A chilango is mentioned as someone born in the Federal District of Mexico.
The Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) points out that the adjective chilango refers to someone who was born in Mexico City .
It also extends to everything belonging or related to said region and its surrounding areas. According to the Mexican essayist Gabriel Zaid , the word chilango was born in the State of Veracruz as a derivation of the Mayan term xilaan , which means disheveled .
Origin of the term chilango
The origin of the term chilango is disputed since there are multiple versions. However, the theory that is considered most valid is the one that determines that it comes from cilanco , which refers to the salty puddle left by a river when it dries up. And, in this way, it alludes to the fact that Mexico City was founded on what was left of Lake Texcoco .
Although this is one of the most accurate and considered true theories of the origin of the term chilango, there are many others in this regard. Thus, we also find that it determines that it has its origin in the chili sellers who in the past sold in the market and who used a way of speaking that seemed like they were singing.
A food product that is also used to determine another possible theory about the origin of chilango. Specifically, it is ruled that this was the name given to the prisoners who were taken to the San Juan de Úlua prison, located in Veracruz, during the era after Independence. And they were tied in groups in a similar way to the way the chili peppers that were sold and presented in bunches, which are called chilangas, were tied.
And all this without forgetting another theory that determines that chilango comes from red snapper , a reddish fish. And it is considered that when the people of the highlands went down to the levels closest to the sea they turned red like that.
The notion of chilango is often used in a derogatory way.
derogatory connotation
When the term is used by people who do not live in the Federal District , it usually has a derogatory connotation . On the other hand, the word Chilangolandia is used when a provincial decides to travel to Mexico City in search of a better quality of life .
Social discontent between the defeños and the provincials has increased in recent decades, with the increase in the economic gap between the capital and the rest of the country. The stereotype indicates that, for the provincials, the chilango is aggressive, dishonest and manipulative, while for the defeño the provincial is ignorant and manipulable. In any case, coexistence is usually peaceful and nothing prevents social relationships of friendship and respect from being forged.
It should be noted that, in recent years, the Defeños have begun to accept the Chilango demonym with pride , although they maintain the belief that its use by provincials is derogatory. In any case, the words defeño or capitalino do not produce an identification with Mexico City, so they are not used much.
Finally, it can be mentioned that the most recent studies show how the DF has stabilized demographically but is expanding geographically . The surrounding municipalities are increasingly conurbated with the capital, thus extending the scope of the notion of Chilangolandia .