Pachuco

and the idea of making flamboyant appearances in public. Pachucos are male members of a counterculture that emerged in El Paso, Texas, in the late 1930s. Pachucos are associated with zoot suit fashion, jump blues, jazz and swing music, a distinct dialect known as caló, and self-empowerment in rejecting assimilation into Anglo-American society. The pachuco counterculture flourished among Chicano boys and men in the 1940s as a symbol of rebellion, especially in Los Angeles. It spread to women who became known as pachucas and were perceived as unruly, masculine, and un-American. Some pachucos adopted strong attitudes of social defiance, engaging in behavior seen as deviant by white/Anglo-American society, such as marijuana smoking, gang activity, and a turbulent night life. Although concentrated among a relatively small group of Mexican Americans, the pachuco counterculture became iconic among Chicanos and a predecessor of the cholo subculture that emerged among Chicano youth in the 1980s. Pachucos subculture began from the influence of African American Hepcat subculture. It may have some roots in Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico, where loose-fitting clothing was popular among men. It later spread throughout the Southwest into Los Angeles, where it developed further.…

and the idea of making flamboyant appearances in public. Pachucos are male members of a counterculture that emerged in El Paso, Texas, in the late 1930s. Pachucos are associated with zoot suit fashion, jump blues, jazz and swing music, a distinct dialect known as caló, and self-empowerment in rejecting assimilation into Anglo-American society. The pachuco counterculture flourished among Chicano boys and men in the 1940s as a symbol of rebellion, especially in Los Angeles. It spread to women who became known as pachucas and were perceived as unruly, masculine, and un-American. Some pachucos adopted strong attitudes of social defiance, engaging in behavior seen as deviant by white/Anglo-American society, such as marijuana smoking, gang activity, and a turbulent night life. Although concentrated among a relatively small group of Mexican Americans, the pachuco counterculture became iconic among Chicanos and a predecessor of the cholo subculture that emerged among Chicano youth in the 1980s. Pachucos subculture began from the influence of African American Hepcat subculture. It may have some roots in Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico, where loose-fitting clothing was popular among men. It later spread throughout the Southwest into Los Angeles, where it developed further. In the border areas of California and Texas, a distinct youth culture known as pachuquismo developed in the 1940s and has been credited as an influence to Chicanismo. In LA, Chicano zoot suiters developed their own cultural identity, "with their hair done in big pompadours, and 'draped' in tailor-made suits ... They spoke caló, their own language, a cool jive of half-English, half-Spanish rhythms ... Out of the zoot-suiter experience came lowrider cars and culture, clothes, music, tag names, and, again, its own graffiti language." Pachucos were perceived as alien to both Mexican and Anglo-American culture—distinctly Chicano figures. In Mexico, the pachuco was understood "as a caricature of the American", while in the U.S. he was perceived as "proof of Mexican degeneracy." Mexican critics such as Octavio Paz denounced the pachuco as a man who had "lost his whole inheritance: language, religion, customs, belief." In response, Chicanos heavily criticized Paz and embraced the oppositional position of the pachuco as an embodied representation of resistance to Anglo-American cultural hegemony. To Chicanos, the pachuco had acquired and emanated self-empowerment and agency through a "stylized power" of rebellious resistance and spectacular excess. ==Etymology== The origin of the word "pachuco" is uncertain, but one theory connects it to the city of El Paso, Texas, which was sometimes referred to as "Chuco Town" or "El Chuco". People migrating to El Paso from Ciudad Juarez would say, in Spanish, that they were going "pa' El Chuco". Some say "pa El Chuco" comes from the words Shoe Co., a shoe company that operated in El Paso in the 1940s during the war. The majority of Mexican migrants crossed the border to work for this company. The term "pa El Chuco" was used when Mexican immigrants headed to El Paso looking for a job. To get across the border the migrants had to dress well. These migrants became known as pachucos. "Pachuco" may also have derived from the city of Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico, as most Mexican migration to the U.S. came from the Central Plateau region, where Hidalgo is. Connections have also been found between "Pachucos" and mixed civilians who lived near the Mexico–U.S. border at the turn of the century, and between "Pachucos" and the poor soldiers who fought in the Mexican Revolution in Pancho Villa's armies. ==Culture== here being depicted as "Tin Tan" and wearing a pachuco outfit The origins of Pachuco culture can be traced to the late 1930s in El Paso, Texas. However, other early influences come from the 1940s African American Jazz culture. Zoot suits, for example, were frequently seen in Jazz clubs, and wearing the suit signaled to others that this individual was a major fan of the music. They were perceived as "the uniform of the jitterbug all over the country...young devotees of hot music." The connection between the suit and music is further seen through the suit's design. Baggy pants and loose-fitting coats allowed African American youth to carry out the acrobatic movements central to jazz dancing, while narrow cuffs would have prevented the fabric from getting caught on their shoes. It was the exposure to African American music, such as jazz, blues, and soul, that opened the doors for Chicanos and Chicanas to develop new cultural expressions. The style, music, and language trends they adopted and altered would later spread throughout the Southwest into Los Angeles, where it developed further. In the border areas of California and Texas, a distinct youth culture known as pachuquismo developed in the 1940s and has been credited as an influence to Chicanismo. In Los Angeles, Chicano zoot suiters developed their own cultural identity, "with their hair done in big pompadours, and 'draped' in tailor-made suits ... They spoke caló, their own language, a cool jive of half-English, half-Spanish rhythms ... Out of the zoot-suiter experience came lowrider cars and culture, clothes, music, tag names, and, again, its own graffiti language." Pachuco counterculture elements were soon present both on the streets of the nation and in the media. ==La Pachuca== The "Pachuca," the female counterpart of the Pachuco, had an aesthetic sensibility as strong as the male zoot suiter. The Pachuca's hairstyle tended to be a high "coif" or bouffant, with the hair put up in some way (a more pronounced version of the typical hair style of the time) by ratting their hair or affixing hair rats. Their makeup was heavy, particularly using a red colored lipstick. The preferred colors of clothing were black and gray. Some pachucas wore the traditionally male zoot suit, albeit with modifications to fit the female form. Sometimes, she donned the standard heavy gold pocket chain. Another variation involved a sweater or coat - often a variant on the male zoot-suit finger-tip jacket - over knee-length skirts, plus fishnet stockings or bobby socks and platform shoes. ==See also== Zoot Suit Riots – a confrontation between pachucos and U.S. servicemen in Los Angeles during World War II in which unarmed pachucos were brutally beaten and jailed The opening scenes of the film American Me depict confrontations between pachucos and white American soldiers during the Zoot Suit Riots. The Sleepy Lagoon murder was a confrontation between two Los Angeles pachuco gangs that resulted in a crackdown on the culture. Cholo and Vato are terms for modern-day Chicano street gangsters, though the association with the zoot suit is no longer present. Black dandyism – another example of how fashion can be a form of resistance, self-expression, and cultural pride for marginalized communities. ==References== ==Further reading==

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