Gustavo Arellano knows what Orange County is about – and isn’t afraid to place blame.

“We codified our beauty in orange carton labels – wonderful paintings, art-deco style, of orange groves,” the author and columnist said at a Zócalo lecture at the Actors’ Gang in Culver City last night. “We never show the Mexicans who are picking the oranges.”

He added, “Hating Mexicans – that’s a true Orange County religion.”

Arellano has long been a translator of all things Mexican to the people he calls “gabachos” and other clueless county residents in his OC Weekly column, “¡Ask a Mexican!” With his book, “Orange County,” Arellano moves past translation to offer a personal history that counters the mythos of the eponymous region, starting with his grandfather and great-grandfather’s time toiling in the groves, his father’s repeated transgressions against immigration law, and his own upbringing in the land of sun and Republicans. During the lecture, he recalled eating his favorite lunches at school – that’s peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, not burritos, as he told one guest in Q&A – and being asked by his father to dress “like a Mexican.”

If you’re not sure what that means, you can always ask one.

See more photos here.

*Photo by Aaron Salcido.

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