Chonga Style - Chola Style

[thesiren]

quincineras are getting insane.

there are now planners, and zillion dollar budgets that rival fancy weddings (though the budget has almost always rivaled weddings). my cousin is having hers in july and the amount of money they're spending is insane.

on the chola/chonga debate...are chongas (no experience with them) typically mexican american, or cuban/puerto rican/etc. cholas, as those of us who know, are always mexican/mexican american as are their counterparts.

 

[BetteT]

I think ... but I'm not positive ... that geographically speaking, Cholas/****** are west coast/southern Californian mostly ... so most would be Mexican and Mexican Americans ... but I know that we have Hispanic people from many Central and South American countries here, so there's the distinct possibilty the other cultures may have adopted this style as they Americanized, too.

And using that reasoning, Chongas are east coast ... Miami ... so I would think it's mainly Cuban with, perhaps some Puerto Rican in the mix.

 

[*Happiness*]

WOW!
I just discovered this thread.
you learn something new everyday.

 

[gius]

wow. this thread was so .. educational. i always love to hear about the culture and whatever other influences that lie behind all these styles that seem like they're just all trendy and have no meaning. not that i'm saying chongas are a good thing... we have thousands of these girls at my school, but instead they're serbian. but it's the same thing just minus the hispanic and plus the eastern european. mind you, they aren't nearly as tough (with the razorblades and all).. i'm from cambridge, ontario. (hometown of alana zimmer! lol.)

seems like the style is influencing people all over.. i'm getting flashbacks from high school--i remember there was a gang of Vietnamese girls at a school nearby who dressed just like this except there was no pompadour. their hair is dark or sometimes there are bleached and black streaks through it.
also many other girls did it in my high school... Canadian ones
Those hoop earrings were so popular, maybe even now. I don't think any of them realised what they were doing in regards to style

 

[tuttyfruit]

omg ive seen "cholas" in my middle school.

their hair seems so oily and greased up, with lots of gel....
drawn in thin eyebrows. eyeliner... mascara... lipliner..
white wifebeaters.. tan fitted dickies... w/ the hems held w/ scrunchies or just elastics (i dont know how to describe)... nike cortez..

jansport backpacks... very high on their back and almost empty... like someone already said..

also those canvas white/black belts with buckles of letters/initials.

dark grey hoodies... hoop earrings... those white binders w/ those studios pictures of family members and friends... graffiti writing on the cover...


this thread is hilarious...

 

[farren fashion]

sub cultures in the US to explore and maintain an identity instead of being sucked into the same old waspy mainstream. Chona/chonga may not be my style, but I respect the rebellion and self-determination of the trend.

i agree with what you said. i would probably look ridiculous dressing in that style -- but i do respect it. i wouldn't go out of my way to tease them. it is how they choose to represent themselves. i know other people tease me for my style. but, i think it's cool. they found a way to set themselves apart from the rest of the world.

but, that chongalicious video is funny -- "and ain't no other chonga glue her hair like mine." haha. do they really glue their hair? or was that video just an exaggeration? hah.

 

[Sephora_Socialite]

^ No, I know a chick who uses the elmers liquid glue sometimes in class to "touch up"

 

[farren fashion]

oh... WOW. haha. wow... that's all i've got to say. i thought gel was enough? haha. i guess not nowadays.

 

[Rubie girl]

Do they have some values or ideals as a gang,or is just about look?

 

[farren fashion]

Someone posted some Dior Fall/Winter 2007 backstage pictures -- and I immediately thought CHONGA.

source: www.myspace.com/126095156

 

[thesiren]

Do they have some values or ideals as a gang,or is just about look?

the look originated with actual female gang members and later trickled down into wannabes like every other trend. i think this is the main difference (besides appearance) in cholas/chongas. cholas are typically actual gang members and take part in a very scary and dangerous lifestyle. most come from poverty, have little education, and get involved with gangs at a young age when they can't see the bigger picture of life. of course some do, and still choose to live this life since it's what they're used to. i do not have any experience with chongas, but it seems they are more of just a "look" not a lifestyle.

 

[fourboltmain]

Also understand that a lot of the look comes from jail/prison culture. Seems like every pair of pants in the pokey is XXL, hence the pants sagging. Wearing loose shirts is not wise, just more material to grab a hold of in a streetfight, that's where the tank tops and shaved heads come from. You'll notice the verteranos have longer hair, looser shirts, it's because they've done they're banging already, most of the senseless violence and crime is done by the kids trying to make a name for themselves.

And ladies, want some makeup in jail? Crack open a pen (if you can get a hold of one) and use the ink, hence the Sharpie and black lipstick look. Also, every area has a different style, so homeboys from San Diego look different than say, El Paso.

PS: I lean like a ***** whenever possible.

 

[fourboltmain]

^ No, I know a chick who uses the elmers liquid glue sometimes in class to "touch up"

Old school punk rockers diluted it.

 

[farren fashion]

Also understand that a lot of the look comes from jail/prison culture. Seems like every pair of pants in the pokey is XXL, hence the pants sagging. Wearing loose shirts is not wise, just more material to grab a hold of in a streetfight, that's where the tank tops and shaved heads come from. You'll notice the verteranos have longer hair, looser shirts, it's because they've done they're banging already, most of the senseless violence and crime is done by the kids trying to make a name for themselves.

And ladies, want some makeup in jail? Crack open a pen (if you can get a hold of one) and use the ink, hence the Sharpie and black lipstick look. Also, every area has a different style, so homeboys from San Diego look different than say, El Paso.

PS: I lean like a ***** whenever possible.

^^ wow -- that makes a lot of sense. i didn't think of it that way.

p.s. i lean like a ***** whenever possible, also. =]

 

[Inaya]

Strange (in a good way) to see a thread on cholas on tFS

 

[mcswirlgirl]

Last year when we tried to find affordable skinny jeans, my sister and I always talked about searching through the "ghetto" stores like LVLX because we've seen girls with that style wearing them before the skinny jean trend hit it big.

I've only just recently became familiar with chola/***** culture, but I've known the term "chola" all my life from my mom who's from South America. She uses that term differently. She prides herself on being of "white latin" heritage, and looked down on the hispanics of indian heritage by calling them cholas and ****** under her breath. It's really more of a derogatory and racist term in South America. It's not something I like at all, but I'm just using that as an example of how it can mean something different.

 

[leblue15]

^its true, here in costa rica chola is a derogatory term too, as well as in peru and argentina (I know because Im from peru and my mom is from argentina...) , here in CR you can see sometimes this kind of style but it doesnt have a specific term like the chonga or chola style...

 

[misspistol]

This is quite possibly the funniest thread I've seen on TFS.
These girls remind me of the 'teens gone wild' on Maury. Fantastic!!!

 

[milamar]

^My feelings exactly - it's probably one of the most intriguing threads on TFS. And a very entertaining one. Thanks everybody for your contribution.
I've managed to recognize elements of this style as reinterpreted by Gwen Stefani or Galliano. But at the same time (I live in Warsaw, Poland) it reminds me a bit of young suburbian girls I used to see some 10 years ago, when I was still in the secondary school - they actually looked a bit like cholas/chongas. They wore cheap, tight clothes, dark liner around lips, black eyeliner and white eye shadow plus platinum blonde or ink-black hair, usually with a characteristic rolled fringe that we would call 'ice-cream', as it reminded of an ice-cream con. I guess those girls took this look for real - as something refined and classy, but for the outsiders it was ridiculous and tacky. I don't know were the influences came from (maybe a far inspiration from Latin American TV-series or first rap videos on MTV?...) or maybe this is basically what the suburbian / lowerclass look has in common everywhere... Just a thought.

 

[Julz]

I love this thread....reminds me so much of middle school and high school, both right outside DC.