‘No One Whistles Better Than Mexicans’ — Comedian Jo Koy Explains Why
There are some parts of our cultura that are hard to miss — whether talking cozy cobijas San Marcos inexplicably decorated with lions and tigers, that arroz con pollo your mom makes that will always remind you of your childhood, or our gods and goddesses — A.K.A. Celia Cruz, Juan Gabriel, and Walter Mercado (in that case, our holy water must be Fabuloso).
Still, you might have not noticed something that runs particularly through Mexican culture: really good whistling genes.
As hilarious comedian Jo Koy broke down in a recent stand-up set, Mexicans are the best whistlers in the world y no tenemos pruebas, pero tampoco dudas. Talking to a crowd that couldn’t stop laughing, cheering, and yes, whistling, Koy explained: “That’s when you know there are Mexicans in here… once I say Mexicans, they start whistling.” LOL.
No one whistles better than Mexicans, according to the Filipino-American comedian. To stress his point, he continued to make the crowd whistle louder, while he urged the audience to close their eyes and pay close attention to the sounds. “It’s like you’re in a bird sanctuary. Each one distinct,” he said.
The “distinct” part is especially true. Many of us grew up with parents that had a different whistle to call each child, and why did we all live the same life? Koy painted the picture perfectly, imitating that iconic whistle that’s sending us back to when we were five years old looking for our parents in the grocery store after getting lost for two minutes.
The comedian went on, “They can lose their kids in the mall, and just whistle,” acting out a kid running back to their dad saying, “Papá.” Yup, we’re in this photo and we don’t like it — but actually, we do, because what other cultura gets to take ownership of such a cool tradition?
As you can expect, Instagram comments about Koy’s set do not disappoint and are almost as funny as his banter. One IG user wrote, “My dad had such a strong whistle, that even the neighborhood kids knew when he was calling me. They would know if I was in trouble by how loud it could go.” Why is this giving us flashbacks right now?
Another Instagram user commented, “My dad has a distinct whistle for each of my siblings lol 😂,” with another agreeing, “My dad had a different whistle for each kid, individually, and one for when he needed us all at the same time. These 4 of us. So, five distinct whistles.”
While the origins of the Mexican whistling are deep-rooted in ancestral traditions and, as AJPlus reports on this video, there are some regions in Mexico where people still communicate more in whistles than words, all we’re saying is this whistling business is impressive, and as another commenter stated, “straight facts.”
