In the vintage ad below, Sanka sells coffee by joking about how Mexicans (I think) lack good ol’ American capitalist values (text below):
Text:
“How a kind word ruin by beezness”
1. Everyone takes the siesta in the heat of the day, except I, poor Juan. While all are asleep, the shops are closed. Except my shop, where I sell pottery to the American tourists for ten times what it costs in America.
2. An American senorita comes one afternoon to buy the pottery. “How is it that you do not take the siesta?” she asked, speaking that strange language which I have heard called Highschool Spanish. “Ah, senorita,” I sighed, “I cannot sleep!”
3. “Is it the coffee!” I explained. “I love the coffee. I cannot resist it. But when I drink it with the lunch, then all afternoon I am wide awake!” She nodded. “It is good business to be open when other shops are closed!”
4. “I would give all the beezness for a good siesta!” I cried. “Then you should drink Sanka Coffee,” she said. “It’s 97% caffein-free [sic], and can’t keep you awake!” “It is an American trick!” I scoffed. “How can it be good coffee?”
5. “It’s wonderful! A blend of fine Central and South American coffees!” she replied. “And the Council on Foods of the American Medical Association says: ‘Sanka Coffee is free from caffein [sic] effect, and can be used when other coffee has been forbidden!’ ”
6. So in gratitude I charge her only five times what the pottery is worth. Later, I try Sanka Coffee. Delicious. And I sleep each day during the afternoon. My pottery beezness, he is ruin but ah, amigo… how I enjoy the siesta!
See also our post on the Frito Bandito and a vintage Tequila ad.
Found at Vintage Ads.
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Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
Comments 6
Sisi — November 12, 2009
Hilariously, the reality of that situation is that the pottery would be bought for a fraction of it's worth and sold in the states for ten times said worth.
I've looked at his like, three times and it took me until now to realize that Beezness was Business. Augh!
Bagelsan — November 13, 2009
I *do* like that he mocks her "Highschool Spanish" and overcharges her, though. The former bit made me laugh because that it's so true. (The rest, obviously, is racist to the point of incoherence. But I like that bit.)
Duran2 — November 15, 2009
Hahaha, American tourists are dumb.
Village Idiot — November 15, 2009
I always thought that interpreting the afternoon siesta as laziness was either simple ignorance or cheap-shot racism (though definitely leaning toward racism in most cases). I lived for years in the Southwest, very close to the Mexican border. It's hot there (to say the least). Before swamp coolers and air conditioners came along, there wasn't really much anyone could do about the afternoon heat except endure it and the best way to do that was asleep or laying in a creek (not many of those around).
Working through the heat of the day was at the very least minimally productive and could even be life-threatening. Sometimes the overnight low where I lived would be in the lower to mid-90's (32-35℃) and the afternoon high would be 120℉ (~48℃) or a little higher.
At around 5 or 6pm or so it finally begins to cool off (relatively speaking) so everyone can get back to work, and usually does. From what I gather, the siesta is also a tradition in Spain (it's hot there, too) but taking an afternoon siesta in Spain is considered common sense, not laziness. I suppose the hard-working white folks who embodied the Protestant work ethic couldn't stand to see Mexicans stop and take a nap while the Sun was still shining so they started branding them as 'lazy,' and Americans not living near the Southwest only ever heard about the false stereotype and assumed it was an observation instead of racist slander. I also wonder how much of the stereotyping was part of Catholic/Protestant enmity since Mexicans are overwhelmingly Catholic and after the Mexican-American War the Southwest was invaded by WASP settlers (after the invasion by WASP soldiers, of course).