Everything about Barrio totally explained
Barrio is a
Spanish word meaning
district or
neighborhood. The
word has come into use in
English mostly through the large
Hispanic populations on both
coasts of the
United States.
Usage
In its formal usage,
barrios are generally considered cohesive places, sharing, for example, a church and traditions such as
feast days. In
Cuba,
Puerto Rico and
Spain, the term barrio is also used to denote a subdivision of a
municipio (or
municipality); the
barrios are further subdivided into sectors. In the Philippines, the term may also simply refer to a rural village and is spelled in
Filipino as
baryo.
In
Argentina, a barrio is a traditional division of a municipality officially delineated by the local authority at a later time, and sometimes keeps a distinct character from others (as in the
barrios of Buenos Aires -- though they've been superseded by larger administrative divisions). Here, the word doesn't have a special socioeconomic connotation, except that it's used in contrast to the
centro (city center or downtown). The expression
barrio cerrado (translated "closed neighborhood") is employed for small, upper-class, residential settlements, planned with an exclusive criterion and often literally enclosed in walls (a kind of
gated community).
More commonly, however, in the
United States, barrios refer to lower-class neighborhoods with largely Spanish-speaking residents, basically the
Latino equivalent of a "
ghetto". The word often implies that the poverty level is high in such a neighborhood, but this inference isn't universal. While there are many so-called barrios in the United States,
Little Village, Chicago and
Pilsen, Chicago are among the largest and most well-known, and are simply referred to as "El Barrio" by natives of the surrounding areas. Also, barrios most portrayed in national media and pop culture are
Spanish Harlem in
New York City and
East L.A..
In the United States
barrios can also refer to the geographical "turf" claimed by a Latino
gang; this usage is generally limited to the
Chicano gangs of California. The dramatization of gang life in music videos and movies has popularized this usage among the general population. Some gangs spell the word
varrio, a common variant as some Spanish speakers (such as Mexicans) pronounce the letter "v" like the English "b". In yet another colloquial usage of the term, ethnic "
ghettos" and "-towns" are often referred to by Spanish speakers as
barrios appended with the appropriate qualifying adjective. For example,
Chinatowns are known as
barrios chinos.
The United States usage is also seen in
Venezuela and the
Dominican Republic, where
barrio is commonly given to slums in the outer rims of big cities such as
Caracas, as well as lower to middle class neighborhoods in other cities and towns.
The word
barrio was used to refer to the locality-based campsite sectors of the
Camp for Climate Action in 2007.
Other appearances
Barrio and
Barrios are also Spanish
surnames. The equivalent French spelling, Barriault, is a common name in
Quebec. In Portugal the derivated surname
Barros is very common.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Barrio'.
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