cholo

[choh-loh]

noun

Chiefly Southwestern U.S.

plural

cholos 

1. (especially among Mexican Americans) a teenage boy who is a member of a street gang.

2. Usually Disparaging.,  a term used to refer to a Mexican or Mexican American.

3. a mestizo of Spanish America.

Sensitive Note

When used of a Mexican or Mexican American, the term cholo usually refers disparagingly to an immigrant who is considered to be low-class and poorly educated. However, cholo is also a term of self-reference used by Mexican American youths.

Word History and Origins

Origin of cholo¹

First recorded in 1850–55; from Mexican Spanish: “mestizo, peasant,” possibly a shortening of Cholollán (from Nahuatl Cholōllān, modern Cholula ), a city-state in pre-Columbian Mexico

Example Sentences

Onstage, Ortega masterfully transforms her solo act into an ensemble performance, through her many quirky accents and mannerisms alone; her characters range from her three Peruvian tías to an imaginary cholo critic and a perky, silicone-bloated nurse.

From Los Angeles Times

El Cholo, on Western Avenue, just celebrated its 100th birthday as a “Spanish” café.

From Los Angeles Times

The group eagerly reminisces about a fan they met at a show in France who had never set foot in California but loved the culture so much that he dressed the part of a classic cholo.

From Los Angeles Times

The decibels erupted when Paul appeared wearing the colors of the Mexican flag on his robe as he walked to the ring to the rhythm of Kilo’s “Dance Like a Cholo.”

From Los Angeles Times

She looked and sounded like an older cousin who grew up in the barrio and now lives in Downey, trying to sound hard in front of her bemused cholo relatives.

From Los Angeles Times