Gustavo Arellano announced in today's OC Weekly column that he's dropping the long-running ¡Ask a Mexican! gig that has brought him fame and...well, maybe just fame. And lots of angry email. There is the book contract, and the YouTube version of ¡Ask, and the LAT contributing editorship, perhaps other good things in his future. His exit note is ambiguous:

And with this, the Mexican formally bids adios, effective the feast day of St. Melito. It’s been a great run, cabrones, but all the hateful e-mail, the attacks by PC pendejos and the fact that few of you have bothered to submit video questions to my YouTube channel wear on a guy, you know? Besides, like Mr. Dooley, Olle I Skratthult and The Katzenjammer Kids before me, this column’s time has come: It’s no longer necessary to explain Mexicans to Americans because Mexicans are Americans. Gracias for all the fights, the propositions of sexytime explosion, and the slugged-back tequila shots after book signings, but there’s a little ranchito in Zacatecas waiting for me and a barefoot muchacha ready to cook me dinner. Vaya con Dios, America, and always remember: Order the enchilada-and-taco combo TO GO.

Of course, next week is April Fool's Day. Though if it's not your official issue date, does it count? Apparently the answer lies in the tale of St. Melito.

Updated

Previously on LA Observed:
Gustavo invades KFI
Mexican envy
Arellano in profile
¡Ask a Mexican!™ and get suspended
'Ask a Mexican' on 'Colbert Report'