The Wasp — 1891 — page 206: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes cultural stereotypes about Mexican musicians and tourists. The sketch shows Mexican figures with exaggerated features playing instruments for tourists, with the caption "NO EAR FOR MUSIC." The accompanying dialogue suggests a joke about language barriers: a "First Tourist" calls the music a "fandango," while a "Second Tourist" (referring to the player) asks "Why, in my country they call them Mexicans." The satire appears to mock both tourists' ignorance of Mexican culture and racial stereotyping of Mexican people—reducing their identity to caricatured musicians. This reflects late 19th/early 20th-century American attitudes toward Mexican immigrants and Mexican-American communities, using dehumanizing humor typical of period satirical publications.