What is the rest of this joke?

June 23, 2005 11:26 AM

I know one line of a joke, do you know the rest?

For years and years my ex and I (we're still good friends) have used the punchline "you likea the soup(ay), Lupe" as a general "gee, you're funny" retort. We have both completely forgotten the rest of the joke or where it comes from.

It was probably circulating between 1992 and 1997 and could have come from a TV comedian, possibly Paul Rodriguez. It may involve a discussion between an Italian (cook?) and someone named Lupe.

I've tried every permutation "you * the *" in Google I can think of and, at this point, if you don't know the joke I'd even be happy to be shown that my Google-fu is weak.

It's probably lame, could be slightly (stereotypically) racist or off-color but we'd really like to know the rest of it.

posted by m@ to Media & Arts (38 answers total)

Sounds kind of like that gyro sketch from SNL

"You Like-a the juice, eh?"
posted by soplerfo at 11:37 AM on June 23, 2005

Yeah, Rob Schneider did that skit, I think.
posted by cincidog at 11:41 AM on June 23, 2005

Here's a transcript of the gyro sketch.
posted by soplerfo at 11:42 AM on June 23, 2005

Response by poster: Sadly, it's not that skit. It's specifically soup and Lupe, that much we remember.
posted by m@ at 11:47 AM on June 23, 2005

???

This is from a joke?

I own a small business. I employee several happy Mexican (hispanic, Latino, pick your euphemism) workers. Sometime in the mid-nineties, there was a popular song on the Mexican radio stations that had "do you like the supé, Lupé?" as a refrain.

I sing it all the time as a joke now.

I'll go ask my current crew if they know what I'm talking about.
posted by jdroth at 11:48 AM on June 23, 2005

No luck. They knew other Lupé songs, but not that one. They made fun of me because I didn't know what sub-genre of Mexican music the song was. (The only sub-genre I know is cumbia.) And because I can't sing for crap.
posted by jdroth at 11:53 AM on June 23, 2005

There's a Mexican song called Ya Supe Lupe. It's sung by several different artists, and does contain the lyric "you like the supe, Lupe?" or something very close to it.
posted by iconomy at 11:59 AM on June 23, 2005

A google search turns up some musical references, from which I found these lyrics from an Antonio Aguilar song (he's one Mexican performer I know and like):

Ya Supe Lupe
Ya supe Lupe, ya supe, ya supe
que me has mentido y me vas a abandonar,
ya supe de otro que a diario te tupe
con los regalos que no te pude dar.

Ya supe Lupe en tu pecho no cupe,
pero hay un dicho que dicen por ay,
que la persona que pa`l cielo escupe
tarde o temprano en la cara le ha de caer.

Ya supe Lupe, ya supe, ya supe
que pa`l mes que entra te piensas casar,
pero recuerda si a caso no te cumple
despues no vengas conmigo a recalar.

Ja ja ja, tu que dijiste?
Muy trinchona, muy trinchona.

Ya supe Lupe, ya supe, ya supe
pos` no falto quien viniera a platicar
que por las noches de besos te tupe,
y que te encanta su modo de besar.

Ta` bueno Lupe, ya supe, ya supe
que ya de mi ni te quieres acordar,
no ha de faltar quien los dedos se chupe
por estos besos que vas a despreciar.

Ya supe Lupe, ya supe, ya supe
que tu supites que supe y que se
pos si supites que supe ya mi Lupe
sabelo Lupe que ya te olvide.

Ja ja, por ay tengo mi recargadera Lupe ya lo veras.

Ya supe Lupe en tu pecho no cupe,
pero hay un dicho que dicen por ay
que la persona que pa`l cielo escupe
tarde o temprano en la cara le ha de caer...

Jesus just walked in and heard me playing an audio clip of the song, which is not the song I remember. (Maybe in another form, with some English lyrics?) "Hey! It's Antonio Aguilar!" he said. "He's like Charro."

Did I mention this is a surreal AskMe question? I mean, I sing this to myself all the frickin' time. Who would've thought anyone else did?
posted by jdroth at 12:04 PM on June 23, 2005

I'm definitely off base, then. Weird. I've heard this too (you like the soup, Lupe), and now I can't remember where either.
posted by iconomy at 12:09 PM on June 23, 2005

I'm definitely off base, then.

No, incomony, I think you have it exactly right. I know I head this lyric in a Mexican song. It's just that the only lyrics I can find, and the only mp3 sample I can find, is Spanish-only. Sometime during the mid-nineties, I heard a mixed-language version. I just can't seem to google it.
posted by jdroth at 12:46 PM on June 23, 2005

Sidetrack: jdroth, I'm trying not to be offended by this sentence:

I employee several happy Mexican (hispanic, Latino, pick your euphemism) workers.

By the definition of the word euphemism, it sounds as though you are implying that there is something negative about the word 'Mexican.' (And "happy" kind of bothers me too.) Explain please.
posted by crapulent at 12:56 PM on June 23, 2005

jeez, crapulent... I mean... jeez...

This PC stuff is goin too far!
posted by Doohickie at 1:02 PM on June 23, 2005

Isn't it Bugs Bunny? The whole "Attsa matta you no like me, eh, attsa matta for you" sketch? The italian chef guy has Bugs in a big cauldron full of vegetables and stuff and Bugs is tasting it and seems to like it and the Italian Chef guy is like "You like-a da soup, eh??" Is that it?

In that case it's not a joke but really just part of the sketch.
posted by spicynuts at 1:15 PM on June 23, 2005

OH crap...nevermind..my brain completed ignored the "Lupe" part.
posted by spicynuts at 1:16 PM on June 23, 2005

I don't think there is a joke to go with that punchline. Seriously. It's from a scene in the movie (maybe the book too, I don't remember) The Milagro Beanfield War. The setting is a swank investors' bash and a Latino in attendance is recounting, in an exasperated voice, how someone else had kept saying to him "You like the soupie, Lupe?" and how he'd kept saying "My name's not Lupe." It's just a brief exchange that sets the tone for the scene.
posted by bricoleur at 1:17 PM on June 23, 2005

Sorry, crapulent. I don't think there's anything wrong with the word Mexican whatsoever. I was trying to be non-offensive to everyone, but in doing so I was being proactively defensive.

I refer to my employees as Mexican. When I did so the other day, a friend called me out, telling me they were Latino. To me, that is a euphemism. I asked "why not hispanic?" My friend said that "hispanic" was considered derogatory.

Yesterday, I noticed the radio station in the shop referred to itself as something like "Oregon's #1 hispanic music station". All of my employees are from Mexico or have family who came from Mexico. To me, they're Mexican. (Or Americans of Mexican descent.) There's nothing negative about that.

I lose track of what's the current PC term for any class of people.

And why does "happy" bother you? It was just a random accurate adjective. It's a good bunch of guys with positive attitudes that enjoy doing their job.
posted by jdroth at 1:33 PM on June 23, 2005

Oddly, I remember this as an aside in the movie The Milagro Beanfield War, where Freddy Fender (who plays the town's mayor) is saying the "Soupe Lupe" line to abunch of townspeople on a corner until he's interrupted by another charachter.

I asked "why not hispanic?"

Chicano comedian George Lopez answered this by saying "I don't want to be called anything that has the word 'panic' in it."
posted by jonmc at 1:48 PM on June 23, 2005

Okay. I was just checking. (It's very difficult to determine someone's tone on a computer screen vs. being able to communicate verbally.) I've never heard of Hispanic being considered derogatory. I thought Hispanic meant a Spanish-speaking person and Latino was, more specifically, a person of Latin-American descent. I guess it depends on the person. I still don't know how to refer to Native Americans/Indians. I always said "Native American" because it seemed a lot more logical than calling them "Indian," being a misnomer that arose from Columbus's poor sense of direction. But lately I see and hear more people calling themselves Indian. Maybe I should use AskMe.
posted by crapulent at 2:24 PM on June 23, 2005

It's very difficult to determine someone's tone on a computer screen

Agreed. No harm, no foul. I just went and asked the guys, who are in the kitchen for break. Here's what they say:

Hispanic: anyone who speaks Spanish.
Latino: a subset of hispanic — anyone born in Central or South America. They're Latin Americans.
Mexican: anyone from Mexico.
Chicano: an hispanic person born in the United States.

They told me that for all practical purposes, hispanic and latino are interchangeable. They say it's perfectly fine to use Mexican so long as you know the people to whom you are referring are from Mexico. They told me, with great confidence, that I am gringo!
posted by jdroth at 2:44 PM on June 23, 2005

Crapulent, man, if you're going to nail people up to the One True Cross like you did, you need to get up to date on your correctness.

"Hispanic" recalls the fact that folks from España perpetrated forcible rape on the native inhabitants of these places we're talking about. "Ladino" and "mestizo" are among words that are also out of vogue because they recall such things, much as you would not refer to Condi Rice as having the skin tone of a "quadroon" (unless you meant to sell her at auction.) "Chicano" refers to Mexican-Americans particularly, so it leaves out your Salvadoreans, Guatemalans, Puertorriqueños, and so on; and "Latino" offends lots of people who don't speak Latin, presumably for the same reason Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Indian folks object to being lumped together as "Asians" or worse, "Eurasians."

Now get out there and crucify in Correctness' name.

Or don't.
posted by ikkyu2 at 2:48 PM on June 23, 2005

In Canada, the term is First Nations or Aboriginal. And if they are indeed from Mexico, there is nothing wrong with calling them Mexican. However, if they were from South America, well, yeah, that's pretty obvious they wouldn' t want to be called Mexican.

On a side note, how many here knew that some asians (I guess I'm sorta in that crowd) consider the term 'Oriental' , when referring to people, offensive? I think the idea is that you have Oriental rugs, not people. Asian is a such an easier word to say anyways :)
posted by eurasian at 2:50 PM on June 23, 2005

for the same reason Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Indian folks object to being lumped together as "Asians" or worse, "Eurasians."

Hee hee, just saw this. I've never known a chinese, korean, or japanese person to object to being called Asian. It might be a regional thing though. Eurasian is an old term specifically for those of mixed decent.
posted by eurasian at 2:53 PM on June 23, 2005

Jesus just walked in and heard me playing an audio clip of the song, which is not the song I remember.

Your spirituality far surpasses my own...
posted by craniac at 3:04 PM on June 23, 2005

/complete derail and snark

jdroth, I don't think that word means what you think it means.
Euphemism, that is. You clearly have the rest of the terms sorted out.

craniac, try living in California. I'm jewish and I walk with Jesus all the time.

crapulent, Hispanic is generally less crapulent than Latino, for reasons enumerated above.

/end derail, long live snark
posted by mzurer at 4:03 PM on June 23, 2005

jdroth, I don't think that word means what you think it means.

Well, whaddya know. Even we writerly types learn something new every day! :)

I had always thought that a euphemism merely meant one word substituted for another, ubt mzurer is correct: there is a value-related element to the word. I'm an idiot. (Or whatever euphemism you prefer!)
posted by jdroth at 4:08 PM on June 23, 2005

an aside in the movie The Milagro Beanfield War, where Freddy Fender is saying the "Soupe Lupe" line to a bunch of townspeople on a corner

Well, jonmc, you're closer than I was. It was FF talking to townspeople, but it was in the general store, not on a corner.</saving face> And it didn't happen to him, as he tells it, it happened to—dare I say it—a Mexican. Anyway, great movie.
posted by bricoleur at 4:25 PM on June 23, 2005

On a side note, how many here knew that some asians (I guess I'm sorta in that crowd) consider the term 'Oriental' , when referring to people, offensive?

Um, hello? Though I do have a hard time articulating why it's any worse than "Asian." It just means "Eastern," correct? It is still quite offensive, however.
posted by mrgrimm at 4:26 PM on June 23, 2005

More opinions on "oriental" than you could ever want.

Most American dictionaries will note that's it's considered offensive.
posted by mrgrimm at 4:29 PM on June 23, 2005

Oh man, I was all ready to spike the thread in the endzone when mrgrimm oversnarked me for the score!

watch your back, buddy...

on preview:
Citations? We don't need no stinking citations.
posted by mzurer at 4:32 PM on June 23, 2005

Chicano: an hispanic person born in the United States.

Here in the northeast, "chicano" means Mexican-American and most Puerto Ricans and Cubans I've known would be insulted at being called Mexican. They have an intra-ethnic set of prejudices just like us gringos.
posted by jonmc at 4:45 PM on June 23, 2005

I think the Hispanic/Latino thing is regional.

When I lived in the DC area, the preferred term was "Hispanic" -- both within and from outside that cultural group. "Latino" had a political ring to it.

Now I'm in the Pacific Northwest, and more people say "Latino." Some people are offended by "Hispanic," although I still hear it fairly often from the clueless. And it's "Chicano" if you really want to be radical.

You shouldn't call someone Mexican unless you personally know they're actually from Mexico. Lots of Hispanics/Latinos/whatever are from other parts of the world than Mexico, and many have been United States citizens since birth.

I also learned from an American Indian professor who had studied Native culture that different Native people prefer different lables. In some regions of the country, American is preferred. In others, it's Native or Native American. If you know the tribe, that can be your best bet.

It's funny how language changes. When I was in high school, all my Asian American friends called themselves Oriental (and I called them that too). I guess we hadn't discovered Edward Said and been told that the term was offensive yet.

I've noticed that in a couple of my American-born Asian-decended friend's homes, they use "American" to mean "white." I've heard things like, "there was a black guy, and American guy and an Asian guy." I suppose I could take this as an offensive statement about privilege in the US, but instead I just think it's hilarious. I was born in Thailand, I spent half my childhood in Asia, but I'm "American," in this construction, while my US-born-and-bred Asian American friends aren't? Now that's just goofy.

Sorry for going off topic, there.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 5:08 PM on June 23, 2005

"In some regions of the country, American is preferred" should have read "In some regions of the country, American Indian is preferred."
posted by croutonsupafreak at 5:12 PM on June 23, 2005

I've noticed that in a couple of my American-born Asian-decended friend's homes, they use "American" to mean "white."

On the other hand, I've had blacks and Latinos tell me that visibly ethnic whites like Jews and Italians aren't "white."
posted by jonmc at 5:27 PM on June 23, 2005

jon, i was brought up as a minority, just like all the others. I know what they mean (and the past history of this country didn't always treat us all as white.) What's funny is that many Irish were treated worse than us, but they look more "American".
posted by amberglow at 7:58 PM on June 23, 2005

Oh boy, m@. I'm sorry for totally ruining your question. But at least this is educational. ikkyu2, I was not nailing anyone up on the "One True Cross," as you say. I was simply asking jdroth to explain what s/he meant. Actually I think I am fairly up to date because I recently took several classes on Latin America and we discussed the terms Hispanic, Latino, etc. But there was never any consensus as to which term was more offensive or more appropriate, just as there seems to be a variety of opinions here on MetaFilter. Could you please elaborate on this statement: "Hispanic" recalls the fact that folks from España perpetrated forcible rape on the native inhabitants of these places we're talking about. Do you mean because the native peoples wouldn't have otherwise spoken Spanish if the Spanish hadn't colonized there? Or are you actually talking about literal rape? Or something else that I am missing?
posted by crapulent at 8:12 PM on June 23, 2005

Looking back, that should say cromulent, not crapulent, in my comment to crapulent.
posted by mzurer at 8:58 PM on June 23, 2005

What a strange thread. In case, anyone reads this later, here's what I think about the whole Mexican derail: It's all about context. If you mean "Spanish-speaking" then use "Spanish-speaking" not Hispanic. If you know they are all Mexican, and thats relevant to the context, then say "Mexican."

I think jdroth's original usage was just fine. Generally, the people who get wound up about usage have some sort of axe to grind or some sort of defensiveness. I have a distant cousin who insists that he be called a "Chicano" but, you know what, I also think he's an asshole.

In general, if you know they are all Mexican, say "Mexican." If you are not sure or know they are a diverse bunch of Latin Americans, then say "So, my Latin American co-workers..." Thats not so hard, is it? :) If you are talking about people who are originally from Mexico but who have been here for many generations then how about "So, my friends who are of Mexican descent think..." Again, this doesnt seem that hard to me.

Both "Hispanic" and "Latino" are terms, that for me, appear on census forms but few people actually use.
posted by vacapinta at 12:11 AM on June 24, 2005

Do you mean because the native peoples wouldn't have otherwise spoken Spanish if the Spanish hadn't colonized there? Or are you actually talking about literal rape?

The conquistadores, and others, did things that would today qualify as "forcible rape," no metaphors or simile intended. I recall being told by one Mexican-American that he objected to being referred to as Hispanic because it recalled this fact to mind. This was the same guy who told me I shouldn't try to speak Spanish in the L.A. County Hospital because my poor accent would offend the patients.

These aren't my arguments, by the way. I think everyone should just get along.
posted by ikkyu2 at 4:40 PM on July 4, 2005