What does "gaucho" mean?
George Lopez used the term on his show. gaucho
13 Answers
I also found this in the urban dictionary:
Person from deep south Brazil, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
Gauchos are very stand-apart people to the Brazilian standards, being well-known for their separatism tendences, peculiar accent (interestingly, either loved or hated, but never ignored), and overall very distinctive personality.
Gauchos are normally much quieter and more introspective than the ever-smiling, loud and joyful people from southeast (especially Rio de Janeiro) and northeast Brazil - these, the internationally known "Brazilian standart" -, what leads them to be compared with the generally cold and dark-mooded European people.
Gaúchas (women from the Rio Grande do Sul) are very acknowledged for their distinctive beauty. Most brazilian top models are from the Rio Grande do Sul, including the contemporany World biggest top model, Gisele Bündchen.
A cowboy in Argentina.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Gaucho (gaúcho in Portuguese, gaucho in Spanish) is a term commonly used to describe residents of the South American pampas, chacos, or Patagonian grasslands, found principally in parts of Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Chile, and Southern Region, Brazil. In Brazil, it is also used to designate people from the state of Rio Grande do Sul.
The word gaucho could be described as a loose equivalent to the North American "cowboy" (vaquero, in Spanish). Like the North American word cowboy, Venezuelan or Colombian llanero, or Chilean huaso, or the Mexican charro (Vaqueiro is also a word used in Brazil), the term often connotes the 19th century more than the present day; then gauchos made up the majority of the rural population, herding cows on the vast estancias, and practicing hunting as their main economic activities. The word "gaucho" is sometimes used to refer to chimichurri, a steak sauce common to Argentina.
There are several conflicting hypotheses concerning the origin of the term. It may derive from the Mapuche cauchu ("vagabond") or from the Quechua huachu ("orphan"), which gives also a different word in Spanish "guacho". The first recorded uses of the term date from around the time of Argentine independence in 1816. Early gauchos in the 18th century were referred to as gauderios, as in the work of Alonso Carrió de la Vandera.
Gauchos were generally nomadic, and lived in the Pampas, the plain that extends north from Patagonia, bounded on the west by the Andes and extending on the east to Uruguay and the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Residing outside of the growing urban centres and farming settlements, these skilled riders lived off the land often willingly sharing their food with other travelers. Most gauchos were either criollo (South Americans of Spanish or Portuguese ancestry) or mestizo (of mixed Spanish and Native American blood), but the term applies equally to people of other European, African, or mixed ancestry.
Some gauchos were recorded as being in the Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas, and have left a few Spanish words in the local dialect e.g. camp from campo.
Escribí un poquito sobre los Gauchos, hace algunos años atras. Si le interesa, se puede encontrar acá:
http://students.cs.byu.edu/~hit/gauchomain.htm
Disculpe la falta de los acentos, que en esa epoca yo no sabía como incluirlos.
Unfortunately, "gaucho" is also used in a derogatory way to mean someone of bad manners or who is uncouth.
If Lopez is a comedian, that may be what he meant.
Maybe you could give us a bit more context as to how he used gaucho?
I'm curious...
I would like to add some figurative meanings of gaucho , such as:
Alberto es muy gaucho para resolver problemas = Albert is very handy solving problems
Anoche, Alberto estuvo muy gaucho = Last night, Albert was very helpful
Hay que ser muy gaucho para ir solo = You have to be a brave man to go alone
Wow im whiter than ever and even i know that when George Lopez says "thats gaucho" he means "thats crazy" or "thats nasty". Its just slang...kinda like some people may say "thats sick" or "thats nuts"
Desde leer "Martin Fierro" como estudiante de español, mi propria imagen del gaucho es un parte poeta, un parte guerrero, y muy caballero en cada aspecto.¡ Que vivan los gauchos!
The term he used is probably not GAUCHO but "GACHO" which means nasty, rotten or awful, ghastly (informal) (Mexican Spanish)
The nickname for the sports teams at the University of California at Santa Barbara is "gauchos". I don't think the politically correct state of California would allow that if it was too derogatory.
O Campeonato Gaúcho de Futebol é disputado anualmente no estado brasileiro do Rio Grande do Sul. Grêmio e Internacional são os melhores clubes do RS e Brasil.
El Campeonato Gaucho de Fútbol es disputado anualmente en el estado brasileño del Rio Grande do Sul. Gremio e Internacional son los mejores clubes del RS y Brasil.
Gaucho is truly a versatile word. Thanks for the additions.
Is it, I wonder, related at all to gauche because some of its meanings are similar?
Just checked Wikipedia. He's not only a comedian, but a bold and outspoken one.
I doubt much that he used "gaucho" to describe an Argentinian cowboy!
