Mexican answer man has made a career of it

It STARTED as a joke: OC Weekly reporter Gustavo Arellano’s editor thought it might be funny if he wrote a one-time satiric advice column, and “¡Ask a Mexican!” was born. Last year the “¡Ask a Mexican!” book came out. Arellano’s second book, a personal history titled “Orange County,” is due in September.

You’ve been doing “¡Ask a Mexican!” for more than three years. Do people ask you questions all the time? What’s the most common question you get (other than “What’s the most common question you get?”)?

When people find out I write the column, most of the time they just shower accolades on me rather than ask questions. As for the most-asked question besides yours: “Why do Mexicans like to swim in the ocean with their clothes on?” Whether the reader is from Hermosa Beach or Michigan, I always get this question -- so strange.

You often use Spanish words, sometimes to describe parts of female anatomy. Can you use dirtier words if you use Spanish?

Not just female anatomy, chula -- also a male’s privy parts, racial slurs and general curse words. The column and the book use vulgarities only to make specific, satirical points. I told my editor the meanings behind all the Spanish words, and he’s richer for knowing nearly every Spanish cuss word ever uttered.

When you were in school, were you the kid who always had the answer? Would your teachers have predicted you’d become a cultural expert?

I was that kid, but I never got good grades -- a classic underachiever. When I left my high school teachers, I was into films, so they probably thought I would be directing quinceanera videos or pornos.

What’s your favorite bookstore, and why?

Libreria Martinez in Santa Ana. Run by Rueben Martinez, a barber-turned-bookie who won the MacArthur genius award a couple of years back because he’s a secular saint. The majority of the holdings are in Spanish, which means this is one of the few places on Earth where you can read Shakespeare in Spanish and Cervantes in English -- how is that not the best place on Earth?

--

-- Carolyn Kellogg