Marissa
Ghost Of Arequipa
Marcel y Yo
At The Point, Arequipa
Joel, Darcie With A Handsome Devil
Rum Night In Mancora
Gen and Stacey
One night In Vilcabamba
Gen,David,Stacey and Hugo
Kill Dutchie Kill, Kill
David y Hugo
I´m Going Home
Casual Man´s Calling Card
Panama Hats are from Ecuador
It´s Real
Nadine, Provider of photos
Ramshackle Future Hostal, Cuenca
Inflatable Monster, Cuenca
Wasp Factory
Vilcabamba Handles
Hugo, Gen and I
Borracho
Me No like
Pensive in San Juan Del Sur
Album Cover with Helen and Stefan
Quito
Lost in La Mitad Del Mundo
At The Fake Equator
A Happy Jo and I
Wet and getting there
Jo and I
My Cockroach Infested Room (Utila)
Put the Camera Away
I may be drunk here
An american of questionable intelligence
Big Tuna
Julian and I
Capt Keith (Lago De Yajoa)
Getting down With the Kids (Honduras)
Shooting Darts (La Mitad Del Mundo)
Midlife crisis
Midlife crisis No 1
Columbian Priest From Fr Ted, Leon
The Bearded Monkey, Granada
Centro Turistico, Granada
A Blog Stalker, Andrew
Shooting pool
Granada
ZZ Tops No 1 Fan
Drinking Rum in Granada
Semana Santa Parade Leon
Learning English in Leon Nicaragua
On The Lake in Flores
The Clear Sea of Water Caye
On Water Caye
Water Caye
Tikal Sunrise
The Great Beard of Utila
Killing Spiders
Kayaking with Dave
Central America Electrics
Me in Treetanic
Most Whimsical Bar In The World
The Jade Palace Utila
On Offer on Utila
Jani, Amir and Me in Flores
Tired in Tikal
Freaky nipple pressing
Freaky Dancing
Mo chailini
More freaky dancing
El Hombre Travelling Keith
3 comments:
Keith, mate... you don't want to believe everything you hear - I've heard that story about the origin of "Gringo" among many others, and it's almost certainly wrong. Strangely enough, gringoes may well have originally been Irish:
“gringos llaman en Málaga a los estranjeros, que tienen cierta especie de acento, que los priva de una locución fácil y natural castellana; y en Madrid dan el mismo, y por la misma causa con particularidad a los Irlandeses”
Keith Ma was saying after she looked at the pictures that you put on some weight. That top must be a small. It was Con's communion on Saturday gone dont worry I gave him some money on your behalf and he was delighted he looked like a member of Westlife in his suit.
leighton
Hey! I've heard that explanation of the origin of gringo and rather liked it until I found out that the US army's uniforms were blue at that time. Also the world was apparently around prior to the Mexican-American war. ::shrug:: It's a great story tho.
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