Con Safos

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Con Safos is the second and last album by Ruben and the Jets, recorded in 1974 as a follow-up to their 1973 debut For Real!, which was produced by Frank Zappa (whose 1968 album Cruising with Ruben & the Jets was the source for the band's name). Both albums are out of print, but Con Safos is the especially harder to find of the two, despite the fact that both albums were re-released on compact disc in 1994 and 1995, respectively.

Con Safos is a Chicano/a term that literally means "with respect" and in some translations is meant to deliver the message that any insult sent towards it slips off.

Sometimes used at the end of a letter instead of regards etc...

Con Safos, Alfonso

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In a book by José Antonio Burciaga (Poet and Artist), "Drink Cultura", the author describes this term and it's origin as:

"At one time or another many of us have seen the c/s sign-off on Chicano 'placas' and graffitti in the Southwest or Midwest. It's a very common Chicano symbol but its true origin and significance is nebulous. It is not a Mexican symbol but a Chicano, a Mexican-American, sysmbol. Its origin is unknown but, like the 'Pachuco', it probably originated in South El Paso's 'Segundo Barrio'. The c/s sign-off means 'con safos', and translates literally as "with safety." It was meant as a safety precaution, a barrio copyright, patent pending. No one else could use or dishonor the graffiti.

It was an honorable code of conduct, a literary imprimatur. Like saying "amen," it ended discussion. Above all, it meant, "anything you say against me will bounce back to you."Most kids respected a 'placa' if signed off with the c/s. Without that symbol, a placa would sooner or later get scribbled on or erased. Some kids would put a double c/s sign or put xxx after it, or a skull and cross bones, which physically threatened anyone who did not honor and respect the code. The closest possible Spanish word from which safos could have come would be 'safo' from 'safar', or 'safado', which translates to slip or slipped. This is a plausible definition since the c/s is meant to let insults slip off, to protect and shield from attacks.

In a game of marbles, Chicano kids used the word 'safis' if they let the marble slip before shooting it in the right direction. By saying safis the marble shooter was allowed to try again. Some Chicanos will also end a placa, graffitti, with the message 'con o sin safos', which means that with or without safety, with or without this code, whether you like it or not, whether you insult me back or not, this placa, insult or praise, stands."

[edit] Tracks

1. Cruisin' Down Broadway
2. To Be Loved
3. Stronger (preview)
4. Speedoo
5. Honky Tonk
6. Low Ridin' Cruiser
7. Stronger
8. Earth To Buffalo
9. I Wanna Know
10. Honky Tonk (replay)
11. Dust My Blues
12. A Thousand Miles Away/You Send Me
13. Durango

[edit] External links

• AMG