Barrio Boy

A Spanish-speaking neighborhood that housed working-class people and recent immigrants. Barrios typically had high poverty rates and were underserviced by social programs like schools and hospitals. Galarza describes the barrio as a “a neighborhood within a city containing an underground society of young males who regarded the area as their exclusive territory” (357). While barrios often do not have good reputations, by calling his memoir Barrio Boy, Ernesto proudly identifies the barrio as a place that shaped his identity. While barrio is a relatively common word, Ernesto italicizes it throughout the book as a method of establishing its difference from American culture.

A guerilla group that seeks to overthrow the establishment, government, or inflict harm. The armed groups roving the mountains during the Mexican Revolution were called bolas.

Manuel laborers who were assigned hard tasks and had little job security. Recent immigrants like José and Gustavo often worked as camellos.

A peasant or country dweller; someone from the campos, or fields. Ernesto’s family are campesinos.

A slang term to describe working-class Mexicans who had recently arrived in the United States. The term was used by people of this class to identify each other sympathetically.

The community of Mexicans who live in the barrio and primarily speak Spanish and maintain Mexican cultural traditions.

Ancient sayings or stories. In the Mexican village where Ernesto is born, he grows up listening to lore about the how the people and nature have always lived together. Galarza invokes these dichos to highlight the cultural differences between his early childhood and life in the United States.

The head of the family. After Gustavo and Doña Henriqueta die, José becomes the jefe de familia.

Supporters of Don Francisco Madero, who ran for President of Mexico and started the Revolution of 1910. The 1910 election was contested, but Madero was elected a year later in free elections in 1911. However, generals opposed his authority, and a series of conflicts continued throughout the decade.

A revolution and series of armed struggles that spanned from 1910 to 1920. President Porfirio Díaz became president of Mexico in 1876, and besides a four-year period (1880-1884), he ruled Mexico autocratically for 31 years. By the time Galarza was born in 1905, he was increasingly unpopular. Díaz encouraged foreign investment and the building of the railway, but growth was not evenly distributed. In the general election of 1910, he was challenged by Don Francisco Madero. The election was rigged, and armed conflict broke out between supporters of Madero and Díaz. Madero was elected in free elections in 1911, but he quickly became unpopular, too, and a series of armed conflicts began. Ernesto and his family leave Mexico for the United States because of the instability caused by the revolution.

Pochos is a slang term to describe Mexicans who had grown up in the United States or were born there. Because they spoke English and understood American culture, they were perceived as thinking they were better than chicanos.

Supporters of President Porfirio Díaz, the dictator who was overthrown by the maderistas in the Revolution of 1910.

An individual who fought with or supported Francisco Madero, Emiliano Zapata, and other revolutionary leaders who drove change in Mexican society and politics.