Cholo
Cholo is a term that is used in some countries of the Americas as a term of national identity and that generally refers to the original population, as well as mestizos, with indigenous features, a mixture of mestizo and indigenous, leaving out whites or Creoles, blacks, mulattoes, zambos and Asian descendants. This denomination would correspond to the so-called mestizo and belongs to the indigenous follow-up in the colonial caste system.
Due to geographic differences in usage, it is possible for speech misinterpretations to occur; For this reason, it is important to know the context in which this term is used to attribute meaning to it. In some countries it is used as a pejorative term due to racism or belonging to organized crime groups.
Etymology
From the Aymara chhulu meaning mestizo.
Introduction and overview
Compared with modern usage, it can be concluded that the use of the term "cholo" was restricted to racial labels.[citation required] Initially, the Spanish conquistadores, of European origin, and their Creole descendants, also Caucasoids (whites), who subdued the Amerindians by the use of force during the Conquest and the Colony, referred to them as "Indians" and the mestizo population as "cholos". », respectively —at that time, they had the official name of «free servants of the Crown of Castile»; however, in practice they were half-slaves and serfs.
According to others, it was not until late in the Colony that the name "cholo" arose. In any case, in the 18th century it was already used throughout the Viceroyalty of Peru to refer to the mestizo population. This denomination persisted during the Republic governed by Creoles of Spanish descent. In 1892 Ricardo Palma used it without restrictions, referring to mestizos whom they considered to be of a non-pure race and of an "inferior category";[citation required] in Ecuador Francisco Murillos Morla defined to the "Indian of the coast" with the word "cholo",[citation required] term used until today.
The culture of the cholos (urban tribe) arose mainly in Los Angeles (California) in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as part of a movement against discrimination and in rejection of the way of american life.
Etymology and historical origin
The first reference to the use of the term «cholo» in the Spanish language appeared at the beginning of the 17th century in Los Comentarios Reales de los Incas (1609 and 1616), by the Peruvian writer Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. In the text, it reads: «To the son of a black man and an Indian woman, or of an Indian and a black woman, they say mulatto and mulata. Their children are called cholo; It is a word from the island of Barlovento; It means dog, not of the purebred, but of the very gozcones mischievous; and the Spaniards use it for infamy and vilification».
In his work Vocabulario en Lengua Castilana y Mexicana (1571), Fray Alonso de Molina stated that the etymology of the word “cholo” or “xolo” would come from Nahuatl and would mean ' slave, servant or waiter', meanings close to the treatment that the Spaniards had towards the Amerindian settlers.
According to some historians, the word "cholo" comes from a Mochica word, a language native to the northwest coast of Peru: cholu ('boy, young man'). According to Peruvian historian María Rostworowski, the first Spanish conquistadores entered Peru through the north coast, where they "[first] encountered the Moches, who in their language have the word "cholu", which means boy ] Perhaps they used cholu to call the boys and from there it became cholo". For this reason it was recorded as an early Spanish Mochiquismo, with the meaning of "boy or girl of Indian origin". In Áncash you can still hear the Quechua expression allish cholu, which means 'good young man' or 'good man'.
The scholar Bouysse Cassagne sees the origin of the term in the Aymara language, in the word chhullu, which designates the product of mixing animals of different breeds. The chronicler Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala in his New Chronicle and Good Government indicates that a chola is the Indian who has broken the hierarchical order of her racial group, coming to less.
During the viceroyalty era in Latin America, "cholo" was spread with the meaning of 'mestizo,' a person descended from the mixture of European with Caucasian features (usually Spanish) with the original inhabitants of the continent (or Native American Indian). The Spanish viceregal tax definition designated as "cholo" that individual who, being a mixture of mestizo and Indian, only had a quarter of Spanish or white ancestry.
Individual or group character
In certain localities or contexts, the word cholo may have a psychological or individual connotation, however its use more commonly has a sociological connotation, that is, it reflects group behaviors, which in turn, express idiosyncrasies or states collective spirit, rather than individual roles or patterns within the social structure.
The cholos (urban tribe) give continuity to the demonstrations of the Chicano and Mexican sectors (although acquiring their own characteristics) and in response to the class resentment that generated some of these groups to become radicalized against the American system.
Geography of contemporary use
South America
The core of the contemporary use of the term occurs in the Andean countries, that is, those that are located in the Andes mountain range. Within this geographic area, its particular meaning and connotations vary according to the exact site and context in which it occurs.
Argentina
In Argentina the term is related to mestizos with a high level of indigenous blood who also speak Quechua or Aymara. The cholos live in the north of the country in the provinces of Jujuy and Salta, although in Argentina it is more common to hear the term chola, alluding to northern women in their typical Andean clothing, the word cholo or chola can sometimes have a derogatory connotation depends on how it is used.
Bolivia
In Bolivia the term is used to refer to urban dwellers with indigenous roots from the altiplano zone.
The word chola does not have the same racist pejorative intensity as the term cholo: the first word is very common to designate regional terms, such as a “chola paceña” hat, “chola chuquisaqueña” clothing, etc. In popular language, the word "chola" is also used to refer to a woman who loves a man and the term "cholero" is widely used, which refers to a womanizer.
Another meaning is the one that relates to the person who emigrated from the countryside to the city, who tries to adapt or emigrate their customs of origin to the new urban idiosyncrasy.
As a term of self-identification it is frequently used in its feminine form, and in its masculine sense with a derogatory character. The use of these words in contexts of disqualification is punishable by the law against racism.
Chili
In Chile, the word "cholo, -la" is a derogatory term used to designate someone of Amerindian or mestizo descent, and that has become generalized for any person from Peru.
Columbia
In Colombia the word "cholo" is rarely used. Sometimes it is used to refer to people with indigenous features.
Ecuador
In some regions of the Ecuadorian highlands, the term "cholo" is used to refer to mestizos and, above all, to those who live in rural areas and dedicate themselves to agriculture. In the province of Azuay, whose capital is Cuenca —one of the most important cities in the country— "La Chola Cuencana" is elected every year, among the ladies representing each parish. Said election is part of the city's independence festivities and the winner must be the one that demonstrates the best knowledge of the Azuaya culture, as well as beauty and charm. The Cuencan chola costume is finely made and is part of it, the famous internationally appreciated toquilla straw hat, also known as Panama Hat.
However, in some other regions of Ecuador the term "cholo" has a derogatory connotation, although it is also used simply to specify the race of an ethnic group from the southern coastal region of Ecuador. In Guayaquil (coastal region), for example, "cholo" is used to refer to the natives of the most coastal part of the country (such as Playas in the Guayas province or the inhabitants of the Santa Elena Province) or who appear to be. based on their physiognomy. It is also frequently used to refer to someone who has a vulgar attitude, poorly dressed, poorly educated, from a poor background, etc., and to those who try to climb social positions, but who cannot hide their origins. The expression "¡qué cholo !» It implies that the person in question, although not of the indigenous race, does not have the manners or customs of higher social strata.
According to the 2010 census, there are 1,013,844 Ecuadorians who identify as indigenous (7% of the population) and of these, 49.1% are male. The 2010 data contrasts with the 2001 census, whose percentage was 6.83%, reflecting that Ecuadorians have lost the prejudices linked to the indigenous race and feel comfortable identifying themselves as such.
Peru
In Peru the term "cholo" is still used with a strongly discriminatory and racist tone; however, it is increasingly calling oneself "cholo" as a sign of national identity and pride in having Spanish and indigenous blood (according to sources, the Peruvian population is ethnographically divided into: Amerindians: 45%, mestizos: 37%, whites: 15%, blacks and Asians: 3%; although other sources indicate they would be mestizos: 47%, indigenous: 32%, whites: 18.5%, blacks: 2% and Asians: 0.5%). Although it cannot be said that the use of the term is without some negative connotation, this can vary from very reduced to severely denigrating and depends a lot on the tone and context, as well as who uses it or who is addressed. In recent years, the use of the word as an affective form between people has increased.[citation required] Although there are people who consider this word as an excuse word for not be discriminated against An example of this is the phrase: "Don't tell me cholo because we are all cholos".
In the departments of La Libertad, Lambayeque, Piura and Tumbes, friends are called "cholo" as a sign of affection.[citation required] In the in the departments of Áncash and La Libertad, the Quechua phrase allish cholu has meant 'good young man' or 'good man' for centuries.
Central America
Costa Rica
In the Central Valley of Costa Rica, the term has a negative connotation, varying according to the context in which the word "cholo" is used. Many times it is used to describe someone or something out of place or irrelevant in a specific situation. The expression is used as a social admonition to describe someone pretentious or with an off-key attitude (Mae, you can't be so cholo). Over time the term lost any relevance to the ethnic or racial aspect of people and is used more as a synonym for polo, another Costa Rican expression that connotes something old-fashioned or misaligned. Among the generations of Costa Ricans born after the 1980s, segregation and racism are more isolated, thanks to the recognition of the great ethnic diversity present in this Central American nation. Cholo is also associated with the gangs present in the North of Central America, Mexico and the United States. In the Costa Rican alternative music scene, cholo-metal refers to young people, most of them adolescents, followers of Nordic/Scandinavian bands, who wear black and leather trench coats in the middle of the Tropics where Costa Rica is located.
Panama
In Panama, as in South America, the term refers to people of Amerindian descent who have assimilated or are in the process of assimilating "criolla" culture, but who still retain rude customs. It also refers to the characteristics of the Amerindian ethnic group (cholo hair, cholo back, cholo face, etc.). Depending on the context in which it is said, it can be a derogatory term (example: he got drunk like a cholo, that's how cholos fall in love) or praise alluding to the traits Amerindians of a person. At the end of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th, the peasants of the towns in the mountainous areas of the center of the country, made up mostly of indigenous or mestizos who had been assimilated into the Hispanic culture, were known as cholos. As a whole, they were called "la cholada", which was a protagonist in the Thousand Days War, when they supported, under the leadership of Victoriano Lorenzo, the liberal side. As an example of the use of the term in Panama, see Roberto Durán.
North America
United States
Currently, in the United States, this word has a negative connotation and is used to refer to a person, typically young, associated with Latino gangs and wearing certain outfits, such as very loose pants, a white T-shirt under a very well-fitting shirt ironed with only the collar button fastened, tennis shoes or shoes. An image, although different and for the same reason frowned upon by most people, relatively or very neat.
The cholos in the United States arise (among other characteristics) as a result of various struggles of identity and collective representation (following the tradition of the pachuco) in North American society that gave them meaning and that to date maintains them in society of that country and also in Mexico, currently looking for other subsistence mechanisms that keep them within the community.
Mexico
As in the United States, it is used to designate those individuals —generally gang members or members of criminal groups— who speak Spanglish. The way they dress also characterizes them, taking traits mainly from the pachucos, as well as the cultural manifestations embodied in doodles or graffiti, in which they express themes of their daily life and their culture. In these murals you can see figures from Mexican history and national culture such as the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Aztecs and leaders of the Mexican Revolution such as Zapata and Villa, this same expression is also carried on the body in the form of tattoos.
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