April's Editorial (2007)

Welcome to the first issue of the Gringo Times! You’ve probably realised by now that the front page story was not entirely true - well, not even remotely true. At least we think the story was made up, but some rumours aren’t totally without merit. The other articles are all true and factual. To help you figure out which ones are true and which are made up, we’ve colour-coded them. The articles we’ve written with dark blue headline are all true. It’s just a shame most of the paper got printed in black and white.
First of all, a big thank-you to all the advertisers who supported the first issue of the Gringo Times. It was a risk, and we could have just taken the money and run back home (wherever home is). Please go and visit these businesses. They are all really nice people. Use the map on page 12 if you don’t know where they are. Tell them you saw their advert and buy something - a beer, a meal, a house or whatever! And tell them to advertise again (otherwise the cute puppy gets it!)
Secondly, thanks to the Gringo Times writers and people who contributed an article for the first issue. Without you, there would be no paper - at least, not much of a paper.
So why did we start the Gringo Times? We thought the North Coast could do with its own ‘local’ paper with local news, letters and information. This area has a large and vibrant expat community, many of whom are not fluent in Spanish (yes, me too!). The Gringo Times is designed to keep them informed and entertained. The North Coast also received 125,000 tourist visitors in Jan and Feb. That’s a lot of people who are interested in finding out more about what happens here.
Where did we get the name from? Unless you’ve never been to a Spanish or Latin American country, you’ll know that most of us are referred to as ‘Gringos’ by the locals. It’s not meant derogatorily – at least not usually. Just remember the old Spaghetti Westerns when Eli Wallach playing the Mexican bandit beckoned Clint Eastwood with, “Hey Gringo!”
Saludos and goodbye until the next issue. Feel free to write in and make your voice heard. We’re happy to print your letters, (as long as they only say nice things about us).
Editor: Gringo Bailey