Chile Forum

FrankPintor wrote:
"El roto chileno" is a fixture at the fiestas patrias in September, pretending... or more probably not... to be drunk ...

About the origins of "el roto".. from what I've picked up over the years it could be considered a retort to the oh-so-refined Peruvians who ruled Chile before independence? Something like the wild-west frontiersman ethos of the western edges of North America? Impossibly rude of course but with a distinct attitude?

When I lived around Rancagua, calling someone a roto was a fairly strong insult, perhaps with even more meaning than the huevonazo. On a par with the US usage and impact of "white trash" or even "nigger" though neither of those would be a suitable translation. And roto picante was pretty much the same thing, a foul low-life bastard from a tumbledown mediagua on the wrong side of the tracks and with no socially redeeming value. Here in the very-far south, you very rarely run into the term except from the imports.

A few lines from the wikipedia, not necessarily the last word on the subject:

En el Chile actual, la palabra roto se refiere a la persona maleducada o de manifiesta tosquedad, antes que una división clasista. La rotería es el acto mismo de poca generosidad, desvergüenza o falta de educación. Básicamente, entonces, roto es aquel que rompe las reglas sociales sobre el buen proceder. Se diferencia de calificativos como «cuma» o «flaite» debido a que el primero, desde el siglo XX, se relaciona muchas veces con el hampa delictual o la marginalidad, mientras que el segundo surge a fines del siglo XX y principios del XXI para referirse al delincuente juvenil de extracción baja o a quien adopta sus usos y costumbres, sin ser necesariamente delincuente.

En Bolivia y Perú, sin embargo, el término tiene una connotación peyorativa y es usado comúnmente para referirse a alguien proveniente de Chile.

patagoniax wrote:

FrankPintor wrote:
"El roto chileno" is a fixture at the fiestas patrias in September, pretending... or more probably not... to be drunk ...

About the origins of "el roto".. from what I've picked up over the years it could be considered a retort to the oh-so-refined Peruvians who ruled Chile before independence? Something like the wild-west frontiersman ethos of the western edges of North America? Impossibly rude of course but with a distinct attitude?

When I lived around Rancagua, calling someone a roto was a fairly strong insult, perhaps with even more meaning than the huevonazo. On a par with the US usage and impact of "white trash" or even "nigger" though neither of those would be a suitable translation. And roto picante was pretty much the same thing, a foul low-life bastard from a tumbledown mediagua on the wrong side of the tracks and with no socially redeeming value. Here in the very-far south, you very rarely run into the term except from the imports.

A few lines from the wikipedia, not necessarily the last word on the subject:

En el Chile actual, la palabra roto se refiere a la persona maleducada o de manifiesta tosquedad, antes que una división clasista. La rotería es el acto mismo de poca generosidad, desvergüenza o falta de educación. Básicamente, entonces, roto es aquel que rompe las reglas sociales sobre el buen proceder. Se diferencia de calificativos como «cuma» o «flaite» debido a que el primero, desde el siglo XX, se relaciona muchas veces con el hampa delictual o la marginalidad, mientras que el segundo surge a fines del siglo XX y principios del XXI para referirse al delincuente juvenil de extracción baja o a quien adopta sus usos y costumbres, sin ser necesariamente delincuente.

En Bolivia y Perú, sin embargo, el término tiene una connotación peyorativa y es usado comúnmente para referirse a alguien proveniente de Chile.

OK, something new every day... at least in my experience in Valdivia, which is fairly recent, a "roto" is someone badly behaved in a social context, drunk, expressing himself inappropriately, "no seas roto" isn't a terribly uncommon expression. Of course Valdivia collectively has been on the wrong side of the tracks since ruta 5 was made into a motorway and you can go flying past on to Puerto Montt. They even have cobbled streets there, not restored, (that would be disrespectful of their heritage.,,) just the original cobblestones and where these are missing, big empty spaces.

FrankPintor wrote:OK, something new every day... at least in my experience in Valdivia, which is fairly recent, a "roto" is someone badly behaved in a social context, drunk, expressing himself inappropriately, "no seas roto" isn't a terribly uncommon expression. Of course Valdivia collectively has been on the wrong side of the tracks since ruta 5 was made into a motorway and you can go flying past on to Puerto Montt. They even have cobbled streets there, not restored, (that would be disrespectful of their heritage.,,) just the original cobblestones and where these are missing, big empty spaces.

Two issues here, one is the meaning of historical vs current regional meanings for roto, and the other is Valdivia's stature and the cobblestones.

I am frankly too lazy right now to write a proper discussion of the history of the roto in Chilean history.

Those who currently live and work in Valdivia may wish to comment, but my considered impression (after looking into a teaching spot at the Univ there more than ten years ago) is that Valdivia has a great deal more refinement and generally anti-roto-ism per capita than most of the places that are along Ruta 5 and elsewhere in the south.

As far as the cobblestones or "adoquines" (comes from the Arabic, addukkin)- being used more and more in southern Chile. There are new sections of road here in the south being built with a modern cobblestone method, including on the main highway between Puerto Aysén and Coyhaique and I've been driving on them for the past weeks.

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Best pizza in Coyhaique at Café Ricer. And strong wifi. They know me here.

I order my cortado in a taza. Do they have tazas? Of course they have tazas. I can see them from here. The first garzona brings the cortado not in a taza but in a vaso. I send it back and remind her that I need the coffee in a taza. Another garzona comes back, the same coffee, the same vaso. I remind her that I need the coffee in a taza.

Evidently that is not possible here.

WTF?

There are two possible factors here. One is that the habitually loud background music has rendered the wait-staff essentially deaf and unresponsive. And for those who are not deaf, Rule Number One of "servicio al cliente" applies.

Rule Number One is "ignore the customer."

Welcome to Chile.

The loud music thing even extends to academic conferences in Chile.

Waiting for the conference to start? Play some 80's crap at full volume.
Break in the proceedings due to a speaker not turning up? Ah, get the T'pau blasting out before anyone starts actually discussing science.
Poster session? Hungry like a wolf will go down a treat....

What can I say, I'm not in Kansas* anymore.


*where Kansas = UK

swdchile wrote:Speaking of a life of crime, during my very first trip to Jumbo this last June I witnessed an average looking fella stuff 2 giant dried salamis down his pants right in front of me. I know he knew I was there. I was 4 feet away looking right at him. To my credit, I did look for a store clerk to mention it, but the guy was gone before I could find one. Seriously, to this day I don't know what more I coulda/shoulda done. Kinda set a tone with me for awhile, but I haven't seen any crime since. Oh, except someone hit my house with an egg this Halloween, but I think that was technically a trick, not a crime.

Maybe he was just happy to see you.

I think my favorite "Why", is why do Chilean turists often walk in the middle of the street, instead of available sidewalks, boldly forcing driver to slow and steer wide. I'm not sure whether it is a wannabe bullfighter type syndrome, or what.
But the fact that they often use their children as such obstacles, and the bahavoir is generally limited to tourists really fascinates me. That, and trusting Chilean drivers enough to actually turn there backs to them.
Amazing.

seawolf180 wrote:I think my favorite "Why", is why do Chilean turists often walk in the middle of the street, instead of available sidewalks, boldly forcing driver to slow and steer wide. I'm not sure whether it is a wannabe bullfighter type syndrome, or what.
But the fact that they often use their children as such obstacles, and the bahavoir is generally limited to tourists really fascinates me. That, and trusting Chilean drivers enough to actually turn there backs to them.
Amazing.

An analogue to this is: why do chileans stop at the narrowest points of anything, whether shop entrances or driveways, to engage conocidos in the latest gossip. Why do they not pull of the highways to linger while observing wildlife, but instead block the roadways? I am convinced that chileans should submit to testing for a walking-licence before being let out of their homes.

This has happened to me on more than one occasion. I respond to an online ad for merchandise, and when finally getting the person to answer their phone, they claim that they don't have the item, never did, and have no idea what I´m talking about. I make sure that the number is correct and I´m even speaking to the same guy which name appears on the ad.

This has happened to me with vehicles, tires, cellphones or other stuff.