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- NICKNAMES OF ORIGIN
- Is a GRINGO worse than a CHILANGO?
-
- Many Mexican regions have colorful slang terms for
- their natives, nicknames generally as inexplicable
- as "Tar heels," "Jay hawkers," and
- "Knickerbockers." The most common of these
- is CHILANGO, a native of Mexico City or the
- surrounding DISTRITO FEDERAL. CHILANGOS use the
- term proudly, but to others it has varying degrees
- of deprecation. For instance, there are highway
- graffiti that say, "HAZ PATRIA, MATA A UN
- CHILANGO"--essentially, "Be patriotic, kill a
- Chilango." You hear Mexico City and the D.F.
- called CHILANGOLANDIA (and the U.S. called
- GRINGOLANDIA.)
-
- Another classic appellation is TAPATíO, a native
- of Guadalajara. A term of extreme pride and
- without the negative feel of CHILANGO, TAPATíO
- things are very Mexican. OJOS TAPATíOS is a famous
- song about the distinctive European eyes of
- TAPATíAS, and the real name for the famous
- "Mexican Hat Dance" is "JARABE TAPATíO."
-
- People from Monterrey are called REGIOMONTANOS
- and have a reputation for being cheapskates, like
- our jokes stereotyping Scotsmen or Jews as
- "tight," but less good natured. In Mexico,
- by the way, "tightwad" is CODO (elbow) and can
- be signified by tapping the elbow.
-
- Other regional nicknames include:
- CULICHE --From CULIACáN, in Sinaloa
- HIDROCáLIDO --Aguascalientes
- JAROCHO --Veracruz
- ABAJEñO --The lower (or ABAJO) part of Jalisco
- TIJUAS --Tijuana
- CHOYERO --Ciudad Constitución, B.C.
- CACHANILLA --Baja, specifically, Mexicali
- ARASCO --Michoacán
- ALACRáN (scorpion) --Durango
- JAIBO --Tampico
- BORINQUEñO --Puerto Rico
- GACHUPíN --Spain
- CHALE --China or South East Asia