Slang Spanish Words Used in the Barrio El Azteca

I would like to share with you some of the slang Spanish words that I heard while growing up in the Barrio El Azteca in Laredo, Texas during the 1940s thru the 1960s. When I was growing up in the Barrio El Azteca, the second oldest working-class neighborhood in Laredo, batos was slang for boys. I first heard the word, "pocho" from family friends who were from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, referring to us Mexican Americans who spoke Tex-Mex and not proper Spanish.

The terms gringos and bolillos were used interchangeably to refer to Anglos. Pelados were considered to be from the lower class mainly because of their behavior and language, which was not considered proper among middle class Mexican Americans. A pachuco was a barrio boy who spoke Spanish using slang words. There was a girl I saw many times walking all over the barrio and whose nickname was "La Pachuca." She was a little older and I think a school dropout.

We never exchanged words; I would only nod when approaching her as a sign of "Hello." She wore tight jeans, with cuffs, the sleeves on her blouse were rolled up and held a pack of cigarettes. She was always smoking. I never knew her name. The slang term "Ruco" was applied to older men and "Ruca" to older women.

Bato --- a guy, a boy, a dude

Pocho/Pocha --- a gringoized Mexican, a Mexican American, Chicano(a)

Bolillo/Bolilla --- an Anglo-Saxon

Pelado/Pelada --- a lower class person, a ruffian, a bully

Ruco/Ruca --- an old man, an old woman, a girlfriend

Chivato --- a mischievous youngster

Tostón --- a half dollar coin

Pelusa --- low class people

Piste --- an alcoholic beverage

Chuco --- short for pachuco

Abriles --- how many years old

Bachicha --- a cigarette butt

Cantón --- a home

Fila --- a knife

Mayate --- a Black person

Frajo --- a cigarette

Gabacho/ Gabacha --- an Anglo man or woman

Gandayas --- uneaten left over food

Guachar --- to watch for, to be on the lookout

Migra --- the Border Patrol

Birrea --- beer

Bironga --- beer

Refinar --- to eat

Guerinche --- a blonde person

Carnal/Carnala -- a male/female relative

Changarro -- a small shop, a small house or dwelling

Camarada -- a close friend, a coworker, a colleague, a buddy, a close companion

From the older boys in the barrio who called themselves "pachucos," I heard all these terms for the first time. They used these words as part of their identity and their lexicon. I used them in front of my mother and father, and they admonished me and let me know not to use them again, at least not in their presence. Mamá was from Apizaco, Tlaxcala, and Papá was from San Luis Potosí and their views were very conservative.

So, I never used them in the house. My sibling and I were led to believe that these words were used only by the "pachucos," and those from the lower class, but not by the educated class.