GLOSSARY
Abuelito/Abuelita: The name is an affectionate Spanish word for "grandma" (literally translated as "little grandmother" or "granny").
Ajolotes/axolotls: Amphibian endemic to Mexico with three pairs of very long external gills, four limbs and a laterally compressed tail, which can retain its larval form for a long time and acquire the ability to reproduce before taking on the typical form. of the adult. In Mexica mythology, the axolotl (from the Nahuatl atl, water and xólotl, monster) means aquatic monster and is the aquatic devotion of the god Xólotl, twin brother of Quetzalcóatl; however, the god Xólotl became monstrous because of birth.
Alcahueta: Women pimp.
Arrimados: Person who lives in another's house, at the expense or protection of its owner.
Artivist: is a portmanteau word combining art and activism, and is sometimes also referred to as Social Artivism.
Aztlán: is the ancestral home of the Mexicas peoples.
Barrio: is a working class neighbourhood that maintains a strong sense of community and solidarity.
Border Patrol: an agency within the US Department of Homeland Security responsible for preventing the illegal entry of immigrants as well as terrorist and their weapons into the United States.
Bracero: Bracero es una palabra que se refiere a una persona que trabaja con los brazos en los campos agrícolas de los Estados Unidos. Este término se popularizó con el llamado Programa Bracero, que es el nombre informal de los acuerdos entre Estados Unidos y México para llevar a más de dos millones de trabajadores mexicanos –entre 1942 y 1964– a los campos agrícolas de EUA. El Programa Bracero expone una historia de migración y explotación durante toda la segunda mitad del siglo XX.
Colonia: The Spanish word colonia means a 'colony' or 'community'. In Mexican Spanish, it is specifically a 'residential quarter [of a city]', and a colonia proletaria is a shantytown.
Compadre/Comadre: a friend or someone you trust.
Contras: a member of a guerrilla force in Nicaragua that opposed the left-wing Sandinista government 1979–90, and was supported by the US for much of that time. It was officially disbanded in 1990, after the Sandinistas' electoral defeat.
Coraje: Courage
Coyote: a person who smuggles people into the US typically for a very high fee.
Chambrita: A baby’s clothing item sewn by hand
Chicano: Someone who is native of, or descends from, Mexico and who lives in the United States. Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity of some Mexican Americans in the United States.
Chicano Moratorium: The Chicano Moratorium was a movement of Chicano activists that organised anti-Vietnam War demonstrations and activities in Mexican American communities throughout the Southwest and elsewhere from November 1969 through August 1971.
Chilacayote: The name Chilacayote comes from the Nahuatl word “Tzilacayotli,” as do several other variations of the name throughout Latin America. It is also known as the Seven Year melon and Malabar gourd and is more commonly known as the Fig Leaf gourd or Fig Leaf squash in the United States.
Chisme: Gossip.
Cholos/Cholas: A cholo or chola is a member of a Chicano and Latino subculture or lifestyle associated with a particular set of dress, behaviour, and worldview which originated in Los Angeles, California.
Cholo graffiti or ‘placa’: According to artist Chaz Bojorques, “Placas are territorial inscriptions created to define a gang’s turf, a genuine, constantly evolving urban calligraphy with strict codes used by Latino gangs for street writing since the late 1930s”. Source: @chaz_bojorquez
Chola Pinup: According to Chicana activist Vanessa Bustamante, Chola Pinup was an organisation of cholas who united in La causa: “We had workshops, events, and programs to uplift the neighbourhood and help people”.
Christero/Cristero: USA/Mexico Border is an international border separating Mexico and the United States of America , extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The Mexico–U.S. border is the most frequently crossed border in the world with approximately 350 million documented crossings annually. It is the tenth-longest border between two countries in the world. The total length of the continental border is 3,145 kilometres (1,954 miles).
DACAmented: Colloquially referred to as DACA, is a United States immigration policy that allows some individuals with unlawful presence in the United States after being brought to the country as children to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and become …
D.F.: Distrito Federal now Ciudad de México.
Día de Muertos: Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a celebration of life and death. While the holiday originated in Mexico, it is celebrated all over Latin America with colourful calaveras (skulls) and calacas (skeletons).
Ecatepec: Ecatepec, officially Ecatepec de Morelos, is a municipality in the State of Mexico, and is situated in the north part of the Greater Mexico City urban area.
Fat Cap tip: a nozzle used for wide coverage, used for the fill of pieces.
Firmeza: Que se ve muy bien. Listo para lo que venga.
FMLN: The Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front is a Salvadoran political party and former guerrilla rebel group.
Fronterizo: Belonging or living alongside the Mexico-US border.
Great Depression (1929–1939): was a severe global economic downturn that affected many countries across the world. It became evident after a sharp decline in stock prices in the United States of America , leading to a period of economic depression.
Green card: A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. Green card holders are formally known as lawful permanent residents.
Gringo: Gringo or gringa is a term in Spanish and Portuguese for a foreigner. In Spanish, the term usually refers to English-speaking Anglo-Americans. There are differences in meaning depending on region and country. In Latin America, it is generally used to refer to non-Latin Americans.
HEM: “Hecho en México” is a name about a Mexican graffiti crew from Tijuana that was founded in the 1990s.
Homeboy Industries: Homeboy Industries is an organisation founded by Father Gregory Boyle from Los Angeles, California, in 1986. Homeboy Industries provides hope, training, and support to formerly gang-involved and previously incarcerated people, allowing them to redirect their lives and become contributing members of the community.
ICE: Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
ITESO: Universidad Jesuita de Guadalajara — distinct from the University of Guadalajara — also known as Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente, ITESO, is a Jesuit university in the Western Mexican state of Jalisco, located in the municipality of Tlaquepaque in the Guadalajara.
Jalisciense: Pertaining to the Mexican state of jalisco.
Marketa: It is a chicano word that refers to the market.
MEChA: Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlán. MEChA is a student organisation that emerged in the context of the Chicano Movement in the 1960s. This organisation's mission is to promote education, culture and history as forms of liberation and unity among Latinx and Chicanx students in the USA.
Mexica: The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican civilisation that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521.
La migra: Migra or La migra is an informal Mexican and American Spanish language term for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Migranta: Term that refers to a woman migrant.
Modismos: An expression with a meaning that cannot be guessed from the meanings of the individual words.
Monikers: A moniker (also known as a streak, tag, or hobo art) is a piece of graffiti on the side of a freight car on freight trains. Monikers are produced with a solid paint stick, industrial crayon, or a lumber crayon. Monikers serve the purpose for a moniker artist to share stories or a moment in time with others.
Nepantla: Nahuatl word that means “to be in the middle.” This term is very important for Chicano culture because it represents their border condition of being subjects who live in the middle of two cultures, the Mexican one and the Anglo-Saxon one of the USA. or as they say “neither from here nor from there”.
Nietos/nietas: Granddaughter
El otro lado: Its literal definition means ‘The other side’. It is also a phrase commonly used to describe the USA.
Paisano: Paisano (for males) or paisana (for females) is a term of Spanish origin that is commonly used in Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries to refer to a fellow countryman or compatriot. The word "paisano" literally means "from the same country" or "of the same nation".
Partido Nacional de La Raza Unida: Founded in 1970 in Crystal City, Texas, the Partido Nacional emerged from a rich tapestry of Chicano resistance and activism. This movement, deeply rooted in the struggles against social, economic, and political injustices, sought to forge a distinct Chicano identity and fight for the rights of Mexican-Americans. From the historical defiance of figures like Joaquin Murrieta and the cultural rebellion of the Zoot-Suit Pachuco Movement to the political mobilisation that led to the establishment of RUP, the arc of this story traces the evolution of Chicano activism and the ongoing efforts of the Partido Nacional de La Raza Unida (PNLRU) to advocate for the community's self-determination and political power in the 21st century. (https://razaunidaparty.org/)
Las Patronas: Las Patronas is a group of volunteer women of La Patrona community, from the town of Guadalupe in the municipality of Amatlán de los Reyes, Veracruz. Since 1995 the group has provided food and assistance to migrants on their way north through Veracruz.
Pieces: The graffiti term 'piece', short of masterpiece, is used to describe a large, complex, time-consuming and labor-intensive graffiti painting, usually painted by skilled and experienced writers.
Pocho: A US citizen of Mexican origin; a culturally Americanised Mexican.
Los pollos: a labourer who pays to be smuggled or guided over the border into the U.S. illegally.
Porfiriato: The Porfiriato is a term given to the period when General Porfirio Díaz ruled Mexico as president in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, coined by Mexican historian Daniel Cosío Villegas.
Primas: Refers to female cousins
Pueblo mágico: The Programa Pueblos Mágicos is an initiative led by Mexico's Secretariat of Tourism, with support from other federal agencies, to promote a series of towns around the country that offer visitors "cultural richness, historical relevance, cuisine, art crafts, and great hospitality".
Quinceañera/Quince: Is a celebration of a girl's 15th birthday that is common in Mexican and other Latin American cultures. The girl celebrating her 15th birthday is a quinceañera. In Latin America, the term quinceañera is reserved solely for the honouree; in English, primarily in the United States, the term is used to refer to the celebrations and honours surrounding the special occasion.
Rack: Stealing of graffiti supplies.
Rancherías: The Spanish word ranchería, or rancherío, refers to a small, rural settlement.
Rarámuri, or Tarahumara are a group of Indigenous people of the American continent living in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. They are renowned for their long-distance running ability.
Raza: The Spanish expression la Raza ('the people' or 'the community'; literal translation: 'the race') has historically been used to refer to the mixed-race populations (primarily though not always exclusively in the Western Hemisphere), considered as an ethnic or racial unit historically deriving from the Spanish Empire.
SEDENA: Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional (México).
Spanglish: A hybrid language combining words and idioms from both Spanish and English, especially Spanish speech that uses many English words and expressions.
Tag Banging: combination of the words "tagger" and "gang banger". A new subculture that has developed mainly in southern California. Not really considered writers, they tag, never piece, and almost never do throw-ups. Often they carry guns and bear more than slight resemblance to gangs. Not really considered to be true writers by writers, but are mostly considered a hindrance and a negative influence on a creative writing and piecing scene.
Tagging: entailed the repeated use of a single symbol or series of symbols to mark territory. In order to attract the most attention possible, this type of graffiti usually appeared in strategically or centrally located neighbourhoods.
Tataviam, Tongva or Chumash tribes:
Tecato: expression that is used colloquially to refer to a person who is addicted to heroin.
Tepehuanos: Mountain people.
Texas Rangers: a member of the Texas state police force or, especially formerly, of the mounted state police. a member of a semi official group of settlers organised to fight Indians and maintain order.
Tianguis: the word "tianguis" comes from the Nahuatl, an indigenous language spoken by the Mexicas, and refers to an open-air market. This kind of market is often set up at a different place every day of the week in traditional neighbourhoods from México.
Tijuanense: Pertaining the city of Tijuana, located on the north west of Mexico and next to the city of San Ysidro, California.
Tío/tía: Uncle/Niece. In Mexico they are called a loving uncle or aunt, even though they do not directly belong to your family but are supportive of people.
Throw-up: a throw-up or "throwie" sits between a tag and a bomb in terms of complexity and time investment. It generally consists of a one-color outline and one layer of fill-color. Easy-to-paint bubble shapes often form the letters. A throw-up is designed for quick execution, to avoid attracting attention to the writer.
UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México): National Autonomous University of Mexico
Vato loco: Vatos Locos is a Chicano slang term that means "crazy Dudes". It is also used as the name of multiple small gangs around the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Vecinos/vecinas: Neighbours.
Xicana: is an English-language gender-neutral neologism and identity referring to people of Mexican descent in the United States. The ⟨-x⟩ suffix replaces the ⟨-o/-a⟩ ending of Chicano and Chicana that are typical of grammatical gender in Spanish.
Conchababa: Convince, manipulate.
Churida: Withered, wrinkled.
Traque: Train tracks.
Reborujar: Stir or mix.
Arrejolar: Store something in unusual places that are then difficult to find.
Acabalar: To sort out something, for example: "Sort me out with two dollars for the truck," "sort me out to buy an ice cream?"
Rundar: To make noise, you know that a car is on because it is making noise.
Ferear: (In reference to money) to hand out change in coins or notes. The term perhaps stems from the word 'fair' which refers to money in Mexican slang.