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Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Chicano

1947, from Mexican Spanish dialectal pronunciation of Mexicano "Mexican," with loss of initial unaccented syllable [Barnhart]. Said to have been in use among Mexican-Americans from c.1911. Probably influenced by Spanish chico "boy," also used as a nickname. The adjective in English is attested by 1967. Fem. form is Chicana.

Wikipedia
Chicano

Chicano or Chicana (also spelled Xicano or Xicana) is a chosen identity of some Mexican Americans in the United States. The term Chicano is sometimes used interchangeably with Mexican[-]American. Both names are chosen identities within the Mexican-American community in the United States. However, these terms have a wide range of meanings in various parts of the Southwest. The term became widely used during the Chicano Movement by Mexican Americans to express pride in a shared cultural, ethnic and community identity.

The term Chicano had negative connotations before the Chicano Movement, and still is viewed negatively by more conservative members of this community, but it over time gained more acceptance as an identity of pride within the Mexican-American community in the United States. Still, many American-born Mexicans view the term to be distracting, as it often represents a refusal to identify with either Mexican or American identities, while Mexicans from Mexico usually aren't familiar with or do not identify with the term.

The pro-indigenous/ Mestizo nature of Chicano nationalism is cemented in the nature of Mexican national identity, in which the culture is heavily syncretic between indigenous and Spanish cultures, and where 60% of the population is Mestizo, and another 30% are indigenous, with the remaining 10% being of European heritage and others racial/ethnic groups. Ultimately it was the experience of the Mexican American in the United States which culminated in the creation of a Chicano identity.

Chicano (disambiguation)

Chicano is an ethnic, political, and cultural term used to refer to some Mexican Americans.

It may also refer to:

  • El Chicano, a 1970s and 1980s funky music group
  • Chicano (novel), a 1970 novel by Richard Vásquez
  • Chicanos (comics), a comic book by Carlos Trillo and Eduardo Risso
  • El Chicano, ring name of Puerto Rican professional wrestler Carlos Cotto

Usage examples of "chicano".

There is a pool table in the rear, a pitcher of beer sells for a dollar, and the faded Chicano barmaid rolls dice with the patrons to keep the jukebox going.

The difference between a Mexican-American and a Chicano was the difference between a Negro and a Black.

In the hot blaze of police flares, three Chicano youths swaggered down the ruined street.

But by the time his body was carried out of the Silver Dollar, he was a stone Chicano martyr.

The official version of the Salazar killing was so crude and illogical -- even after revisions -- that not even the sheriff seemed surprised when it began to fall apart even before Chicano partisans had a chance to attack it.

For some reason the sheriff failed to mention that his deputies had already jailed one of the most prominent Chicano militants in the nation.

There is also Con Safos -- a quarterly review of Chicano Art and Literature.

The Chicano community had lost faith in the inquest about midway through the second day, and all the rest of the testimony only reinforced their anger at what most considered an evil whitewash.

Wilson, several of the more moderate Chicano spokesmen called for a federal investigation.

Lounging around a noisy Chicano bar in the middle of a communist riot?

He was a homosexual, a young Chicano, nobody political -- and the police report said he hung himself in his cell.

And Chicano activists soon learned that a two-minute news feature on KMEX was crucial to the success of a mass rally, because TV was the only way to reach a mass Chicano audience in a hurry.

Then I asked him if he could give me the names of any Chicano leaders I should talk to if I decided to write an article about the scene in East L.

But they were more than willing to talk when I asked if it was true that the bomb had been the work of the Chicano Liberation Front.

I recall being seriously worried about that when we were working on that story about the killing of Chicano journalist Ruben Salazar by an L.