- published: 30 Jul 2013
- views: 170612
Gringo (Spanish: [ˈgɾiŋgo], Portuguese: [ˈgɾĩgu]) is a slang Spanish and Portuguese word used in Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking countries in Latin America, to denote foreigners, often from the United States. The term can be applied to someone who is actually a foreigner, or it can denote a strong association or assimilation into foreign (particularly US) society and culture. While in Spanish it simply identifies a foreigner, without any negative connotation, in English the word is often considered offensive or disparaging.
The word was used in Spain - although the word is nowadays rarely heard there - long before it crossed the Atlantic to denote foreign, non-native speakers of Spanish.
The word gringo, was first recorded in the Diccionario castellano con las voces de Ciencias y Artes y sus correspondientes en las 3 lenguas francesa, latina e italiana (Castilian Dictionary including the Words of the Sciences and the Arts, and their Correspondents in 3 Languages: the French, the Latin, and the Italian, 1786), by Terreros y Pando, wherein it is defined as:
Bill Payne
Gringo, Southern California bound
Gringo, take a stop and look around
(come and lay your money down)
Ain't no banana republic, gringo
There's oil deep beneath the ground
Two or three weeks in Mexico
And you think you've seen it all
Gringo, stars and stripes out in the cold
Gringo, here's a hand you can take hold of
(even though we're bought and sold)
Drink Coca-Cola says the sign there
America has made it's mark
(they said blood is thicker than water)
Something tells me we really oughta
Come out of the dark
Night long saxophone in the barrio
(the chicas will warm you)
They can be persuasive gringo
With stars in their eyes
Spend a week in Acapulco
No Esperanto needed there
Lovers are like broken glass
They're everywhere
(the chicas will warm you)
They can be persuasive gringo
With stars in their eyes
Gringo, think of this before you leave
Gringo, the truth is easy to deceive
(if truth you're ready to receive)
Between the open road are your memories
Tender hearted though they may be
(they say blood is thicker than water)
(they say all suffering comes to an end)
(the common saying for friend is amigo)
Gringo
Red Cadillac at sunset slowing down