Chilango
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Chilango (pronounced
History of the term
There are many theories on the origin of the word "chilango". One of them is that it derives from the
There is a popular phrase used by people outside Mexico City that says: "Haz patria, mata a un chilango" that means Be patriotic, kill a chilango. It's not intended to be used literally but with a mocking tone instead. The phrase, coined in the state of Sonora, reflects an attitude common in many states of the nation of disdain and rivalry against residents of Mexico City, that peaked in the 1980s.[4] Then, as a response to this used phrase, Chilangos themselves began to add "Haz patria, educa a un provinciano", which means, Be patriotic, educate a rural person. People in Mexico City refer to people from the rest of the nation as "provinciano(a)"
Modern usage
"Chilango pride" has also led to the term "Chilangolandia" in reference to Mexico City. The embracing of this term also led to the start of the publication of
About Chilango:
First, it was Tenochtitlan. Then, Mexico City. Today, it's proudly called Chilangolandia, capital city of the
IMECAempire.[...] Chilango etymology refers, overall, to the hot sauce varieties in the central valley and it comes to the ending -ango making fun of the Nahuatl, always so toponymic as in "Tenango". Chilango does not refer neither [sic] to the city's name -because is the country's too- nor to the administrative DF, but that imaginative territory one doesn't know exactly its borders and where every vegetable becomes, sooner or later, a taco sauce [...]
Related terms
Two other terms used for a resident of Mexico City are Defeño (derived from D.F., Distrito Federal and not an official Spanish word) and Capitalino, which are also sometimes used both in a positive or a derogatory sense, although the latter is generally accepted as a neutral demonym. The terminology can also be used for a person born in the suburbs or surrounding areas of
See also
References
Notes
- Etymology of "chilango" (in Spanish)