Sociolinguistic Artifacts

“My name is Jose Jimenez” became a popular catch phrase in America after Hungarian-Jewish descent Bill Dana performed this skit dressed as Santa Claus. Bill Dana utilized humor to soften the racializing stereotypes seen in most portrayals of Latin American men. Using Mock Spanish, the naïve character of Jose Jimenez was seen playing a variety of professions, including a United States astronaut. So popular was the character that Mercury astronaut Alan Shepherd adopted “Jose” as his official code name, and astronaut Jose Jimenez made a “guest appearance” at the 1961 Kennedy Inaugural Gala. In the 1960’s Bill Dana was honored by the National Hispanic Media Coalition for his work as an activist. In 1970 with changing sensitivities concerning Mock Spanish and racial stereotypes, Bill Dana had an “official funeral” to declare Jose Jimenez dead.