The Alcoholic Agringado

Abstract

T HE etiology of alcoholism has not been accurately determined despite wealth of hypotheses on subject. Claims have been made for both biological and psychological origins of pathological drinking. Today most workers in field of alcoholic studies are becoming increasingly aware of importance of cultural factors in development of alcoholism. The authors of one of leading textbooks on abnormal psychology suggest that sociocultural considerations may outweigh both biological and psychological in certain cases. Landis and Bolles state that is conceivable that social and cultural factors may act on any type of constitution and personality to bring about either addiction or abnormal drinking (1950:229). This paper will analyze a sociocultural environment which tends to produce a high proportion of problem drinkers among agringados or inglesados of south Texas.' Both Spanish terms refer in a derogatory sense to Mexican-American attempting cultural transfer to Anglo-American way of life. The analysis is based on data collected by research staff of Hidalgo Project on Differential Culture Change and Mental Health. Field work was carried out during a four-year period along Mexican-Texas border.2 Until early part of this century, Hidalgo County was primarily a livestock area worked by descendants of land-grant families of New Spain. During first decade of 1900's land investment firms began to buy up area and develop it through irrigation for production of vegetables and citrus fruit. From a semi-desert area it was converted into present land of palm trees, rich agricultural harvests, and tourists. The change was dramatic enough to lead local chambers of commerce to label this part of Texas the Magic Valley. The transformation of land resulted in a heavy influx of two major ethnic groups. The land was purchased by farmers from north and midwest whose ancestry was primarily northern European. Cheap labor recruited from Mexico cleared and irrigated land. Most of these manual laborers remained to work as field hands. Their ranks were swelled by refugees from Mexican Revolution of 1910. Company planned towns in Hidalgo County were carefully laid out to separate Anglo and Latin groups. Today each town is still composed of Latin and Anglo communities which are geographically and socially distinct. The Latin community inherits its way of life from Mestizo culture of Mexico while Anglo community is derived from U. S. middle-class culture. Each community is strongly ethnocentric and contemptuous of its opposite. Each linguistic group has a collection of derogatory terms to designate members of other group. Anglos may be referred to in a Spanish-speaking group as bolillos or gringos. The Anglos, among themselves, customarily call Mexican-Americans meskins. This term carries implication of a child-like and unreliable personality.