Cholo
Encyclopedia
Slur
Slur can mean:*Pejorative, any term of disparagement.*Slur , unclear or abnormal enunciation.*Slur , a symbol in Western musical notation indicating that the notes it embraces are to be played legato ....
created by Hispanic criollo
Criollo people
The Criollo class ranked below that of the Iberian Peninsulares, the high-born permanent residence colonists born in Spain. But Criollos were higher status/rank than all other castes—people of mixed descent, Amerindians, and enslaved Africans...
s in the 16th century, and it has been applied to individuals of mixed or pure American Indian ancestry, or other racially mixed origin. The precise usage of "cholo" has varied widely in different times and places. In modern American usage, it most often applies to a low-income Mexican-American sub-culture and manner of dress.
Historical usage
Comentarios Reales de los Incas
The Comentarios Reales de los Incas is a book written by Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, the first mestizo writer of colonial Andean South America...
by Inca Garcilaso de la Vega
Inca Garcilaso de la Vega
Garcilaso de la Vega , born Gómez Suárez de Figueroa, was a historian and writer from the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru. The son of a Spanish conquistador and an Inca noblewoman, he is recognized primarily for his contributions to Inca history, culture, and society...
. He writes (in Spanish) "The child of a Black male and an Indian female, or of an Indian male and Black female, they call mulato and mulata. The children of these they call cholo. Cholo is a word from the Windward Islands
Windward Islands
The Windward Islands are the southern islands of the Lesser Antilles, within the West Indies.-Name and geography:The Windward Islands are called such because they were more windward to sailing ships arriving in the New World than the Leeward Islands, given that the prevailing trade winds in the...
; it means dog, not of the purebred variety, but of very disreputable origin; and the Spaniards use it for insult and vituperation".
In Colonial Mexico, the terms cholo and coyote co-existed, indicating mixed Mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
and Amerindian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
ancestry. Under the casta
Casta
Casta is a Portuguese and Spanish term used in seventeenth and eighteenth centuries mainly in Spanish America to describe as a whole the mixed-race people which appeared in the post-Conquest period...
system of colonial Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, cholo originally applied to the children resulting from the union of a Mestizo and an Amerindian; that is, someone of three quarters Amerindian and one quarter Spanish ancestry. Other terms (mestizo, castizo
Castizo
Castizo is a Spanish word with a general meaning of "pure" or "genuine". The feminine form is castiza. From this meaning it evolved other meanings, such as "typical of an area" and it was also used for one of the colonial Spanish race categories, the castas, that evolved in the seventeenth...
, etc.) were used to denote other ratios of smaller or greater Spanish-to-Amerindian ancestry.
The word "xolotl
Xolotl
In Aztec mythology, Xolotl was the god with associations to both lightning and death.Although often depicted in relation to the underworld, Xolotl was not a psychopomp in the Western sense. Xolotl did, however, aid the dead on their journey to Mictlan, the afterlife in some myths.Xolotl was also...
" is an Aztec word which refers to a humanoid creature with dog features. It is from this meaning that the word "cholo" developed its negative connotation, taking on a similar meaning to "mutt" as applied to humans.
Cholo as an English-language term dates at least to 1851 when it was used by Herman Melville in Moby Dick referring to a Spanish speaking sailor, possibly derived from the Windward Islands reference mentioned above. Isela Alexsandra Garcia of the University of California at Berkeley writes that the term can be traced to Mexico, where in the early part of the last century it referred to "culturally marginal" mestizos and Native American origin.
An article in the Los Angeles Express of April 2, 1907, headlined "Cleaning Up the Filthy Cholo Courts Has Begun in Earnest," uses the terms cholos and Mexicans interchangeably. The term cholo courts was defined in The Journal of San Diego History as "sometimes little more than instant slums as shanties were strewn almost randomly around city lots in order to create cheap horizontal tenements."
United States
In modern usage in the United States, the term "cholo" usually indicates a person of Mexican or Mexican-American descent who is associated with a particular SouthwesternSouthwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
gangster culture. The term is used in Caló
Caló (Chicano)
Caló is an argot or slang of Mexican Spanish which originated during the first half of the 20th century in the Southwestern United States. It is the product of zoot-suit pachuco culture.-Origin:...
slang, but it in turn has infiltrated into mainstream American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of the world's native speakers of English live in the United States....
use, specifically in association with American youth movements such as the "lowrider
Lowrider
]A lowrider is a style of car originated by Chicano communities that sits lower to the ground than most other cars. Many lowriders have their suspension systems modified so that their ride can change height at the flip of a switch...
" subculture, or the hip hop scene in general. The word is sometimes associated with Hispanic gang culture, especially in popular media, but the origin and history of the modern usage is somewhat complex.
Racial and cultural status, along with social class are reflected in the term cholo itself, which was adopted in California in the 1960s by youth following the pachuco tradition, as a label for that identity (Cuellar 1982). In 1571, Fray Alonso de Molina, in his Nahuatl vocabulary (Vocabulario en Lengua Castellana y Mexicana Y Mexicana y Castellana), defined the word xolo as slave, servant, or waiter. The Porrúa Dictionary defines cholo, as used in the Americas, as a civilized Native American or a half-breed or mestizo of a European father and Native American mother. The word has historically been used along the borderland as a derogatory term to mean lower class Mexican migrants, and in the rest of Latin America to mean an acculturating Indian or peasant.
Despite, or because of, its long history of denigrating semantics, the term Cholo was turned on its head and used as a symbol of pride in the context of the ethnic power movements of the 1960s.
Fashion stereotypes
A cholo is stereotypically male, depicted as wearing loose fitting khakiKhaki
This article is about the fabric. For the color, see Khaki . Kaki, another name for the persimmon, is often misspelled "Khaki".Khaki is a type of fabric or the color of such fabric...
pants or shorts, with white knee-high socks, creased jeans, so-called "wifebeater" white tee shirts
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
, and button-front shirts, commonly plaid
Tartan
Tartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns...
and flannel
Flannel
Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of various fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fibre. Flannel may be brushed to create extra softness or remain unbrushed. The brushing process is a mechanical process...
. Cholos are known for starching and pressing their pants and shirts. Cholos often wear military-style webbed belt
Webbed Belt
A webbed belt, military belt or skater belt is a type of belt distinguished by its belt buckle design and lack of holes in the cord, which is usually found in other belts where a pin is used as the fastening mechanism in the belt buckle....
s. Cholos in the 1990s and 2000s frequently have their hair buzzed very short, though some continue to have the more traditional slicked-back hair, sometimes held in place by a hairnet
Hairnet
A hairnet, or sometimes simply a net or caul, is a small, often elasticised, fine net worn over long hair to hold it in place. It is often worn by food service workers to prevent hair from contaminating the food...
or a bandana
Kerchief
A kerchief is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the head or around the neck for protective or decorative purposes...
.
Footwear may include traditional athletic shoes, such as Converse
Chuck Taylor All-Stars
Chuck Taylor All Stars, or Converse All Stars, also referred to as "Chuck Taylors", "Converses", "All Stars", "Chucks" or "Cons", are canvas and rubber shoes produced by Converse. They were first produced in 1917 as the "All Star," Converse's attempt to capture the basketball shoe market...
, Nike Cortez
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
, Stan Smith
Stan Smith
Stanley Roger "Stan" Smith is a former American tennis player and two time Grand Slam singles champion who also, with his partner Bob Lutz, formed one of the most successful doubles teams of all time. Together, they won many major titles all over the world...
brand Adidas, slip-on house shoes
Slipper
A slipper or houseshoe is a semi-closed type of indoor/outdoor shoe, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by a strap running over the toes or instep. Slippers are soft and lightweight compared to other types of footwear. They are mostly made of soft or comforting materials that allow a...
or Huarache
Huarache (shoe)
Huaraches are a type of Mexican sandal.Huaraches are pre-Columbian in origin, and are made from woven leather. The leather is traditionally hand-woven. The name "Huarache" is derived from the P'urhépecha language term kwarachi...
sandals. Popular "Cholo" brands include Dickies
Dickies
Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company, more commonly referred to as the brand Dickies, is an American company headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas that manufactures and sells work-related clothing and other accessories, including back packs, steel-toe boots, and belts. Its major competitors are...
, Ben Davis
Ben Davis (clothing)
Ben Davis is a United States-based work clothing line. It was founded by its namesake in 1935.Company founder Benjamin Franklin Davis' grandfather Jacob Davis was instrumental in the creation of the original Levi's jeans....
, Joker, Lowrider
Lowrider
]A lowrider is a style of car originated by Chicano communities that sits lower to the ground than most other cars. Many lowriders have their suspension systems modified so that their ride can change height at the flip of a switch...
, and Bighouse.
Some cholos, particularly older cholos, or cholos wishing to adopt a more refined look, wear formal wear inspired by zoot suit
Zoot suit
A zoot suit is a suit with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, pegged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. This style of clothing was popularized by African Americans, Mexican-Americans, and Italian Americans during the late 1930s and the 1940s...
fashion, including dress shirts with suspenders, and fedora hats, but may still retain cholo elements such as a bandana or hair net. Cholos are not traditionally found in rural areas. In South Texas
South Texas
South Texas is a region of the U.S. state of Texas that lies roughly south of and including San Antonio. The southern and western boundary is the Rio Grande River, and to the east it is the Gulf of Mexico. The population of this region is about 3.7 million. The southern portion of this region is...
, cholos are sometimes referred to as chucs or chukes. This term is short for pachucos. Tejano cholos typically make heavy use of starch on their pants but so do traditional Tejanos.
This designation may also be associated with black ink tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
s, commonly involving calligraphy
Calligraphy
Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
and art. A cholo might also stereotypically own a lowrider
Lowrider
]A lowrider is a style of car originated by Chicano communities that sits lower to the ground than most other cars. Many lowriders have their suspension systems modified so that their ride can change height at the flip of a switch...
. Another staple of cholo fashion is long hair tied into braids as depicted by actor Danny Trejo
Danny Trejo
Dan "Danny" Trejo is an American actor who has appeared in numerous Hollywood films, most notably in roles as an antagonist, or anti-hero.-Early life:...
.
"Cholas" and "Cholitas" are females who adopt similar fashions. Cholas may wear clothing that is very similar to Cholos, such as Dickies pants or baggy jeans, tank-tops or t-shirts, as well as halter-tops or blouses. Cholas in the 1980s and 1990s often curled their hair and teased it upward, with hair gel or hairspray (the so-called "Scare-do"), and often wore black or dark lipstick and bright eyeshadow, often with penciled-in eyebrows. However, they adopted a more classic look as fashion styles changed in the late 90s. In the past, some cholas were the sisters or girlfriends of cholos, but in recent years, increasingly form gangs or cliques in their own right. However, individuals who dress in the cholo style aren't necessarily associated with gang culture. Some teens will dress in this style during a passing phase in high school. More recently, chola fashion has received mainstream attention in urban and popular fashion. Singers such as Fergie and Gwen Stefani
Gwen Stefani
Gwen Renée Stefani is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. Stefani is the lead vocalist for the rock and ska band No Doubt. Stefani recorded her first solo album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004. The album was inspired by music of the 1980s, and was a success with sales of over...
have cited the chola look as a fashion influence. Tattoo artist
Tattoo artist
A tattoo artist is an individual who applies permanent decorative tattoos, often in an established business called a tattoo shop, tattoo studio or tattoo parlour...
and glamor model Kat Von D
Kat Von D
Katherine Drachenberg , known professionally as Kat Von D and who has given her name as Katherine von Drachenberg in two German interviews is an American tattoo artist and television personality...
has also mentioned that her style of make-up was influenced by the chola look.
Cholo image in media
There is a reference to "The Cholo" in Assault on Precinct 13Assault on Precinct 13 (1976 film)
Assault on Precinct 13 is a 1976 American action-thriller film written and directed by John Carpenter. It stars Austin Stoker as a police officer who defends a defunct precinct against an attack by a relentless criminal gang, along with Darwin Joston as a convicted murderer who helps him. Laurie...
, although it is used to refer specifically to a blood oath
Blood brother
Blood brother can refer to one of two things: two males related by birth, or two or more men not related by birth who have sworn loyalty to each other. This is usually done in a ceremony, known as a blood oath, where the blood of each man is mingled together...
instead of a Mexican person. LA punk rock band The Dickies
The Dickies
The Dickies are an American punk rock group formed in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, U.S. in 1977.-History:The Dickies were among the first punk rock bands to emerge from Los Angeles...
recorded "I'm A Chollo" for their 1979 album "Dawn of the Dickies
Dawn of the Dickies
Dawn of the Dickies was The Dickies' second album, released in 1979. It included the UK hits "Nights in White Satin" which reached No. 39 in the UK chart in September 1979 and "Fan Mail" which made No...
". In the 2004 film Napoleon Dynamite
Napoleon Dynamite
Napoleon Dynamite is a 2004 comedy film co-written and directed by Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess and stars Jon Heder as Napoleon Dynamite. The film was Jared Hess' first full-length feature and is partially adapted from his earlier short film, Peluca....
, Nano and Arturo De Silva play characters simply referred to as "Cholo No. 1" and "Cholo No. 2". In the videogame Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories is a 2006 sandbox-style action video game developed by Rockstar Leeds in association with Rockstar North. It was published by Rockstar Games for the PlayStation Portable in late 2006 and later for the PlayStation 2 in March 2007. The game is the eighth...
, there is a street gang called the Cholos who resemble the stereotypical gangster image of a Cholo. The term gained even further notoriety in 2007 in the United States with the song "Lean Like a Cholo" by Down AKA Kilo
Down AKA Kilo
Juan Martinez , better known by his stage name Down AKA Kilo, is an American rapper from Oxnard, California.Martinez was born in Oxnard; his parents were illegal immigrants from Mexico. Growing up, he listened to Cypress Hill and N.W.A and began rapping at age 13...
. Fergie's music videos "London Bridge" and "Glamorous
Glamorous
Glamorous may refer to:* Glamour * Beautiful* Stylish ;* Glamorous , a song by Fergie;* Glamorous , a song by Natalia & En Vogue;* Glamorous , a 2005 album by Denise Ho.-See also:...
" feature backup dancers dressed as cholas. Gwen Stefani adopted the chola image in her music videos "Luxurious" and "Hollaback Girl
Hollaback Girl
"Hollaback Girl" is a song by American recording artist Gwen Stefani from her debut solo album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. . As part of Stefani's vision of creating "a silly dance record", the song is influenced by 1980s dance and pop music...
".
The 2009 film La Mission
La Mission (film)
La Mission is a 2009 drama film starring Benjamin Bratt and Jeremy Ray Valdez. It is written and directed by Peter Bratt...
, starring Benjamin Bratt
Benjamin Bratt
Benjamin Bratt is an American actor. He is most famous for his role as Rey Curtis on the TV series Law & Order; and his appearances in the movies Blood in Blood Out, Miss Congeniality, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Traffic, and Piñero.-Early life:Bratt was born in San Francisco, California,...
, is an authentic representation of the style, language, cars and music associated with the Cholo culture.
The 2009 Movie Bring It On: Fight To The Finish
Bring It On: Fight to the Finish
- Marketing :American Cheerleader Magazine had an interview and photo shoot with cast members Christina Milian, Cody Longo, Vanessa Born, Rachele Brooke Smith and Gabrielle Dennis, which can be seen in the August 2009 issue. Christina Milian is also on the cover of American Cheerleader Magazine's...
, starring Christina Milian
Christina Milian
Christine Flores , better known by her stage name Christina Milian , is an American singer-songwriter, actress, dancer, and model....
, featured a group of cholos who dressed in the cholo style.
The word is also mentioned in a few lines of the Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
song Born This Way
Born This Way
Born This Way is the second studio album by American recording artist Lady Gaga that was released on May 23, 2011, by Interscope Records. The album is a follow-up to her internationally-successful albums The Fame and The Fame Monster...
.
Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador
In modern-day PeruPeru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
and Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, "cholo" is a widely used term which generally refers to people with various amounts of Amerindian racial ancestry. Among Peruvians, the term mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
is not commonly used as part of the language or as a descriptor. In other Latin American countries, it is used for those of various proportions of Caucasian
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
European to Amerindian ancestry.
The term "cholo" is becoming an element badge and unifier of the current Peru progressively. According to several specialists in the topic, it has evolved and acquired a character of gentile for the vast majority of inhabitants of the South American country. The Peruvians are identified themselves without complex, as "cholos". In recent years, extensive migration into larger urban centers and diffusion of cultural values beyond the cities into rural areas of Peru has resulted in shifting of meaning of "cholo" to include vast numbers of people. A good example of Peruvian usage is the case of Presidential candidate Alejandro Toledo
Alejandro Toledo
Alejandro Celestino Toledo Manrique is a politician who was President of Peru from 2001 to 2006. He was elected in April 2001, defeating former President Alan García...
. He was commonly referred to as el cholo in the election race.
This category now encompasses
1) All of those of exclusively Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
ancestry;
2) Those with predominantly indigenous ancestry, independently of their social status
3) Those with any noticeable amount of Amerindian heritage further categorized by socioeconomic status.
4) A small number of African descent. Little is known or understood about this particular group, found to inhabit the Bolivian Altiplano.
The latter group may escape to such categorization based on a more "European" Caucasian
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
appearance or a wealthier social status ("cholo con plata"). This categorization as "cholo" is independent of migratory status in relation to the rural or interior regions of the country, whether they live in urban areas and cities, whether they have taken up urban European cultural practices, and whether they are bilingual or monolingual (in Spanish or a native language such as Quechua or Aymara). This category of cholo is also independent of whether a new migrant into large urban centers identifies solely with the urban cultural norms or not. In that latter context, the usage may occur as a derogatory term when used by the upper economic strata or those of predominant white European appearance. It must be noted however that such pejorative use of the term does not conform to the generally accepted definition of cholo by the greater proportion of the mixed and native Amerindians which together comprise approximately 82% of the population. The term mestizo is not used in Peru except in remote areas by the purely Amerindian and it is only of historical interest. The term 'Indio' is reserved for the ethnic groups living in the Amazon basin or 'Selva'. The term 'Negro' (Spanish pronunciation, not American) or 'Zambo' is used for those of noticeable Black heritage, generally without pejorative meaning. See additional information on usage of these terms in more detail in Ricardo Palma
Ricardo Palma
Manuel Ricardo Palma Soriano was a Peruvian author, scholar, librarian and politician. His magnum opus is the Tradiciones peruanas.- Biography :...
's "Tradiciones Peruanas".."
In Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
, "Cholo" is also used to denote a greater affinity for Amerindian than Spanish heritage for mixed-race people.
Cholos in Ecuador reside typically in communities whose members are mestizos whose ancestry is both Spanish and Amerindian — often greater Spanish than Amerindian. Yet apart from their apparent Spanish descent and monolingualism in Spanish, their garb, culture and customs, their traditional occupations and many times their surnames are more typical of highland Quichua Amerindians than of Spaniards. This circumstance is in contrast to the evolution of mestizo identity and life throughout the rest of Latin America, where the emphasis has always been placed solely on the Spanish side. In Ecuador as well as in Peru and Bolivia a select elite group of persons with more Caucasian "European" mores and habits, including a more white-appearing physiognomy have traditionally monopolized the social discourse and handed down labels and tags of racial and social status to the lower classes. Because of the obvious reason is to maintain their status of dominance in the realm of culture and economy, the discourse on these and other concepts by such groups is suspect of being biased towards that end.
A widely known example of the former are the "Cholas Cuencanas", from the colonial city of Cuenca
Cuenca, Ecuador
Cuenca is the capital of the Azuay Province. It is located in the highlands of Ecuador at about 2500 m above sea level...
in the southern region of that country.
When not specifically referring to the above-mentioned mixed Caucasoid-Amerindian communities, the term 'cholo' generally may convey the same connotations of Amerindian ancestry in various proportions than Spanish. Most of the population would not qualify as purely Caucasian but instead of a mixed-race person as it does in other Andean countries.
The term as used in Ecuador is supposedly a neutral term to designate the human groups described above. It may be used, however, following the colonial Spanish manner of speech as a pejorative term to disparage someone as being a member of the "lower class", a designation historically associated and usually reserved to maintain in check the social status of those of greater Amerindian admixture.
Mexico
The cholo gangs started from the U.S. in the 1980s. The first Mexican cholo groups came about in the 1990s, and were called by various names, such as “barrios,” “clickas” and “gangas,” and typically seen as American Hispanics, not as Mexicans because of their dress and appearance, which has never been traditional to Mexico. Many of these groups were formed by youths who had spent time in the United States and who returned with a different identity picked up in U.S. street life. Most cholos are youths between 13 and 25 years old who generally do not finish school beyond the eighth grade. These groups mimic the organization of gangs found in the United States, especially California. Cholos have their own style of dress and speech. They are known for hand signals, tattoos and graffiti. Groups of cholos control various territories in the city. Most of the violence among these groups is over territory. Some of the better known cholo gangs in Neza are “41 Street,” “DK13,” “Cobras 13,” “Los Sur 13,” “Cobras 38,” “Los Mexican,” “Los de la 33,” “La 14” and the “Sur Kings.”The former municipal president, Luis Sánchez, states that this kind of activity is waning and claims only two cholo groups are true active gangs. The rest are imitations of the lifestyle as a type of counterculture. He also states that no more than 500 youths belong to the gangs which have been identified by the authorities. Other sources state that this is not true and more than 100 groups operate in the city with many more members.
Chile and Argentina
In Chile, the term is used almost exclusively to refer to Peruvian and Bolivian immigrants of Amerindian appearance. Sometimes it can be used as an insult. It may also be applied to anyone of unmixed Amerindian ancestry or predominantly Amerindian appearance, except if the person is a fellow Chilean, which in that case is called 'indio/a'.In Argentina 'Cholo' and 'Chola' are also commonly used as nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
s, not only for those who would be considered 'cholos', but also for Caucasians
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
, such as the case of Argentine former football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player Cholo Simeone.