RACISM IS EVERYWHERE, EVEN AT HIGH SEAS

They Dressed Him up as Speedy Gonzalez, the Drunk Mexican for Photos

American passengers thought it was hilarious

Ariba, Ariba, Andale, Andale.

I had to shout it as loud as I could. My arms wrapped around the passengers as they came out from the cruise ship dining room. My breath smelled of tequila, coupled with self-loathing and the desire to be out of the cheap sombrero and poncho that I had to wear as a costume.

By the time, I dressed up as a drunk Mexican, I had a few months of experience working as a cruise photographer.

Aside from photography work, I learned quite early into my contract that I would dress up as a mascot.

Did I sign for it? Was it on the fine print of the contract?

But, what was I supposed to do, come home? I did think about doing that.

My first contract as a cruise photographer was during the tail-end of the Alaska season, which meant as a mascot I had two choices — either a bear or a moose.

I was usually the moose.

The only consolation then was, that you don’t need to say anything but to hug the passenger on their way out of the gangway.

It was up to the photographer to take the photo and it was up to us who were dressed up as a moose or bear to try to stop the passengers for a photo.

Passengers are under no obligation to buy the photos.

Some who had been on past cruises hated us, some who were on their first cruise loved to hug us and some would fist bump us, hit us on our backs, and if we were unlucky on our heads.

It doesn't matter if they know there’s a real person inside the costume, a jerk is a jerk and they are everywhere including on cruise ships.

Mexican Riviera

After the Alaska season, the ship was off to Mexico.

I loved the cold weather in Alaska. I saw a real bear, a whale, and hiked inside a forest.

I wasn't that particularly excited to be in Mexico, I thought it would be just like home — the Philippines.

Hot, humid weather, and the beach.

And I’m not a beach person.

I learned instead of wearing the bear or moose costume. I needed to dress up as a Mexican, and later on, I found out as a “Drunk Mexican.”

It happened during Mexican night.

The team would meet in the photo laboratory, and four photographers would dress up as Mexicans complete with sombrero and poncho.

Two photographers would be in charge of taking the photos, as the passengers come out of the two main dining rooms.

And because it was Mexican night, and dress-up night for the photographers. We were allowed to drink while at work.

All because we had to act like a “Drunk Mexican” and we had to be loud.

Yes, all the Mexican stereotypes and tropes came to life during Mexican night.

Mexican Night

In the Philippines, before K-drama became a hit, it was the Mexican telenovelas that were on everyone’s TV.

I never met a real Mexican until I met Jose on the cruise ship. He was part of the photography team. Jose was good-looking, enough to be a leading man in one of those Mexican telenovelas.

He also happened to be from Acapulco, one of the ports of the Mexican Riviera cruise.

And on Mexican nights, he was the de facto “Drunk Mexican.”

Jose loves to drink, and on Mexican nights, I saw for myself how much he loved his alcohol.

He was also young.

Most of the photographers I worked with were working on cruise ships for two reasons. It was to have as much fun as they travel the world for free and meet people from around the world.

It wasn't any different for Jose.

As I was embarrassed when I first wore the moose costume, it was a chore to be dressed up as a Mexican with a sombrero and poncho. To add to the embarrassment, I had to draw a fake mustache and shout a very familiar phrase,

Ariba, Ariba, Andale, Andale.

How can I not know the phrase when as a kid I must have watched Speedy Gonzalez say those words as he tried to outmaneuver his enemies Sylvester and Daffy Duck?

I don’t drink a lot.

And maybe I was old-fashioned, I was 36 when I worked on cruise ships. I can’t drink while at work, but to be a Mexican I needed a few drinks, usually tequila.

But for Jose, it wasn't a few drinks, by the time we finished the shoot he was drunk to the point of passing out.

He did a few times.

The manager always gave him a free pass, when he could no longer help us with the other duties during Mexican night, like putting all the Speedy Gonzales photos on display and closing down the photo gallery.

He did more for the team.

His photos as Speedy Gonzales sold more, enough that it always helped us get to our team’s sales targets.

Jose

The passengers loved him. Although some would hurl racist jokes toward Jose. Everything you have heard before, you hear it from our mostly American passengers. Some would mimic Jose’s way of speaking, sometimes coupled with a punch to his stomach.

Andale, Speedy!

But what can Jose do? He had to smile for the photos.

As a photographer, he was top-notch. He studied photography in school, but like everyone else on the team, he had to do things unrelated to photography like being dressed up as a character.

No matter how others see it as fun, unlike wearing a bear or moose costume, a drunk Mexican only perpetuates what many of us believe about Mexicans. A walking embodiment of every offensive trope: the siesta-loving, tequila-swilling, perpetually grinning fool.

Jose became a live caricature of Speedy Gonzales.

I should have asked Jose then how he really felt about being the drunk Mexican mascot.

Or had we all become his enablers by making him drink a lot during Mexican nights? And why did the cruise line allow such racism to exist onboard?

How can we not think that way, when it is the story of a beloved cartoon character like Speedy Gonzales?

While we can make excuses that they were all products from a time, even books by Dr. Seuss had to be reevaluated for being racist and filled with ethnic stereotypes.

In “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” a character described as “a Chinaman” has lines for eyes, wears a pointed hat, and carries chopsticks and a bowl of rice.

We can’t say that Speedy Gonzales is not as problematic as Pepe Le Pew.

When we know better, we should do better.

Racism in America

As I always told people about my past life as a cruise photographer, being on a cruise ship was like being in America. The majority of our passengers were white Americans, and most of the time you would see very few Americans of different skin color or heritage.

I had experienced racism on cruise ships. I was told I wasn't good enough because I was Asian, more so because I was Filipino. My photography skills were reduced by the color of my skin.

But the worst part was the silence. My silence. Like Jose, I learned to swallow my discomfort, to bury my anger beneath a forced smile.

As crew members, we were there to provide the best possible travel experience for every passenger, and if donning a sombrero and poncho was what it took to make passengers laugh then we had to do it.

Besides it was all — harmless fun.

If I felt bad, I could imagine what it was like for Jose who had to play into his identity as a Mexican for a punchline, a joke, and for a $20 photo souvenir of the Mexican Riviera cruise.

Like Jose, I learned to sweep it all away.

It wasn't just racism, there was also sexism.

I remember we had a photographer from the UK who happened to be a petite young woman. She was as white as anyone else, and yet it didn't only happen once, but she would get the worst kind of male passengers that she often would end up crying.

She never did another contract.

Final words

I stayed a few more years working as a cruise photographer. I had more encounters with being attacked for being Asian. I also had memorable experiences with great passengers I met through the years.

I sometimes wonder what it is like today.

With America leaning more toward ideas like reverse racism or the White Replacement Theory, I can only imagine what it is like to be working on cruise ships today.

I left the cruise ship industry a long time ago. Jose stayed for a few more years and left as well.

Looking back, I am thankful for the opportunity of traveling around the world. I wouldn't have seen as many as 100 countries if not for being a cruise photographer.

But there is a dark side to working on cruise ships, not everything is about finding love as we have seen in the TV series, The Love Boat.

Racism exists everywhere, even on the high seas.

Thank you for reading.