- Pocho
"Pocho" is a slur used to describe a Hispanic who is born and/or raised in the
United States . The literal meaning of "pocho" is a "rotten fruit." Recently, among some people, the term is used to express pride in having both a Mexican and U.S. American heritage.The term is used abusively in
Mexico to describeMexican Americans living in theUnited States who are thought to be badly educated and without a "proper" sense of Mexicanculture , having forgotten or rejected their Mexican heritage. It is used specifically for those Mexican-Americans that do not use Spanish in a proper way but with a particular series of mistakes related to their English education. Some Mexicans believe that pochos speak a bastardized hybrid of English and Spanish (often calledSpanglish ). They fault pochos for using quasi-Spanish words (called "pochismos") such as "mopear" ("to mop"), and "parquear" ("to park").The term does, however, imply different meanings. In San Diego/Tijuana, "pocho" carries no negative connotations. The word simply refers to one who has both Mexican and North American roots. By contrast, in
Ciudad Juarez , the moniker is very much a term of abuse, referring in particular to (what residents of Cd. Juarez see as) "uncultured" Mexican-Americans living across the border inEl Paso , though this is certainly not universal.In general, the word "pocho" can sometimes have these different meanings:
* A person of Mexican heritage who acts American (a "wannabe" American).
* A Mexican-American who can speak little or no Spanish.
* An American who speaks Spanish and acts Mexican (a "wannabe" Mexican).
* A person who frequently crosses the U.S.-Mexican border and feels at home on both sides of the border.Pocho is the title of an important 1959
Chicano novel byJosé Antonio Villarreal . And, unrelated to its latino meanings, the word may also be used to describe the townPortchester .References
* [http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/pocho/ Dictionary Definition]
* [http://www.hispanicvista.com/html2/111802osio.htm Hispanic Vista article about Pochismos]
*"A Note on "Pochismo" by William E. Wilson, The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 30, No. 6 (Oct., 1946), pp. 345-346 (Available online at JSTOR - membership required)External links
* [http://www.pocho.com/ Pocho Hour of Power]
* [http://www.pocho2.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl]
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