Jíbaro

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Jíbaro is a Taino Indian word, Jibaro meaning (forest people) and used in Puerto Rico to refer to mestizo peasants, but it also has a broader cultural meaning.

This claim however is debatable. As similar words exist in Spain for example:

Ancient Basque: Gebo - Villager or boorish young man

Ancient Castillian: Jiba - Hill Ero - Man

Xivaro - The name given to the natives of Colobumbia and Venezueia by the Spaniards.

Gibaro - Rustic Mountian Man Name used in PR during the 19th Century

Jibaro - Modern spelling

When Spanish control ended in 1898, "jíbaros" who were generally working-class agricultural land tenants, sharecroppers, and hired fieldworkers-came to represent the authentic Puerto Rican people in all their ethnic and cultural complexity, the soul of "la gran familia puertorriqueña." The expression in English that best describes jíbaros is probably "salt of the earth." Certain kinds of music (such as seis and aguinaldo) have also become associated with jíbaro traditions.

When Luis Muñoz Marín founded the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) in 1938, the party adopted the jíbaro hat, the pava, as its symbol. The PDP seal shows the pava with the words "Pan, Tierra, y Libertad", which translates to "Bread, Land, and Freedom" in English.

[edit] Modern usage of the word

In modern times, the word jíbaro has become a pejorative, somewhat similar to the American english word, hillbilly or hick. It is used to denote a resident of the countryside or the mountains who lives away from major towns or cities, is ignorant towards modern society and usually maintains an aggressively conservative point of view.

Jíbaros are stereotypically seen as being members of the PDP and of Catholic faith hence the common humoristic phrase católico y popular, Catholic and popular ( Popular is the common way to refer to someone of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP)). Although other common religions stereotypically adopted by jibaros are Protestant faiths, Pentecostal being the most common one.

However, in some other ways, jíbaros are seen to represent the true Puerto Rican: hard-working, simple, humble and ever-lastingly wise and independent. The image of jíbaro culture has frequently been romanticized and portrayed in a sympathetic light. Many see the jíbaro as the roots of Puerto Rican people today, and many songs express feelings of quiet rebellion that has originated in the farmhouses that jíbaros have so long been portrayed to live in.

The jíbaro is also seen as symbolizing the strength of traditional values through the idealistic love of their land and nostalgic treatment of the “old days".

In Cuba there exists a word similar to jíbaro, Guajiro.

[edit] Uses of the word in other countries

• In Colombia and Venezuela, jíbaro is used to describe street drug dealers.
• The Shuar people of the amazonic regions of South America are sometimes called "jíbaros". The word is commonly used in Ecuador and is usually considered an insult.