Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

World's worst Border Patrol agent

Screening of Bordertown raises question: where's abuelita?

Characters in Bordertown
Characters in Bordertown

Imagine if Seth MacFarlane's Family Guy TV show got stirred around by cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz and writer Gustavo Arellano, who writes the Ask a Mexican column published in the OC Weekly… You'd end up with a TV show named Bordertown.

About 150 people got a preview Friday night (November 13) at The Front on W. San Ysidro Boulevard, an art and community space in San Ysidro. Bordertown launches on Fox in January. ("Fox television, not Fox News," Alcaraz emphasized. "They both have fiction.")

Sponsored
Sponsored

This Bordertown — “Mexifornia” — in episode six didn't look much like San Diego — except for featuring the St. John of the Cross church in Lemon Grove as the town's Catholic church. Its main characters are the family of Bud Buckwald — the world's worst Border Patrol agent, and the next-door-neighbor family of Ernesto Gonzalez, a landscaper.

The 22-minute show was what you'd expect from the Family Guy team, with Mexican references —there were raunchy jokes, an improbable plot, and the sly undermining of the men who think they head their families. (Bud complains that the Mexican man is always on top, and his wife tells him that, in her experience, if you want to be on top of a Mexican man you just tell him.)

Another notable moment: a corrupt border agent running a tunnel for immigrants in Bud's basement tells one: "Welcome to America. You may ruin our country but our country will ruin your children."

The video, and a preview of Mextasy TV, were well received, but there were people in the audience who wanted some answers. Why, for example, was Ernesto Gonzalez a landscaper? Doesn't that play into racist stereotypes?

"We deserve a landscaper that speaks like an Indian?" a viewer asked.

"My mother was from Sinaloa. She was a housekeeper. My father came from Zacatecas. He was a landscaper," Alcaraz retorted. "I am not ashamed. It's not a stereotype, it's an archetype."

Alcaraz and Arellano previewed the show to the community after producer Mark Hentemann showed the trailer around and got this reaction: “Where can I sign up to boycott this show?” Alcaraz said.

So he decided to take it out to the real Mexican-American community and tell the story of how it's being made and who's making it.

All the voices — except Hank Azria doing Buckwald — are by Latinos. There are now 5 Latino writers on the 14-writer crew, which could be a record for American gringo TV.

"The jokes about sex were easy [to get in]; the political stuff is what Lalo and I had to fight for," Arellano said. "If you're going to have a show about Mexicans, it has to have a political undertone."

Another concern: Where's the abuelita? Alcaraz was delighted by that question because there is an abuelita, the grandmother fixture in many Latino households. "Neither side of the family knows which side she's from," he said.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

March is typically windy, Sage scents in the foothills

Butterflies may cross the county
Characters in Bordertown
Characters in Bordertown

Imagine if Seth MacFarlane's Family Guy TV show got stirred around by cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz and writer Gustavo Arellano, who writes the Ask a Mexican column published in the OC Weekly… You'd end up with a TV show named Bordertown.

About 150 people got a preview Friday night (November 13) at The Front on W. San Ysidro Boulevard, an art and community space in San Ysidro. Bordertown launches on Fox in January. ("Fox television, not Fox News," Alcaraz emphasized. "They both have fiction.")

Sponsored
Sponsored

This Bordertown — “Mexifornia” — in episode six didn't look much like San Diego — except for featuring the St. John of the Cross church in Lemon Grove as the town's Catholic church. Its main characters are the family of Bud Buckwald — the world's worst Border Patrol agent, and the next-door-neighbor family of Ernesto Gonzalez, a landscaper.

The 22-minute show was what you'd expect from the Family Guy team, with Mexican references —there were raunchy jokes, an improbable plot, and the sly undermining of the men who think they head their families. (Bud complains that the Mexican man is always on top, and his wife tells him that, in her experience, if you want to be on top of a Mexican man you just tell him.)

Another notable moment: a corrupt border agent running a tunnel for immigrants in Bud's basement tells one: "Welcome to America. You may ruin our country but our country will ruin your children."

The video, and a preview of Mextasy TV, were well received, but there were people in the audience who wanted some answers. Why, for example, was Ernesto Gonzalez a landscaper? Doesn't that play into racist stereotypes?

"We deserve a landscaper that speaks like an Indian?" a viewer asked.

"My mother was from Sinaloa. She was a housekeeper. My father came from Zacatecas. He was a landscaper," Alcaraz retorted. "I am not ashamed. It's not a stereotype, it's an archetype."

Alcaraz and Arellano previewed the show to the community after producer Mark Hentemann showed the trailer around and got this reaction: “Where can I sign up to boycott this show?” Alcaraz said.

So he decided to take it out to the real Mexican-American community and tell the story of how it's being made and who's making it.

All the voices — except Hank Azria doing Buckwald — are by Latinos. There are now 5 Latino writers on the 14-writer crew, which could be a record for American gringo TV.

"The jokes about sex were easy [to get in]; the political stuff is what Lalo and I had to fight for," Arellano said. "If you're going to have a show about Mexicans, it has to have a political undertone."

Another concern: Where's the abuelita? Alcaraz was delighted by that question because there is an abuelita, the grandmother fixture in many Latino households. "Neither side of the family knows which side she's from," he said.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader 1st place writing contest winner gets kudos

2nd place winner not so much
Next Article

Navy solves San Diego homeless crisis by retiring four locally moored ships

Decommision Accomplished
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.