Search results for

Órale, this episode features a word contributed by one of our listeners. The vato’s from Marfa, and he contributed several words. Thanks, carnal. We’re gonna use them all. The word is clecha. There’s no root for it in either Spanish or English, but it intersects a little with another word we’ve used in the past, trucha, which means “watch out.” Clecha refers to the skill or learned behavior of watching out. You say somebody’s clecha if they’re street smart or, if they’re in the pinta, you use it to mean they’re prison smart. Good advice when somebody’s been torcido is, “you better get clecha fast in here, ese.”

Thanks to Hollywood, the Jurassic Period— with its dinosaurs and other charismatic reptiles — holds a special place in the popular imagination. But the Jurassic in Texas has long been a blank. Now that's changed.

Órale, this episode starts the summer series where the conversations will be heavily in Caló, drawing from the words we’ve used until now. The featured word of this episode is arranque. In modern Spanish, it’s a noun that means takeoff or launch. In Caló, however, it’s an adjective that means forward-leaning, brave, or fierce. It can be either a personality type or a code of conduct. Indeed, it’s easier to follow the arranque code if you’re already of that personality type than not.

Researchers once believed hunting and gathering were the sole means of subsistence in our region. Now, it's clear that farming was part of Indigenous life here for more than 5,000 years.

Órale, this is the second to the last episode focused on Caló words that are related to dances in the Southside. After this, the focus will turn away from specific words and toward conversations carried out entirely in Caló.Meanwhile, we’ll continue with words heard in dances in the Southside. The featured word this week is coyote. In Spanish, of course, it means the wild canine predator native to the Americas. It comes from the Nahuatl or Aztec word for the same. In Caló, however, coyote means mixed-blood, where one of the breeds is White.

Órale, this is the the last episode focused on Caló words that are related to dances in the Southside. For the rest of the summer, the focus will turn to conversations carried out entirely in Caló. Meanwhile, the feature of this episode is pichonear. In modern Spanish, pichon means pigeon. In Caló, it means to kiss. When a couple is kissing, it’s said they are pichoneando, which happens a lot in the dances in the Southside.

Órale, the feature this week is the word machín. It comes from the English word, machine. It means to act or do something very well, impressively. Somebody who’s machín is relentless, strong, self-assured, invulnerable to impediments and distractions. A machin is well, machine-like...superhuman.

Órale, the featured word this week on Caló is borlo. It’s one of the words suggested by that carnal from Marfa who also contributed two of the Caló words we used last month, tirilongo and clecha. It comes from the Mexican regional Spanish word, likely of Nahuatl or Aztec orgin, borlote. It means fuss, melee, uproar, commotion, or tumult. It’s a noun, but it can also be used as an adjective, as in "he's very borlotero", someone who’s always causing a fuss or uproar. Depending on the context, borlo can also have an almost neutral meaning, as in a big dance or event that may be drawing a lot of attention or visitors.

Órale, this of Caló episode features another iconic word, cholo. It comes from the Nahuatl, or Aztec, word for dog. It entered the Mexican lexicon during the Spanish colonial period as a pejorative for Natives.

Our region's vistas are iconic, but its desert scent — especially after a rain — is just as distinctive. Renowned writer Gary Nabhan will speak on the fragrances of the Chihuahua desert at Marfa's Crowley theater.