WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF THE WORD CHULLA? - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The word Chulla has its origin in the Quichua language, from which it is derived. Chulla or shuclla means "only one" or "odd" and is used to indicate that there is only one unit of something. In this way, one can say "Chulla vida" to indicate that it is a single life or "Chulla socetín" to express that a sock has been lost and only its ninth companion remains. (JDA, 2007)

Chulla is a word used in Ecuador, being part of the popular slang. In this way, a folkloric character known as the “Chulla Quito” has been created, famous for being a man who lives in the city of Quito and is a descendant of Spanish and indigenous Americans.

The Chulla from Quito can be cheerful, witty, a good conversationalist, and friendly. On the other hand, some authors also portray him as an elegant, bohemian and charismatic man who appears to have a lot of money, but lives with empty pockets and has never worked.

Within Quito's popular culture, the figure of Chulla stands out as a middle-class man with a single shirt, a single pair of shoes and a single suit, all of them clean and well presented. The Chulla from Quito is only one and is single. All of the above perfectly illustrates his uniqueness and condition of Chulla in the culture. (DRAE, 2017)

Popular and indigenous culture of the word chulla

The expression “chulla Vida” is commonly used and heard within the rural and urban Ecuadorian community. The word, initially known as shuclla, was introduced to Spanish when the indigenous Azuayos Cañarís (Quechua) language was mixed with Spanish. In this way the Quichua language arises from which the term chulla is derived.

The word chulla, within popular culture, is used to talk about something that has no pair or whose pair has been lost. In this way, we say chulla glove, chulla shoe or chulla sock. However, within indigenous culture, this meaning refers to the incomplete, to that which lacks balance.

We talk about the "cool life" to talk about hard life, or how complicated certain experiences can be. The expression chulla vida is used when you have to continue despite the difficulties and there is no alternative, other than to continue living the chulla vida. (Pribilsky, 2007)

The Chulla Quito

It is believed that the character of Chulla Quito has its origin in the 16th century, however, its identity is finally defined during the 18th century, during the period of literary revolution that took place throughout Latin America.

This character is known to be a single man, middle class, courteous, good conversationalist and opportunist.

The Chulla from Quito never has money, but he manages to pretend the opposite. It laughs at the setbacks of life and is the manifestation of the great intellectual movements of Quito. For this reason, some Ecuadorian authors assure that many artists and writers from Quito have been chullas. (Coba, 2016)

This character is undoubtedly one of the oldest and most traditional known in Quito. It cannot be missed at parties, canteens, and central squares. Although the young people do not know the origin of the character in depth, they are able to identify it because its history is passed from one generation to another as part of the Quito oral tradition, even in schools they are explained who the Chulla is. (Escudero, 2017)

Song of Chulla Quito

The Chulla Quito is a parade or popular composition created by Alfredo Carpio in 1947 in Tungurahua. However, it is believed that the text of this song was written by the composer Luis Alberto Valencia

The Chulla Quito parade can be heard easily and multiple times during the festivities, celebrations and revelries that take place in the city of Quito and in other locations in Ecuador. (Carrión, 2014)

As a curious fact, the Chulla Quito song has been partially performed by Ozzy Osborne and Deep Purple during their presentations in the city of Quito, as a tribute to the most iconic character of the Ecuadorian capital.

The Tiger Bank

With the arrival of the Spaniards to America came the ideas of honor, good manners and appearance. In this way the spirit of the Spaniards was mixed with the indigenous cultures and the miscegenation and mutation of the culture took place. From among the cholos and the people appeared the middle-class man, mestizo and achiever of Spanish honor.

In this way, during the second half of the 19th century, a group of middle-class youths (hereinafter) was born in Quito, known as the Tigre Bank. This group was easily identifiable in the Plaza Grande, since it was made up of 12 men with an affable character, with easy conversation and a particular fondness for alcohol.

Over time, Banca Tigre grew and had members from all social spheres, except the indigenous and popular ones. These men were single and fled from any effort that involved a job. In this way, it was said that they fought with their life as chullas.

These men were the living image of the Chulla from Quito. They were always well dressed (even if it were in the same suit), hat with raised brims and polished shoes. On the other hand, they were recognized for their unpunctuality, cynicism, illustrious surnames, stories, fascinating anecdotes and trips (all of them invented).

The chullas of the Tigre Bank were fixated on inventing stories and stories, for this reason, those who listened to them chose not to believe a single word of what they said.

There is even a story of a Chulla bishop, who tricked his parents into sending him to France and Spain to be ordained as bishop, and after years of wasting his parents' money abroad, he returned to Quito without having studied anything. (Public Sphere, 1992)

References

1. Carrión, O. (September 18, 2014). Achiras. Obtained from Julio Alfredo Carpio Flores: achiras.net.ec.
2. Coba, G. (December 5, 2016). Trade. Obtained from The word chulla defines Quito, and is embodied in a character and song: elcomercio.com.
3. (2017). Royal Spanish Academy. Obtained from Chulla: dle.rae.es.
4. Escudero, CV (2017). Obtained from El Chulla Quiteño: paisdeleyenda.co.
5. Public sphere. (December 3, 1992). Obtained from El Chulla QuiteÑo: Chronicle of a Lost Character: web.archive.org.
6. JDA. (May 23, 2007). Urban Dictionary. Obtained from Chulla: urbandictionary.com.
7. Pribilsky, J. (2007). Preface. In J. Pribilsky, La Chulla Vida (pp. 13-15). New York: Jason Priblisky.