Leticia Neria PhD thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText ...

Spaniards. Thus, the generalization is narrowed. So, observing the foreigners that these
comic books refer to and make fun of, reveals to us which countries had contact with
Mexico, and which foreigners were generating discomfort, or were considered inferior
or superior, needing to be ridiculed.
In both examples, the foreigner is represented as an opportunist who abuses the
weak. In Hermelinda Linda, the Canadians are swindlers who are trafficking chinchillas
(we discussed this story earlier), but when they are discovered by Hermelinda and have
to escape and carry out their fraud somewhere else, one of them says that they will find
a way to restart their business ‘Mientras haya funcionarios cándidos’. 133 In Los
Agachados, Don Falangino is visited by his cousin who has just arrived from Spain.
Falangino describes how well his business is doing, and explains: ‘Aquí nadie te dice
nada si subes todos los días los precios..¡bendito país!’ 134 We see that both foreigners
are abusing Mexicans. However, according to what they say, we also notice that the
Mexican authorities are involved, either through their negligence or through corruption,
which we infer because of another statement of Don Falangino: ‘…aquí hay que estar
bien con la autoridá o no se hacen los negocios’. 135 Therefore, through these acts of
humour, we not only criticise the actions of some foreigners, but also we have the
opportunity to make fun of their faults. Their features are exaggerated, such as their
linguistic mistakes and the way they look, and through this mechanism we feel
superiority and relief. We obtain a little revenge over them. But we also realise that the
abuse will not be possible if it not for the participation of the Mexican authorities, who
tolerate them. In both comics we had a chance to criticise and ridicule them, at least
temporarily.
133 Hermelinda Linda, 367, p. 29.
134 Los Agachados, 51, p. 7.
135 Ibid.
122