An original painting of pachucos by legendary artist José Montoya.
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.
El Profe Quezada
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Copyright 2026 by Gilberto Quezada. Editor Note: For more on Chicano caló and Chicano Spanish words check out: The Dictionary of Chicano Spanish by Roberto A. Galvan and Richard V. Teschner, Barrio Language Dictionary by Dagoberto Fuentes and José A. López and Eh Bato, Que Onda? by Adelaido Guzmán, Bruce A . Bagano and Hector Alcantar. The first two books are available at Amazon but are pricey. The Que Onda book is self-published but may still be available. Painting of pachucos by José Montoya from the documentary Visions by Aztlan copyrighted by Barrio Dog Productions Inc.