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Negative feedback followed a performance at UNM that aimed to introduce international students to New Mexico.
Lauren Poole, who plays Lynette LaBurqueña, star of the viral “S**t Burqueños Say” YouTube video that parodies Albuquerque stereotypes, was one of a few to give international students a taste of New Mexico culture last Friday at the “New Mexico: Red or Green?” workshop. Poole’s act discussed red and green chile, demonstrating how it goes from the ground to New Mexican food, after the “S**t Burqueños Say” video was played.
Poole said she was not paid for the event.
Special assistant to the president for global initiative Mary Anne Saunders said Poole was invited to speak at the University as part of UNM President Robert Frank’s initiative to increase globalization at UNM, enrollment of international students and opportunities for UNM students to travel abroad. She said that as international students become acclimated, students want to know more about New Mexican culture, not just American culture.
Poole also appeared as her character Lynette in commercials for the New Mexico State Fair this year.
Saunders said Poole was chosen to offer some entertainment at Friday’s workshop. She said Poole’s act was introduced by Linda Melville, senior operations manager for the Office of International Programs and Studies, who explained that Poole’s character is a stereotype of people from Albuquerque.
“Many of them had seen (“S**t Burqueños Say”) before,” she said. “This is just a microcosm of the greater culture out there.”
Saunders said they’ve received positive feedback from the students who attended, about 100 out of the 1050 international and exchange students on campus.
But online responses to an article on KOB.com about the event were more varied.
User “G.l. Joey” said, “Really UNM, this is the person you want to represent you globally to recruit international students? She might be fine to promote a lackluster event like the NM State Fair, but for an educational institution you should have higher standards!”
User “Dan Waring” said, “I can’t believe all the whiners on here! This IS our culture that she was poking fun at! Comics do it all the time! This girl is totally funny!”
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User “Roy Gutierrez” said “Come on! She is making a mockery of the good people in New Mexico and implying that the people in the state are uneducated and lazy.”
Poole said she has not read the article or seen the piece KOB did, but heard that it put a negative spin on the event.
“It does make me a little sad that they were misinformed and that people would think negatively on the workshop when they have no idea what it was,” she said. “It makes me sad the news would represent it as something that it’s not … if that’s what they were doing.”
Poole was the last to present at Friday’s workshop, following Rhodes Scholar and UNM professor Manuel Montoya, who gave a presentation that covered New Mexico culture from both a historical and contemporary perspective.
Saunders said the series will continue this month with a video about U.S. elections and a video about American culture. She said the University probably won’t bring Poole back next year because viral videos don’t have the kind of staying power that would make her as culturally relevant as she was this year.
