Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Bridge over Chicano Park's language barrier

"A misunderstanding, possibly an intentional misunderstanding.”

Mural under the Coronado bridge, a dumping ground during freeway and bridge construction days.
Mural under the Coronado bridge, a dumping ground during freeway and bridge construction days.

After visiting Chicano Park for a “patriot picnic” on September 3, Arthur Schaper wrote about the “Varrio Si, Yonkes No” mural in his blog along with his account of being driven out of the park by a large crowd.

“It looks like they are telling ‘Yankees’ to go home,” he wrote.  

Sponsored
Sponsored

The word “yonke” looks like “yankee” but is actually spanglish for “junkyard.”  San Diego State professor emeritus of Chicano Studies Richard Griswold Del Castillo said the notion that Yankees are being told to stay out “is a misunderstanding, possibly an intentional misunderstanding.”

The rumor has been passed around for years.  An article from 2007 quoted people at the time who thought Yankees were being told to stay out.  Chicano Park muralist Victor Ochoa spoke for that story about the time a junkie in the neighborhood also misread “yonke” and was offended, thinking the message was for him.

Chicano Park muralist Mario Chacon says he gets nauseated by the recycling of these rumors every few years and is tired of defending the park against them. “Prior to the existence of Chicano Park, the area was a dumping ground for construction refuse from the construction of the freeways, the Coronado Bridge, and other toxic polluters in the area. ‘Yonkes No’ was the battle cry to remove these dumpsites from the community,” he patiently explained.

The word “yonke” can be found in the name of a junkyard in Tijuana.  It can also be found in Spanish classifieds in San Diego.  One ad reads, “Compro carros para yonke” and has a picture of a tow-truck.  Unless someone is offering to buy cars that don’t work for Americans, Chicano Park is not telling Yankees to stay out.  

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

San Diego Fix it Clinic, Gaslamp Holiday Pet Parade

Events December 14-December 18, 2024
Mural under the Coronado bridge, a dumping ground during freeway and bridge construction days.
Mural under the Coronado bridge, a dumping ground during freeway and bridge construction days.

After visiting Chicano Park for a “patriot picnic” on September 3, Arthur Schaper wrote about the “Varrio Si, Yonkes No” mural in his blog along with his account of being driven out of the park by a large crowd.

“It looks like they are telling ‘Yankees’ to go home,” he wrote.  

Sponsored
Sponsored

The word “yonke” looks like “yankee” but is actually spanglish for “junkyard.”  San Diego State professor emeritus of Chicano Studies Richard Griswold Del Castillo said the notion that Yankees are being told to stay out “is a misunderstanding, possibly an intentional misunderstanding.”

The rumor has been passed around for years.  An article from 2007 quoted people at the time who thought Yankees were being told to stay out.  Chicano Park muralist Victor Ochoa spoke for that story about the time a junkie in the neighborhood also misread “yonke” and was offended, thinking the message was for him.

Chicano Park muralist Mario Chacon says he gets nauseated by the recycling of these rumors every few years and is tired of defending the park against them. “Prior to the existence of Chicano Park, the area was a dumping ground for construction refuse from the construction of the freeways, the Coronado Bridge, and other toxic polluters in the area. ‘Yonkes No’ was the battle cry to remove these dumpsites from the community,” he patiently explained.

The word “yonke” can be found in the name of a junkyard in Tijuana.  It can also be found in Spanish classifieds in San Diego.  One ad reads, “Compro carros para yonke” and has a picture of a tow-truck.  Unless someone is offering to buy cars that don’t work for Americans, Chicano Park is not telling Yankees to stay out.  

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tuétano and Mujer Divina: two storefronts, one famous birria

Burritos and coffee or tacos and tortas, marrow or not
Next Article

San Diego Fix it Clinic, Gaslamp Holiday Pet Parade

Events December 14-December 18, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader