First Chilango spotting

On our way out to the school yesterday, we got to meet our driver Antonio, who has a knack for language. Apparently, he learned English strictly from driving people around. Before that, he was a schoolteacher on a ranch. He had 40 kids in his class, and they didn't have a schoolhouse. The kids sat on rocks, and school was outdoors. After doing that for a few years, he migrated to being a driver.

Somehow, the word "Chilango" came up. Chilangos refer to Mexicans - usually people from Mexico city - who are well dressed, well groomed, wear a lot of bling, but have no money. The words comes from "Enchilada", and means something that looks pretty from the outside, but has hardly anything underneath.

On our way back from the Mercado today, our Taxi driver was stopped by three well dressed, well groomed Mexican people in a nice car looking for directions. When they left I said to him "Chilangos?", and the driver laughed and nodded. Made me feel good to share an inside-San-Miguel joke with him.