5/28/07- I have always wondered this (along with why is the sky blue, & why does my kitchen faucet drip). Everytime I see a Mexican caricaturized, they’re always wearing that poncho thing. So why do ponchos and Hispanics seem to go together?
Well the story goes that the European missionaries, the Jesuits, who came to Argentina in the 16th century got tired of having the natives wander around naked in front of them. So fashionistas that they were, they got a blanket, cut a hole in it, & threw it over the naked natives.
This new invention spread like wildfire throughout the Latin American continent. And then in 1531 a dark-skinned Virgin Mary appeared to a Mexican peasant & left an imprint on his cactus fiber poncho, so after that, the poncho became an icon for the Virgin of Guadalupe which is wildly popular in Mexico.
So this my friends, is why we wear ponchos. Now, everybody’s doing the poncho thing. Martha Stewart walked outta prison wearing a prison-knit poncho, and now everybody’s gotta have one. I’m about to go get ready for my night out on the town. Where’s my poncho?……..
-Ask A Hispanic