海角大神

For聽Michelle聽Madrano, the capture of drug lord Joaqu铆n 鈥淓l Chapo鈥� Guzm谩n 鈥� and actor Sean Penn鈥檚 interview with him 鈥� doesn't stir anger or elation or much of a response at all. After all, when you think a government is lying to you, it's hard to know what to trust.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 trust the Mexican government to tell the truth about what really happened,鈥� says Ms. Madrano, a civil engineering major at Los Angeles Valley College in Van Nuys.

But for聽Edna Becerra, a professor聽at Whittier College, Mr. Penn's Rolling Stone interview with Mr. Guzm谩n聽鈥渂orders on the ridiculous.鈥澛�

鈥淗ere you have someone who knows next to nothing about Mexican culture, Mexican issues, or the drug trade coming in and shaking hands with this terrible person whose business is ravaging the country,鈥� she says.

How the Mexican-American community has responded to Guzm谩n's capture, as well as the Rolling Stone article that some critics say makes the drug lord look like an antihero, has varied widely. In several interviews, younger Mexican-Americans 鈥� especially those whose families have been in the United States for generations 鈥� generally responded with a cynical shrug. Older Mexican-Americans and those who grew up in Mexico are more engaged.聽

Professor Becerra, for example, is a first generation immigrant and says she is 鈥渧ery aware of Mexico鈥檚 politics.鈥澛�

She considers the Rolling Stone interview with a hint of anger. The聽seriousness of Mexico鈥檚 economic and social problems contrasts sharply with what she considers 鈥渢he irrelevance鈥� of Penn鈥檚 observations.聽

For聽Pablo Salazar, a construction worker who has been in the US for 16 years, the issue is still very close. In fact, he's hesitant even to speak of it given that he still has聽aunts, uncles, and cousins living in Guadalajara.

His family in Mexico never touches the subject for safety reasons, he says. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 talk about it because they still live there,鈥� he adds.聽

For his part, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 trust the Mexican government, that鈥檚 why I came here,鈥� he says. 鈥淎ll this is just to distract the people from the real problems Mexico has.鈥�

That lack of trust in government runs deep among the handful of Mexican-Americans interviewed.聽

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 trust any government,鈥� says Santos Gutierrez, another student at聽Los Angeles Valley College.聽

A third-generation immigrant, Mr. Gutierrez, says he rarely thinks about Mexican politics. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 really care. If I talk about politics at all, it鈥檚 about this country, not Mexico.鈥澛�

Madrano's parents came from Jalisco before she was born, and she says a government class she's taking at Los Angeles Valley College have opened her eyes. She says she's聽鈥渓earning all kinds of new things about politics鈥� and doesn鈥檛 think the public is getting the full story.聽

She also hints at a more complex image of Guzm谩n back home 鈥� and even among Mexican-American teenagers. 聽

鈥淚 have heard he has done things for the poor people in Mexico and so they see him as a hero,鈥� Madrano says, though she is quick to add, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see him as a hero because he hasn鈥檛 used his money to do anything for the people here,鈥� she gestures around herself.

However, she says with a laugh, her sister doesn鈥檛 care about the politics at all.

鈥淪he鈥檚 still in high school and she really likes all that narco drug music,鈥� she says, referring to narcocorridos, popular Mexican music celebrating the exploits of the drug trade.