An Anglo-Ch/'ccmo Lexicon

As with other minority groups, there is a special vocabulary used by and about Mexican Americans. The words, naturally, are mainly Spanish. Among them:

Anglo: white, non-Mexican American. Though normally used simply in a neutral, descriptive manner, the term sometimes has pejorative overtones. It has to some extent replaced gringo. Agringada describes a Mexican American who has gone completely Anglo in his way of life.

Barrio: literally "district," the Spanish-speaking quarter of a U.S. city; also, colonia.

Bracero: Mexican citizen brought into the U.S. temporarily and usually in groups to add to the existing labor force at times of peak activity. The program, begun during World War II to relieve manpower shortages, was ended--over farmers' protests--in 1964. However, individuals known as "green-carders" (for the permits they hold) can work as aliens.

La Causa: literally, "the cause." Cesar Chavez's farm-labor movement; also, more broadly, the advancement of Mexican Americans.

Chicano: Mexican American. A shortened, corrupted form of Mexicano, with the first syllable dropped and the "x" pronounced like ch in cheese, in the fashion of Mexico's Chihuahua Indians.

Hispano: descendant of the original Spanish settlers of areas now part of the U.S. Used chiefly in New Mexico and Colorado to distinguish such Spanish-speaking Americans from later immigrants of Indian descent.

La Huelga: the strike.

Malinchista: traitor to the Mexican-American cause. From Mal-inche, the daughter of a Mexican nobleman, who became Cortes' mistress and aided the Spanish in their conquest of Mexico.

Mestizo: person of mixed Spanish and Indian blood, as are most Mexican Americans. Gueros have relatively light skins; triguenos are somewhat darker.

Pachuco: tough guy. Used of teenage Mexican-American boys in gangs. During World War II, dressed in gaudy zoot suits, they were the target of racial violence in Los Angeles and elsewhere.

La Raza: the race, meaning all Mexicans and Mexican Americans, and derived from the mystical theory of the 19th century philosopher, Jose Vasconcelos, that people of mixed race will inherit the earth. At best, it is a rallying cry betokening a mild form of cultural nationalism; at worst, it connotes outright racism.

Tio Taco: literally "Uncle Taco," the Mexican-American equivalent of an Uncle Tom. An equally contemptuous synonym is vendido, sellout.

Wetback: illegal immigrant from Mexico, so called because a common means of entry was to swim the Rio Grande.

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