What Does “Fresita” or “Fresa” Mean in Mexican Slang?

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Understanding the lifestyle of a ‘chico’ or ‘chica fresa’
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If you’ve been scrolling through TikTok or brushing up on your Spanish lately, you may have heard the term fresita or fresa being thrown around—and no, we don’t mean “strawberry.” While fresa may literally translate to strawberry, it’s actually a slang term used to describe the offspring of posh and privileged upper classes. However, there’s a lot more to this pejorative word, which originated in Mexico and has since become a popular ~snooty~ term worldwide. We’ll give you the exclusiva on fresita and fresa —just keep reading!

What It Means to Be a ‘Fresita’ (Slang)

In Mexican and Latin American slang, a fresa or fresita is a wealthy individual (usually a teen) with an expensive lifestyle and snooty or pretentious behavior. They may also speak in a “posh” dialect of Spanish. Anyone can be fresa , but a fresita is usually a girl or woman.

Section 1 of 5:

Fresita Meaning & Translation

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    Fresa , which literally translates to the word “strawberry” in Spanish, is a pejorative slang word typically used to refer to the privileged, superficial, and stuck-up children of upper class families in Mexico. Fresita has the same meaning as fresa but includes the diminutive “-ita” to make it feel more affectionate or “cutesy.” Fresita also mainly applies to women and girls, while fresa can describe someone of any gender. [1]
    • Someone who dresses or acts like they’re part of the upper class may also be called a fresa or fresita , even if they’re not actually wealthy: e.g., “Javi se ve muy fresa hoy, no?” ( Javi looks really fresa today, doesn’t he? ).
    • Not every wealthy person is considered a fresa , however. Fresa people are stereotypically very stuck-up, easily offended, and naive to the realities of society and the “real world.”
    • They’re also known to spend lots of money on flashy things like designer clothes and sports cars and speak in a “posh” dialect of Spanish that incorporates a lot of Spanglish. [2]
    • While most commonly used in Mexico, fresa is commonly accepted as a slang term throughout Latin America. In Honduras, fresa can also mean that something is “cool” or “nice,” but means “posh” when applied to a person. [3]
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    In English, fresa and fresita could mean “elitist,” “yuppie,” “Valley girl,” “preppy,” “posh,” “spoiled,” or “snooty.” English-speakers may also use terms like “city-slicker,” “princess,” or “debutante” to describe the same concept as fresa . However, none of these terms are an exact translation of fresita , and they don’t encompass the full cultural meaning of the word. [4]
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Section 2 of 5:

Where did “fresita” come from?

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    Although the precise origins of fresa and fresita aren’t known, fresa began to be used in the 1960s to describe women who were of higher socioeconomic standing and deemed as “demure.” [5] The term became more popular throughout the 1970s and 1980s, eventually generalizing to describe people of any gender.
    • Fresita is a more recent evolution of fresa , seemingly becoming popular on social media apps like TikTok.
    • Kids, teens, and young adults were historically the main supporters of this term, and some of them would even adopt some of the fresa lifestyle to appear like they came from an upper class family.
    • Some sources claim that the slang originated with the 1968 Olympics hosted in Mexico, where the hostesses (or edecanes ) of various sporting arenas were dressed in a strawberry-colored uniform. [6] These women were usually enrolled in private colleges, making them emblematic of the upper classes, which spawned the term fresa .
    • It’s also possible that fresa was coined in Mexico alongside the English term “preppy” becoming popular in the U.S. as a word to describe wealthy, conservative American teens.
Section 3 of 5:

The “Fresita” Lifestyle

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    The stereotypical fresa or fresita person is likely to have a very expensive (or expensive-appearing) lifestyle. They’ll probably act in a very high-maintenance or pretentious way, like refusing to take public transport or shop at second-hand stores. When it comes to their friends, they’ll constantly be texting or communicating with them (on the newest smartphone, of course) and they dedicate a lot of time to curating an upscale, influencer-like image on social media. [7]
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    To align with their expensive lifestyle and perceived interest in mainstream American culture, fresa or fresita individuals are likely to dress in high-end or “preppy” brands from the U.S. and other English-speaking countries. [8]
    • For example, popular fresa brands from recent years include Zara, Ralph Lauren, Abercrombie & Fitch, Reebok, Lacoste, Guess, Puma, Armani, Calvin Klein, and American Eagle.
    • Fresa teens and young adults may also listen to pop artists like Timbiriche, Menudo, Flans, Maná, Luis Miguel, and Sasha.
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Section 4 of 5:

“Fresita” Language & Accent

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    One of the defining characteristics of a fresita is a distinct accent that’s described as la papa en la boca , or speaking as if one has a “potato in the mouth.” [9] The fresa subculture also notoriously uses phrases and intonations associated with “posh” or “pretentious” people in Mexico, as well as incorporating a (controversially) high amount of English into their speech. [10] Other key linguistic features of the fresa include:
    • Frequent ‘Spanglish:’ “Te ves super cute ” (You look super cute). “O sea, hello ?” (I mean, hello?). “Eres mi idol ” (You are my idol).
    • Abbreviated words: “Obviamente” → “Obvi” (Obviously). “Literalmente” → “Lit” (Literally). “Whatsapp” → “Wa” (Whatsapp).
    • Question-like intonation: “Pero no lo puedo cre er ” (I can’t believe it) with emphasis on er as if asking a question.
    • Lengthened vowels: “¿De verd aaaa d?” (Re aaaa lly?).
    • Frequent use of “trendy” words: “¿Qué pasa, güey ? Acabo de ver algo súper chido, güey ” (What’s up, dude ? I just saw something super cool, dude ).
Section 5 of 5:

Related Slang Terms in Spanish

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    While “fresa” as a slang term to mean “posh,” “wealthy,” or “pretentious” is now fairly widely accepted across the Spanish-speaking world, many countries have their own related or synonymous slang to describe the same type of person or lifestyle. Here are some examples: [11]
    • Fresón : Someone who’s showy and/or dresses in trendy clothes (common in Guatemala, Honduras, Spain, Nicaragua, and Bolivia) . Literal translation is “strawberry bush.”
    • Buchifresa : An wealthy, attractive Mexican woman who is (or aspires to look like) the girlfriend of a narcotics dealer or gangster. May get lip filler and wear tight dresses or hoop earrings. Conjunction of buchona (slang for the flamboyant girlfriends of modern “narcos”) and fresa . [12]
    • Pijo/a : In Spain, used frequently to describe posh, preppy, and snobby people (similar to fresa in Mexico). Note that pijo is considered a vulgar word in most countries outside of Spain.
    • Cotufa : Similar to the slang meaning of “fresa,” used to refer to people who act like stereotypical “Valley girls” or “dumb blondes” (common in Venezuela) . Literal translation is “popcorn.”
    • Whitexican : Refers to upper-class Mexicans who lead a privileged lifestyle (i.e., go to private school, travel abroad, speak English, etc.). Conjunction of “white” and “Mexican.” [13]
    • Cuico : Primarily in Chile, refers colloquially to someone who is posh or upper-class. In other Spanish-speaking countries, may describe a foreigner or be used as pejorative slang for “police officer” (Mexico). [14]
    • Hueco : Literally translated as “empty” or “hollow,” can also be used to refer to a shallow or superficial person.
    • Sifrino/a : A pejorative word that translates as “stuck-up” or “snobby” (common in Venezuela) .
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      • Keep in mind that some of the cultural meanings and implications of slang terms like fresa and fresita come from Mexico’s history of being colonized by English-speaking countries. The fresa subculture borrows many elements of American “preppy” culture, largely because social prestige, privilege, and wealth is still often associated with cultural assimilation and perceived nearness to the U.S. The racial and classist implications of this dynamic have a lot to do with the contempt felt by some for this demographic. [15]
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      • Examples of fictional fresa characters in pop culture include comedic persona El Pirrurris , Julieta in the telenovela Soñadoras , Mía Colucci and Diego Bustamante in the telenovela Rebelde , and Lucrecia in the Netflix show Élite .
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.asale.org/damer/fresa
      2. ↑ https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Language-ideology-in-Mexico-%3A-The-case-of-fresa-in-G%C3%B3mez/2fdc23fe82e4e4de94c98b4de08c6ec5fb2c96b9
      3. ↑ https://www.spanish.academy/blog/talk-like-a-honduran-slang-words-for-everyday-use/
      4. ↑ https://www.mexperience.com/pride-and-prejudice-the-naco-versus-the-fresa/
      5. ↑ https://www.mexperience.com/pride-and-prejudice-the-naco-versus-the-fresa/
      6. ↑ https://collections.lacma.org/node/2115913
      7. ↑ https://fronteranorte.colef.mx/index.php/fronteranorte/article/view/1746/1334
      8. ↑ https://fronteranorte.colef.mx/index.php/fronteranorte/article/view/1746/1334
      9. ↑ https://www.clarin.com/sociedad/Venturas-desventuras-hablar-papa-boca_0_H1gUUoCpvXl.html
      1. ↑ https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/ling_etds/56/
      2. ↑ https://www.asale.org/damer/fresa
      3. ↑ https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-11-03/how-buchona-flamboyant-narco-style-came-to-rule-social-media
      4. ↑ https://mexiconewsdaily.com/lifestyle/what-is-a-whitexican-and-what-do-they-say-about-mexico/
      5. ↑ https://www.psicoperspectivas.cl/index.php/psicoperspectivas/article/viewFile/2001/1370
      6. ↑ https://fronteranorte.colef.mx/index.php/fronteranorte/article/view/1746/1334

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