By Research.Pomona.edu – Image Not Credited

Pachuco and Pachuca are terms coined in the 1940s to refer to Mexican American men and women who dressed in zoot suits or zoot suit-influenced attire. Though there is no definite origin of the word Pachuco, one theory claims that the term originated in El Paso, Texas. The city of El Paso was typically referred to as “Chuco town” or “El Chuco.” People migrating from Los Angeles to El Paso would say they were going “pa’ El Chuco” (to Chuco town). These migrants came to be known as Pachucos. This term moved westward to Los Angeles with the flow of Mexican workers migrating to industrialize city centers.

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