How to Be a Cholo

Last Updated: July 7, 2024 Approved

A Cholo is a Hispanic gangster typically from southern California, the Bay Area, southern Florida, parts of southwest Texas, and even New Mexico and Colorado. Some famous Cholos include Lil Rob, Vato Loco and Down, aka Kilo. Though it's pretty hard to be a cholo if you aren't Chicano, haven't been around them frequently, or don't know much about what a cholo looks like or how he acts, you can pull it off if you really put your mind to it. If you want to be a cholo pronto, then see Step 1 to be on your way.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Getting the Cholo Look

1
Get the crisp tees. Buy some plain tees, striped polos, and some plaid short sleeved button shirts. Proclub, Dickies, and Sunwear are the right brands for plain tees. Shirts shouldn't be tight or small; wear Tall Tees and make sure they're oversized. The best colors for your crisp tees are black, white, dark blue, dark green, grey, brown, and beige. Shirts with Catholic imagery, lowriders, smile now... cry later, Aztec imagery, or Los Angeles can also be worn.
- Get any of your clothes from Dickies, Dyse One, Ben Davis, Joker, Lowrider, Bighouse, Felon, Crime Inc. Mafioso, Convicted, OG Abel, Outlaw Apparel, Rebel8, Solo, Streetwise, Sucios, Sullen, or Southpole.
Wear flannel shirts and plaid button downs. Get yourself a flannel pendleton shirt and wear it over a plain tee shirt. Button it all the way up or just on the top button. Another way to wear a button shirt is to button only the first and/or second buttons at the very bottom; you can wear the shirt open with the neck collar flattened, kind of like a blazer. Make sure your shirt is creased, crisp and fresh at all times. Make sure it matches your Dickies and your shoes. In the winter, wear plaid flannel jackets instead. You can also wear a poncho for the winter.
3
Wear the right type of pants. Buy Dickies 874 original cut, dickies Double Knee, Ben Davis Gorilla Cut, Dyse One, Or Levis loose fit or 501s. Always keep your pants pressed and creased up. Either get them 1-2 sizes larger than you would usually wear to achieve the "baggy" look or buy a looser fitting pant; you don't have to wear them so loose that they're falling down to your knees. For example, if you wear 30x30 pants get your pants 32x30 or 34x30.
- Get Dickies, or the other brands mentioned above. Pants colors should be: khaki, black, blue, navy, grey, or brown.
- You can sag your pants a bit, or keep them up with a simple black military belt.
Get some tight shoes like Nike Cortezes, Chuck Taylor's, Lugz, or Nike Air Force 1s. You can also wear plain black or white Jordan's. Wear them with knee high socks, or don't let your socks be seen at all. Make sure that your shoes do not slip off easily; you should be able to run without worrying about them slipping off. Make sure you get a wide variety of colors to go with your clothes. Usually a white pair of Cortezes and a black pair of Lugz works well. You can also get your shoes from Stacy Adams.
Many cholos like to shave their heads while others get fades. Whatever look you have, make sure you keep it fresh instead of having a head covered in stubble. You can have a goatee but only if you can really pull it off. Mustaches and soul patches are also pretty common with cholos. If you want, you can put a bandana on, but make sure you know how to wear one instead of fussing with it and looking like a poser the whole time. New era hats like snapbacks and fitted hats are cool as long as they have something like the raiders or Dodgers on them, make sure you can pull the look off and they match your outfit before wearing a hat though. If you have longer hair and don’t want to wear a bandana or hat, you can also just slick it back.
Wear knee-high white socks. Military belts are a must. Buy a black beanie. Pull it down low almost over your eyes. Wear black sunglasses (you can get a pair of locs at the 99 cent store). Wear a rosary, cross or a plain silver or gold chain around your neck. Don't overdo it. Just having one or two accessories you're always seen with is enough.
Cholos are known for their tattoos, whether they are religious or have the name of a hyna on them. You should put a lot of thought into this before getting one. Lots of cholos have their last names on their arms or torso, A good place to get tattoos is on your stomach, back, or biceps. Another popular tattoo to get is a tear drop (only do this if you know what it means) near your eye, 3 dots in your hand (please note that if you bear 3 dots on your hand, you are showing your affiliation to the Sureños) or under your eye or initials on your hand.
Cholos are always keeping it fresh, whether you're talking about their hair, their clothes, their smell, or their bling. If you want to have the right look, then you can't just show up like you rolled out of bed. Care about your appearance without obsessing over it and you'll get respect from cholos and hynas.

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Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Acting Like a Cholo

Cholos always know how to boogie to their music no matter what it is, if you can't really dance, you can always Lean Like A Cholo. The idea of leaning like a cholo was popularized by Down AKA kilo's 2007 hit song, "Lean Like a Cholo." Though the song is meant to be fun, it does talk about the idea of leaning like a cholo, which is a stance you can take when you're at the club, trying to get girls, or just hanging out. To lean like a cholo, you've got to put your fists together, put your elbows out, and tilt your body back and forth from side to side. Check out the video to get more tips (while remembering that it's not 100% meant to be taken seriously). ^{[1]
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Be respectful to those who deserve it, Keep your chin up and stare everyone down. Don't move out of the way for anyone while you're walking, unless it's a lady or a homie, shove them out of the way. Don't take shit from anyone. Be aggressive to those you don't like. But most important thing is never back down to anyone! To do this you need to know how to fight of course.
3
Talk like a cholo. This means speak in Spanglish (mixing Spanish and English words in sentences). Say a few words in English, then a few words in Spanish or vice versa, finding a good, natural mix when you talk. This is where being cholo might get tough for those of you who aren't chicano or Hispanic, it might not come natural so the best thing you can do is practice or keep quiet, If you try too hard to say ese as every other word, or naturally flow your Spanglish, then yeah, people will be on to your act. Here are some key words you should know:
- Add "vato" or "bro" and "Güey" "homie" or "ese" "foo" to the end of your sentences; just don't make it annoying. Vato is just a way to say "bro" in Spanish, and ese really means "this guy" or the guy you're talking to. Just know that you have to be a real cholo to say most of these or people might think you're a racist poser.
- When speaking English use a Chicano accent. Also don't say some words completely.
- When you're shouting out to your homies, say "q vole carnal", "orale vato", "simon ese", "what up homes", "this is firme homie", and "simon que si".
- To challenge someone, yell out "Que chingau foo? Wanna fight or what?"
- If you have a girl, call her your hyna or your sancha. Call other girls mija. These don't really mean anything specific, but be sure to use your Chicano accent.
If you're too young to have a car of your own, then get a friend with a lowrider and take it around the block. Pump up the music, rock the car up and down, and get some good lookin' hynas sitting in the back. Cruise around town in it, you're just out to have a good time, and don't worry about being a little bit annoying. If you want to be a cholo, you need hynas. And if you want hynas, you need a car.
Cholos aren't known for following the rules. If you really want to be a cholo, then you're not going to be that straight A student in your class who everyone laughs at. You're going to question authority a bit. You're not going to do something you don't believe in. And if you see someone disrespecting someone else, you're going to do something about it instead of knowing your role. Of course, if you take this too far, you can drop out of school, end up in jail, or just get in real serious trouble, so know that everything has its limits.
6
Get the taste of a cholo. Each cholo is a unique snowflake and all that, they're all into their own stuff but if you want to be a true cholo, then you have to be familiar with the things that cholos like so you don't look like a fool when you don't know what the cholos around you are talking about. Here are some of the things that cholos are known to like:
- The Raiders. No matter how many times they lose.
- The Dodgers.
- The Los Angeles Lakers
- Lowriders.
- Pitbulls. The more fierce your pitbull is, the better.
- Scarface . Watch this gangster film until you've got the lines memorized.
- Coronas. If you're old enough to drink, then this should be your beverage of choice. Just remember to pour some out for your homies.
Cholos love Oldies, as long as they are in English. But they also like funk music like Zapp and Roger, and a bunch of chicano artists like Big Oso Loc, Homeboy Rap, Duende, Juan Gotti, Mr Yosie, Hi-Power Soldiers, Mr Capone-e, Mr Criminal, Soldier Ink, Low Profile, Brownside, Chino Grande, Ms Krazie, Lil Cuete, Lil Rob, Akwid, JaeP, Kinto Sol, or South Park Mexican A.K.A. [S.P.M]. Sancho, Knightowl, Psycho Realm, Cypress Hill, and Kid Frost. Listen to this music so you don't look like a poser when it's playing.
Though cholos have love for other cholos and their hynas, they never forget where they came from. Don't fight with your mom even if she kicks you out of the house. You got to remember that she raised you. The same goes with your dad and other family members. Be nice to your cousins, your siblings, or even family you barely know. They may be all you’ve got in the end.
9
Stay safe. If you're a true cholo, then you may find yourself in the wrong neighborhood and need to know what to do. Keep trucha (Be watchful), keep an eye on your surroundings and watch your back and your homies' backs. You should never walk alone. Always have homies to back you up in case you get jumped out of nowhere. And here are some other things to keep in mind:
- Be careful about the colors you wear. For example, if you live in an area where there are a lot of Sureños and Norteños, it is best to avoid wearing blue or red or any other color that they might not like.
- If you choose to throw up up gang signs (which I don't recommend unless you bang or are surrounded by homies who do), make sure that you know what you’re doing, 'cause if you hit the wrong people, prepare for a fight.
- Learn street fighting. That way if you run into trouble, you'll have to defend yourself.
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Tips

Make sure you've got some back up.

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If you don't know anything, don't say anything.

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Don't walk around with the wrong color unless you are ready for a beat down.

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Warnings

Don't go around asking people what gang they represent. If you mess with the wrong people, you're most certain to get hurt or killed.

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If you are in a bad neighborhood, always pack something, whether it's a knife or a lot of rings that can be effective in a brawl. If you want to go extreme, get a handgun. But be careful as you could get arrested for this.

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Stay true, never be a rata (snitch) or you'll find yourself laying in chalk.

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Do not tell anyone what gang you are affiliated with. People might take this far and others will think different of you and consider you as a joke. Besides if they ask what gang you are in, don't say anything. Even if you're not in a gang, don't say anything.

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[1]

How to Be a Cholo

Steps

Getting the Cholo Look

Acting Like a Cholo

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Warnings

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