Glossary
This glossary is not intended to be comprehensive or to serve in place of a dictionary but rather as a list of keywords, key terms, and lesser-known words and phrases, some of which are specific to the Borderlands, that will aid readers of the plays in this anthology.
| agüitado | sad, depressed, bummed out | |
| alférez | ensign; military officer rank below lieutenant | |
| altar | table used for religious rituals. During Día de los Muertos, homemade altars are decorated with pictures, mementos, and offerings to ancestors and loved ones who have passed. | |
| asina | like this, like that | |
| ay te watcho | I’ll see you; see you around | |
| baboso | idiot, fool | |
| barrio | often used in the U.S. to refer to a predominantly Spanish-speaking, working-class neighborhood | |
| El Borracho | an inebriated man, a figure pictured on traditional Loteria cards | |
| botica | store, pharmacy, sometimes where natural medicines are dispensed. | |
| cabezón | stubborn | |
| cabrón | bastard, asshole | |
| calavera | Día de los Muertos skull; sometimes refers to a skeleton, also called a calaca | |
| carnal | friend, brother | |
| cempasúchitl | marigolds, traditionally placed on Día de los Muertos altars to attract the spirits of the dead. | |
| charro | Mexican cowboy | |
| chale | used to show disagreement, hell no | |
| chamaco | kid | |
| chingado | fuck, fucker, fucking, fucked, depending on context | |
| chisme(s) | gossip | |
| chorro de luces | beam of lights, a lot of lights | |
| cholo/a | originally a derogatory term referring to someone of mixed-race or low-class background, the term was reclaimed by Chicano youth in the 1960s. The cholo/a style is derived from pachuco subculture of the 1930s and 40s. | |
| chulo/a | cute, pretty | |
| Citlali | a Nahua creator goddess, often depicted with a skirt of stars | |
| Coatlicue | the Nahua mother goddess of creation and destruction, often depicted with a skirt of serpents | |
| Chief Popay | Tewa Pueblo leader who led the Pueblo Revolt of 1680; also spelled Po’Pay | |
| coconut | derogatory word for someone considered “Brown on the outside and white on the inside” | |
| colibrí | hummingbird; see huitzilin | |
| consejo | advice, guidance | |
| corrido | Mexican ballad | |
| coyote | trafficker who brings people across the border | |
| Cualli Tlanecic | “Good morning” in Nahuatl | |
| Cuauhtemoc | the last Mexica ruler of Tenochtitlan, who ruled from 1520–1521 | |
| curandera/o | traditional Indigenous healer in the Americas | |
| Día de los Chicos | In Día de los Muertos celebrations, the first day (November 1st) is reserved specifically for remembering children who have passed. | |
| Día de los Difuntos | In Día de los Muertos celebrations, the second day (November 2nd) is dedicated to honoring those who have passed and praying for their souls. | |
| Día de Todos los Santos | Catholic celebration known in English as All Saints’ Day that coincides with annual Día de los Muertos rituals | |
| dreamers | undocumented Americans brought to the U.S. as children, named for the DREAM Act which provides access to in-state college tuition and a pathway to citizenship. Several versions of the bill have been proposed since 2001 but none has become law. | |
| favela | slum or shantytown in or around Brazilian cities | |
| gente | people, sometimes used to refer to Mexicans, Mexican Americans, or Latinxs | |
| gringo | usually refers to a white, Anglo person | |
| hacienda | landed estate or plantation in the colonies or former colonies of the Spanish Empire | |
| huitzilin | Nahuatl for hummingbird; sacred in Nahua mythology and associated with warriors, particularly Huitzilopochtli, the god of sun and war | |
| Indio | Spanish for Indian | |
| Iztaccíhuatl | one of a pair of volcanos in Mexico whose formation is explained by a legend about a Tlaxcala princess, Iztaccíhuatl, who was betrothed to a Chichimeca warrior named Popocatépetl. They are often referred to as the Mexican Romeo and Juliet because their love story has a similarly tragic ending brought about by rivalry, miscommunication, and grief. | |
| kivas | rooms used in Pueblo culture for ceremonial rites, practices, and gatherings | |
| La Llorona | in Mexican mythology, a ghostly woman who wails as she mourns the children she drowned | |
| Lucha Libre | Mexican wrestling | |
| Maestre de Campo | high-ranking officer in the Spanish army | |
| malcriado | bad-mannered, rude, spoiled | |
| mancha | stain, blemish, spot | |
| medicine man | traditional healer in some Indigenous communities in North America | |
| Mictlán | the Nahua underworld | |
| mano | shortened version of hermano (brother) | |
| mija/o | contraction of mi + hija/o, used as a term of endearment or address | |
| El Movimiento | used to refer to the Chicano Movement for civil and labor rights, beginning in the 1960s. | |
| ofrenda | offering placed on the altar to the dead during Día de los Muertos | |
| órale | an affirmation in Mexican Spanish slang | |
| pan de muerto | pastry served as part of Día de los Muertos ceremonies | |
| papeles | papers, often used to refer to immigration documentation | |
| pelado | person of low social class; literally meaning “bald,” the term is derived from the practices of shaving the heads of incarcerated people | |
| pelón | bald, poor, and/or stupid; similar to “pelado” | |
| peleonero | someone who is aggressive or hotheaded | |
| pendejo | idiot, stupid | |
| peregrino | pilgrim | |
| pietà | a work of art that depicts the Virgin Mary holding the dead body of Christ | |
| pinche | fucking | |
| pingo | rascal | |
| plaza | an open public space in a city or town, often a square with a cathedral and administrative buildings | |
| pocho/a | derogatory term used to describe someone of Mexican heritage who has assimilated or become Americanized; sometimes reclaimed as a term of pride | |
| PrEP | HIV prevention medication | |
| primo/a | cousin, often used colloquially to refer to family members or close friends | |
| que chivo | how cool | |
| que espanto | how scary | |
| querida | dear, beloved | |
| rebozo | shawl | |
| repartimiento | Spanish colonial labor system imposed on Indigenous Peoples | |
| ruca | girl or hot girl | |
| sangrón | disagreeable, annoying | |
| simón | yes, hell yeah; used to respond affirmatively | |
| sinvergüenza | shameless; someone without shame | |
| sugar skulls | decorative skulls made out of sugar to represent a departed soul and placed on altars during Día de los Muertos | |
| Tejano | a Mexican American inhabitant of Texas | |
| teniente | a rank in the Kingdom of Spain’s military equivalent to a lieutenant | |
| Tenochtitlán | the center of the Mexica, or Aztec, Empire; now the center of Mexico City | |
| Tezcatlipoca | a central deity for the Nahua whose name means Smoking Mirror and whose animal disguise was a jaguar | |
| thirteen heavens | the afterlife, believed by many Mesoamerican peoples to be divided into thirteen levels | |
| TJ | nickname for Tijuana | |
| Tonatiuh | Nahua sun deity who was responsible for fertility but also demanded sacrifice | |
| travieso | mischievous, naughty | |
| vato | Mexican/Chicano slang for “dude” or “man,” sometimes used to mean “cholo” | |
| vendido | sellout | |
| veneno | poison | |
| La Virgen de Guadalupe | the patron saint of Mexico who represents the nation’s hybrid Catholic and Indigenous spiritual heritage | |
| wetback | derogatory term for an undocumented person, reflecting the fact that many cross the Rio Grande in the process of migrating | |
| xiuhuitzolli | a turquoise diadem or crown that was worn by several Nahua deities as a symbol of power | |
| Xochiquetzal | a Nahua goddess of beauty, love, and household arts; often associated with flowers | |
| yoloxochitl | magnolia (Nahuatl) |
