Chiriqui Gringos

Gringo (feminine, gringa) is a term in the Spanish and Portuguese languages used in some countries of Latin America to refer to foreigners from different cultures, particularly English-speakers, and especially from the United States, although too from Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries, including in some cases other countries of Latin America itself.

Some disagreement exists among English speakers regarding whether gringo is a derogatory term. The American Heritage Dictionary and other English dictionaries classify the term as “offensive slang“, “usually disparaging” or “often disparaging”. The term gringo does lend itself to derogatory, paternalistic or endearing connotations sometimes, depending on the context and the intent of the user. However, many native speakers who use it do not do so pejoratively, as is also the case with some English speakers. The enunciation of the word can often give away whether it was meant in a derogatory manner or not. There is furthermore some variation in the connotation of this word from country to country within Latin America, and between Latin America and the Anglosphere.

Much like many otherwise derogatory terms, the term has also been embraced.