Social Question

perplexed82's avatar

Why do Hispanics paint the trim of their homes teal, turqoise, or magenta?

Asked by perplexed82 (288points) October 8th, 2009

I am just curious. I am too poor to purchase a home more than $80,000 so my Realtor has told me I have to look for homes at least 10–15 miles outside of Houston which is mostly Hispanic neighborhoods. I love Mexicans and all, and I am accepting of the fact that I may have to paint over the teal trim to the house I buy, but what gives? Is it a cultural thing?

Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0

29 Answers

ShanEnri's avatar

Great question! I have often wondered the same myself!

JLeslie's avatar

LMFAO! Now asking that takes chutzpah that I can really appreciate. I hate to say that in NY people call fuscia “Puerto Rican Pink.” I would think in their home countries it is normal.

Grisaille's avatar

Look at photos of predominantly Spanish, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Mexican, et al houses in the home country. Everything is colorful and quite pretty. It’s cultural; just bring a bit of home into the U.S.

justn's avatar

I’d like to know too, but I’m sure its a cultural thing. We had a Mexican family move in across the street from us and paint their back yard walls a nice bright orange. I’m sure they would have done the front of their house too if it wasn’t against our neighborhood ‘codes’.

Grisaille's avatar

Oh, and thanks for bringing me back, @JLeslie, hahaha

JLeslie's avatar

Part of it has to do with social class too. My husband is Mexican and he would not paint the trim on our house magenta.

SpatzieLover's avatar

Think of a Flamenco: dancer or Mariachi band when you see those colors being proudly displayed.

Yes, it’s cultural. Just like Greeks with white houses, statues, and blue shutters/mailboxes, and Greek flags flying.

El_Cadejo's avatar

this question just got me thinking. Has anyone ever seen a house painted completely black? I dont think i ever have.

Grisaille's avatar

For reference:

Spain

Puerto Rico

Mexico (small image, d’oh)

Dominican Republic (small image again, sorry)

Darwin's avatar

Frequently cultures in tropical areas such as the Caribbean and parts of Central America and Africa do paint their houses in bright colors. Yes, it is a cultural thing, but not restricted to Hispanics.

@uberbatman – When I was house-hunting in Gainesville, Florida, one of the houses I looked at was not only painted completely black on the outside, the owners were terribly proud of their home-made wall-to-wall carpeting, which was made up of sample carpet squares. There was also a house in Berkeley, California, that was painted black, but the gutters and the door were bright orange. And the driveway was alternating rectangles of green and red concrete.

tinyfaery's avatar

It’s not just the trim. And it’s not all Latinos. Personally, I think it’s great. How many more tan houses with white trim can there be? Blech!

perplexed82's avatar

Never seen a painted black house!!! It seems more like a cultural thing than a class thing… you can tell a neglected home is a sign of class; this applies to all cultures/races etc!!

tiffyandthewall's avatar

i’ve never ever ever noticed this.
my house is painted teal/turquoise with like coral trim.
(i’m not spanish)

Dr_C's avatar

Um… ok. I’m going to try and not take this question the wrong way.

I’m mexican… i would NEVER paint the trim on my house any of those colors. Different regions have different cultural customs and some parts of Mexico get this kind of thing.

However i do have to point out that there does seem to be a certain trend as far as a “class” structure goes… with higher classes staying away from this kind of decoration. Take that as you will.

Grisaille's avatar

@Dr_C Don’t lie, vato. Your crib looks like Pee Wee’s PlayHouse

Dr_C's avatar

@Grisaille sssshhhh that was a secret homes! now i’m gonna have to go pick up my 13 tias and 35 cousins in the el camino and rob a licor store to pay for the new trim paint!

Grisaille's avatar

@Dr_C VATOS LOCOS FOREVER HOMES

Ask Titi Mira to cook me up some empanadas!

RedPowerLady's avatar

I think the idea that it has to do with social class is obscene. Just because someone has more money they don’t like bright colors or no longer feel like subscribing to cultural beliefs? Case in point. A friend of mine lives in an up-scale neighborhood. She always tells this story. A new family moves into the neighborhood. They paint their entire house an obscenely bright yellow or orange. The neighborhood has a hissy fit and tries to force them to re-paint the house. Of course they don’t win. But this is a better example of why you don’t find brightly painted houses in upper-scale neighborhoods: the neighbors have a fit.

casheroo's avatar

@uberbatman Yes. Du Pont painted almost everything on his property black, he had people do it while in jail. This threw everyone in the area in a tizzy lol

dpworkin's avatar

Studies on monozygotic Latino twins separated at birth and raised in different homes show that the propensity for painting trim in cheerful colors has a genetic component of about 60%.

The Latin Race just happens to have a gene which codes for uplifting color schemes, as opposed to the “drab” gene which was recently isolated in White Anglo-Saxon Protestant men.

buster's avatar

People in Portland Oregon seem to paint their houses with bright trim colors and a lot of them aren’t hispanic.

dpworkin's avatar

Oh, in Portland it’s the drinking water.

JLeslie's avatar

@Grisaille and @Dr_C LMAO again! I remember visiting my sister-in-law in Dom Rep (she lived there for a few years) and she criticized them for living 10 in a house and piling three people on a moped (she can be incredibly insensitive and has a Napolean complex I think.) I turned to her and said that is what American’s say about Mexican’s in America. She is Mexican.

Now, my house in Delray Beach was melon (in the orange-color family) The whole house. I would post it if there is a way to attach a jpg? But we have pink houses in FL also. I lived in an upper middle class neighborhood. My girlfriend lived in Ft Lauderdale in an expensive area, $700K and up for the houses, and a neighbor across the street painted their white house’s trim color red, and everyone knew the black family lived there.

RedPowerLady's avatar

I thought it was the drinking water in Ashland (you know with the Lithium in it) hehe.

Zen's avatar

@perplexed82 removed by fluther

marinelife's avatar

because they are not subject to our ridiculous Puritannical heritage. What an ignorant, racist way of thinking.

There are many cultures that infuse color into their lives through their homes.

This is not a hispanic neighborhood in Chicago.

Kent, England.

The Bahamas.

Transylvania Romania.

Charleston, South Carolina.

Baltimore, MD.

Chile.

Nova Scotia, Canada

Iceland

Ireland

Denmark.

The examples are endless.

perplexed82's avatar

@Marina Those are cute homes. Much more lively then the cookie cutter “custom” homes that have sprouted among Suburbia!

RedPowerLady's avatar

@Marina Love the pics. Great Answer.

Answer this question

Login

or

Join

to answer.
Your answer will be saved while you login or join.

Have a question? Ask Fluther!

What do you know more about?
or
Knowledge Networking @ Fluther