HISTORY of the BOOK: Spotlight

Regional Dictionary of Chicano Slang

The Regional Dictionary of Chicano Slang by Librado Keno Vasquez and his wife Maria Enriqueta ("Keta") Vasquez was created after the Chicano Movement in 1975 and bears the symbol of la raza. Librado Vasquez was a Texas native and was avid in spreading his Chicano culture to as many people as he could. He was the first male Chicano to become a clinical psychologist and he used his skills as such to create this book ("Vasquez," 2003).

As its name implies, this dictionary offers definitions for some well-known slang in Southwest America that the Chicanos in that area use. The Vasquez's state in their explanation at the beginning that this book is intended for anyone who needs to communicate with Chicanos (Vasquez & Vasquez, p.5, 1975). They also state that this dictionary does not have the approval of all Spanish-speaking people in the United States and how each geographical area where there are Spanish-speakers have their very own "Barriology Terminology" (Vasquez & Vasquez, p.8, 1975). It is categorized as a reference work, as shown by the UCLA Library for placing it in their reference sections at multiple libraries on campus.

The dictionary provides a list of the Spanish alphabet and how to pronounce them, along with the numbers, days of the week and months of the year in Spanish and their pronunciation. Before the actual dictionary portion begins, Vasquez includes a key indicating where in the Southwest the word originated from and which area uses it, along with a map of possible origins of the language itself. The words in the dictionary range from actual Spanish words whose meanings have changed and Pocho (pseudo-Spanish that has been mixed with English) words that were adopted later to make up for the gaps in the Spanish language. While the words are in Spanish, the definitions are in English, as it reflects who the intended audience is. Some of the words included are ones that are proper words for things, but are listed here with their Spanish pronunciation, such as "alo", defined as "Hello, are you there" and "Amario", which is a city in West Texas, Amarillo, Texas (Vasquez & Vasquez, p.?, 1975). Other words include some that are familiar, like "coco", defined as "the human skull, the head" and "carcacha", which is "an old automobile, such as a model-T car", made popularly known by Selena's song "La Carcacha" (who was a famous Tex-Mex singer from Texas).

Not only does the Regional Dictionary of Chicano Slang provide words and definitions, it also has sections on "Chicano-Hispano Americano Phrases" (Totacha Phraseology), "Proverbs and Sayings" (dichos in Spanish), "Riddles", "Chicano Folk Medicine" (Plantas medicinales), "Chicano Folk Songs" and an "English-Chicano-Hispano Index", that has the words in English and their Spanish counterpart (Vasquez & Vasquez, 1975). In the beginning of each section there was a description of what dichos, plantas medicinales, riddles and Chicano folk songs are, in the context of the Latinx culture and language.

The dictionary offers a wide range of words and cultural context for those who read it, and it provides a look into how Chicanx culture was in the 1970s. It ties both the old and new generation of Chicanxs together, as in order to know where we are going, we have to know where we came from.

References

Vasquez (2003, November 6). Houston Chronicle. Stable URL

Vasquez, L. K., & Vasquez, M. E. (1975). Regional dictionary of Chicano slang. Jenkins Pub. Co.