'Ethel's Hometown' y Ella No Habla Español! - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

PracTz · 03-18-2007, 01:19 PM

Seeing the gang meet and greet everyone in 'Ethel's Hometown', I noticed a major character goof re Ethel- if she's supposed to be from Albuquerque, New Mexico, why would she have not known ANY Spanish prior to having met Ricky? Even back then Albuquerque had a large Spanish-speaking population (many descended from the first Europeans in the area who'd arrived in the 1600's), yet in countless eps Ethel reacts to Ricky's language (and customs) as though Ricky's the very first Spanish-speaker she's ever met! And, of course, when they depicted the very real city of Albuquerque, they made it seem as though it was a completely whitebread Midwestern community that just happened to plunked in New Mexico.
I know the writers were likely saluting Viv who, as a result of having lived there some years in her youth, made a point of telling folks she was FROM there but they might as well have made the place Cherryvale, Kansas (perhaps adding that Ethel was going to Hollywood to be the biggest star there since Louise Brooks [an actual childhood friend of Viv's])!

Madame X · 03-21-2007, 01:45 PM

Good points!

The Great One · 03-21-2007, 05:51 PM

That's very interesting. I never saw it that way until you pointed that out.

03-18-2007, 01:19 PM	#1
PracTz Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 14, 2002 Location: United States of America [Happily Living in the 20th Century] Posts: 2,711	'Ethel's Hometown' y Ella No Habla Español! Seeing the gang meet and greet everyone in 'Ethel's Hometown', I noticed a major character goof re Ethel- if she's supposed to be from Albuquerque, New Mexico, why would she have not known ANY Spanish prior to having met Ricky? Even back then Albuquerque had a large Spanish-speaking population (many descended from the first Europeans in the area who'd arrived in the 1600's), yet in countless eps Ethel reacts to Ricky's language (and customs) as though Ricky's the very first Spanish-speaker she's ever met! And, of course, when they depicted the very real city of Albuquerque, they made it seem as though it was a completely whitebread Midwestern community that just happened to plunked in New Mexico. I know the writers were likely saluting Viv who, as a result of having lived there some years in her youth, made a point of telling folks she was FROM there but they might as well have made the place Cherryvale, Kansas (perhaps adding that Ethel was going to Hollywood to be the biggest star there since Louise Brooks [an actual childhood friend of Viv's])!

03-21-2007, 05:51 PM	#3
The Great One Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Aug 29, 2006 Posts: 6,378	That's very interesting. I never saw it that way until you pointed that out.
	__________________ .

03-21-2007, 01:45 PM	#2
Madame X Member Senior Member Join Date: Sep 15, 2006 Location: Oregon Posts: 1,831	Good points!