Chilango

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Chilangos son Cara de Chango Cuerpo te chile CHILANGO


Chilango is a Mexican slang demonym for a person from or living in Mexico City or its surrounding areas. It may have a negative connotation when used by someone from a person who lives in one of the 31 States of Mexico.

Originally, the word chilango described someone who was not born in Mexico City, but rather migrated to it from one of the other states. Today, however, it is widely used to refer to every resident of the Federal District (Distrito Federal or DF in Spanish) and sometimes it even encompasses the inhabitants of the larger area actually covered by the city and its neighboring areas, called locally Zona Metropolitana (literally meaning "Metropolitan Zone" it is most commonly known in English sources as "Greater Mexico City".)

Chilangos have come to embrace the term and use it with pride. This chilango pride has also led the affectionate term "Chilangolandia" in reference to Mexico City. They also consider that any non-Chilango who uses the term does it in a derogatory fashion, and although widely used, may be considered pejorative since Mexicans in general view Mexico City dwellers as "different" from them: more competitive, selfish, less honest and more manipulative.

The etymology of the word "chilango" is most likely a derivation of the Nahuatl word Ixachilan.

Two less widely used terms for a resident of Mexico City are Defeño (derived from D.F., Distrito Federal) and Capitalino, which can also be used both in a positive or a derogatory sense, although the latter is generally accepted as a neutral demonym.

[edit] References

  • The term Chilango was originally used, as a pejorative term, to refer to those mestizos, (the offspring of Spanish and indigenous people) who were regarded as acting snobbishly for being part Spanish.
  • Today, the term Chilango refers to a variety of people ranging from those who live in Mexico City, snobs or overly pious people, Spanish-looking people or a combination of these.

[edit] See also