Lupe Ramos-Montigny Show: Slang and Cultural Expressions

Click on an expression in the table below to be taken to the part of the show that it is used. 

Expression	Explanation
grassroots organizer	person who organizes everyday people to take action in their community (the roots of the grass implies from the ground up, not from the top down)
siblings	brothers and sisters
ethnic make-up	composition of people’s racial backgrounds
Nuevo Laredo, Mexico	border city in northeast Mexico: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuevo_Laredo
Anglo kids	English-speaking children
K-6	Kindergarten through 6th grade (elementary school)
monolingual	speaking just one language
had declared itself	had announced what it would be
literally crossed the railroad tracks	cities are sometimes divided by a railroad track, with poor people on one side and rich people on the other (this has become an idiom in English, so Lupe wanted us to know that there was really an actual railroad track dividing the Latinos and the Anglos in her hometown)
kept to ourselves	didn’t go with other groups, stayed with Mexican Americans
co-mingle	mixing, being together (with people from different cultures and backgrounds)
Go to the office!	Leave the classroom (to be punished in the school office).
blares out	comes out loudly, forcefully
sure enough	certainly, as predicted, that’s what happened
spokesperson	person who is chosen to represent the group by speaking for them
upper Midwest	U.S. states which include North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan
picking produce	harvesting fruit and vegetables
belongings	possessions, things you own
Caseville, MI (in the Thumb)	city on the tip of Michigan’s peninsula that looks like the thumb of a mitten: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caseville,_Michigan
beets	a root vegetable
Old Mission Peninsula	region of northwest Michigan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Mission_Peninsula_AVA
Cesar Chavez, legacy of	(lasting history of) the Mexican American who organized migrant farm workers and pressed farmers and legislators for better working conditions
discriminated against	received unfair treatment
peer out	look out (onto uncertain scene)
We were nine.	There were nine of us.
filling station	gas station (where people fill their tanks)
body work	fixing the bodies of cars
cohesive family	family that is very close, that sticks together
Mex-Tex food	cooking style from the Texas-Mexico border region
big deal	very important, significant
the drive-in	type of restaurant where you are served in your car
lugs of cherries	a lug is a container holding freshly picked produce
spearheading	leading (the head of a spear goes through the air first)
migrant worker	worker who travels from one work site to another
adamant	insisting, having a strong opinion
That’s how come…	That’s why…
fabric of our country	basic nature, foundation of our country
inhumane	unkind, cruel, uncaring, mean
La Raza / the Micah Center	largest Hispanic rights group in the U.S. (http://www.nclr.org/index.php/about_us)/ Christian group for social justice (http://www.themicahcenter.org)
ridiculed	mocked, made fun of, laughed at
poll tax	a tax created by some states to discourage poor people from voting
people of color	non-white citizens
the Creator	Lupe refers to God (who in her religion created the earth and all its people)
Committee to Honor César E. Chávez	https://www.facebook.com/CommitteeToHonorCEC
parent-teacher conferences	scheduled meetings where parents go to the school to meet teachers and talk about the progress of their children
reticent	cautious, shy, reluctant to join in
tackle that	deal with that, handle it
State Board of Education	group that makes educational policy for the state of Michigan (http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,4615,7-140-5373---,00.html)
circle of friends	group of people who surround you with friendship