THE 13 MOST COMMON URBAN TRIBES IN MEXICO - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The most common urban tribes in Mexico are the cholos, punks, floggers, skatos, chacas, emos, goths, hipsters, rockabillys and otakus. They are natural groupings of people, usually under 30 years of age, who share musical tastes, ways of dressing, meeting places, hobbies and ways of thinking in general.

According to sociological studies, urban tribes develop as a symbol of youthful rebellion. The meeting point with any of these groups is given by the recognition of people's emotions, fears and ideas.

Representative of the punks

In addition, there are psychological, political, economic, social and cultural factors that promote the grouping of people with certain needs for recognition and acceptance in society.

For some experts, they are the result of homes with a vulnerable value system, which makes adolescents take refuge outside the family in search of common elements with their philosophy of life.

Consequently, those who belong to urban tribes reject social systems as well as current cultural patterns.

Main urban tribes in Mexico

Latin American culture is framed in the variety of tastes and colors, in different social strata, ethnic groups and religious preferences.

In the specific case of Mexico, there is evidence of an economic and social disorder that, in one way or another, encourages the formation of groups outside the standards of conventional society.

It is then that the various urban tribes emerge, in order to provide a space of acceptance and understanding for people who perceive and act differently. The most common urban tribes in Mexico will be described below.

Cholos

This term has a marked racial connotation, since for centuries it has been used in Latin America to designate mestizo people, that is, those who are the product of a mixture of whites and Indians.

The cholos, heirs of the Pachuca urban tribe, have the characteristic Mexican phenotype and dress in wide t-shirts, baggy pants and sports shoes.

In addition, they have a particular interest in the history of their region and the preservation of indigenous culture and traditions.

Punks

Its name is due to the shared taste for punk music. This movement emerged in England as a rejection of the cultural trends of the time, at the end of the 70s.

Punks are known for wearing bizarre hairstyles, with spike cuts and unconventional colors: phosphorescent yellow, blue, purple or pink.

Punk clothing consists of mixing elements of leather and metal, such as chains, piercings and studs. In addition, they often draw their eyes, wear military boots, and have tattoos.

Floggers

The flogger culture corresponds to teenagers who are fond of the world of technology, more specifically the new trend of social networks.

Floggers, also known as floguers or flogers, are a recent tribe that owes its rise to the spread of electronic media worldwide.

Fans of this trend have an affinity for glam rock and wear casual attire: Converse All Stars-style ankle boots, skinny jeans to the calves, and loose-fitting, bright colored flannels.

Skatos

This urban tribe is a hybrid between skaters (fans of skateboarding) and those who like ska music.

The skato is also recognized for doing graffiti and other street art manifestations. They dress in short jeans and baggy T-shirts, wide-soled shoes, and hats or headscarves.

Chacas

The chacas are commonly distributed in popular areas. The highest concentration of chacas is found in the delegations of Venustiano Carranza, Cuauhtémoc, Gustavo A. Madero and Iztapalapa, in Mexico City.

These are young people who do not exceed 22 years of age and combine urban music with the use of religious accessories.

Most of them are lovers of reggaeton, as well as having quirky tastes when it comes to their wardrobe. There is a belief that the vast majority of the Chacas do not study or work.

Emos

The name of this urban tribe is due to the emotional accent that they place on everything they do.

Emos are not violent. Rather, they are people with an extremely sad and pessimistic attitude, and they assure that life and its injustices have completely overcome them.

The emos belong to the Mexican middle class and wear tight black clothes, in addition to wearing dark makeup around the eyes and bangs to the middle of the face.

Darks

This group is characterized by having an extremely dark appearance, they listen to gothic rock and sometimes heavy metal. They wear dark clothes and have marked preferences for death and related themes.

People who belong to this urban tribe usually dress in black clothes, usually leather clothes. They wear boots, piercings and spiky bracelets, chains and other metallic accessories.

Hipsters

This group includes young people between 20 and 35 years of age. They tend to move away from the trends of the moment and profess a thinking in favor of nature.

Hipsters tend to belong to the Mexican middle class, they mostly listen to non-commercial music and they firmly defend the forging of their own and independent thought, outside of social canons.

They do not have a particular dress pattern, but are broadly perceived as bohemian-style individuals with vintage accessories.

Rockabillys

Its name comes from the combination of two musical genres: rock and roll and hillbilly.

The latter is a term used in the United States to designate music from mountainous or remote areas, such as country music.

Rockabillys are characterized by wearing typical outfits, hairstyles or makeup from the 50s or 60s, such as the pin up style in girls.

The garments used highlight the body silhouette of those who wear them: corsets, croptops, high-cut pants, flared skirts and leather pieces.

Otakus

This urban tribe originated in Japan, and groups people who are fond of Japanese comics (manga), Japanese comics (anime) and video games.

The term otaku refers to a specialized taste and knowledge about some or all of the categories described above.

The otakus often replicate the clothing of the characters from manga, anime or the video game of their choice. This practice is called cosplay (costume play), and it is very common at themed events or movie premieres.

Rappers

Rappers are one of the most widespread urban tribes in the world. American hip-hop subculture, in Mexico it began to expand in the 90s and early 2000s. They have a certain resemblance to cholos, but without being so ostentatious.

They have always been associated with violence, crime or drugs, but currently they have evolved towards a more artistic and carefree style. In any case, his music continues to be the voice of the marginalized and minorities of society.

Cosplayers

Cosplay is a contraction of costume-play, which is a movement that is based on the fashion of using costumes, accessories and other trinkets to characterize a fictional character, generally from video games or comic books.

Cosplayers are increasingly popular in the world, with Mexico being one of the nations in which it is more widely accepted. Although it has nothing to do with it, in the Mexican country it is usually associated with geeks or floggers.

Its origin is oriental and it settled in Mexico from 1990, when anime and manga series already occupied spaces in bookstores and animated drawings on TV.

In 2017, up to 80,000 people gathered in Querétero for La Conque, a comics and entertainment event in Mexico with much of it dedicated to cosplay.

Lolitas

The Lolitas are still a very minority tribe, but they have more and more followers throughout the country. Its origin is Japanese and is characterized by the use of pompous and aristocratic clothing. This means that it is quite expensive fashion.

Although lolitas already existed in Mexico since the 90s, it was not until the early 2010s that they began to populate the streets with their particular vintage dresses, suits and shoes.

Articles of interest

Urban tribes of Colombia.

References

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3. Pérez, J. (nd). Committee for Studies and Statistics on Mexico City. Mexico DF, Mexico. Recovered from: aldf.gob.mx
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6. Urban tribes in Mexico (2015). Recovered from: aztecaamerica.com