According to Chicano artist and writer José Antonio Burciaga: He goes on to describe the speech of his father, a native of El Paso, Texas: The Caló of El Paso was probably influenced by the wordplay common to the speech of residents of the Tepitobarrio of Mexico City. One such resident was the comic film actorGermán Valdés, a native of Mexico City who grew up in Ciudad Juárez. His films did much to popularize the language in Mexico and the United States.
Development
Caló has evolved in every decade since the 1940-1950s. It underwent much change during the Chicano Movement of the 1960s as Chicanos began to enter US universities and become exposed to counterculture and psychedelia. Caló words and expressions became cultural symbols of the Chicano Movement during the 1960s and 1970s, when they were used frequently in literature and poetry. That language was sometimes known as Floricanto. Caló enjoyed mainstream exposure when the character "Cheech", played by Cheech Marin, used Caló in the Cheech and Chong movies of the 1970s. By the 1970s, the term Pachuco was frequently shortened to Chuco The Pachuco originated from El Paso, which was the root of the city's nickname, "Chuco Town". Pachucos usually dressed in zoot suits with wallet chains, round hats with feathers and were Chicanos. Caló is not to be confused with Spanglish, which is not limited to Mexican Spanish. It is similar to Lunfardo in that it has an eclectic and multilingual vocabulary.
Since Caló is primarily spoken by individuals with varying formal knowledge of Spanish or English, variations occur in words, especially of phonemes pronounced similarly in Spanish: c/s, w/hu/gu, ’'r/d, and b/v''. It is common to see the word "barrio" spelled as "varrio", "vato" spelled as "bato" or "güero" spelled as "huero" or even "weddo".
Usage
The translations should not be taken literally; they are idioms like the English "See you later alligator". ;¿Qué Pasiones? : ¿Qué Pasa? meaning "What is going on?" ;¿Si ya sábanas, paquetes hilo? or Si ya Sabanas, pa' que cobijas : ¿Si ya sabes, pa qué te digo? meaning, "If you already know, why am I telling you?" Occasionally, English is spoken with Mexican features. Speaking to a sibling or family member about parents, for example, a Caló speaker will refer to them as "My Mother" instead of "Mom" or "Our mother". Rhyming is sometimes used by itself and for emphasis. Common phrases include: ;¿Me comprendes, Méndez? : "Do you understand, Méndez?" ;¿O te explico, Federico? : "Or do I explain it to you, Federico?" ;Nel, pastel : "No way" ;Al rato, vato : "Later, dude" ;Me esperas, a comer peras? : "Will you wait for me?" ;¿Qué te pasa, calabaza? : "Whats going on?" ;Nada Nada, Limonada : "Not much".
