THE NEW URBAN TRIBES

-Paco Santamaría

There are more than 25 urban tribes in the world, made up of young people
between 12 and 25 years old and a limited group of 30 or more. The majority of the
inhabitants of this great city have percentages of different tribes that give them
identity in their constant flight from anonymity.

Urban tribes, their formation, gestation, ideas and behavior are triggers of
consumer behavior trends in the markets. All urban tribes are objects of study for
different disciplines.

Urban tribes are how we come to terms with our history and culture. It is an
everyday human phenomenon and from which no one escapes.

Each group or subculture is part of a whole. Darwin focused on physical attributes,

the same can be observed in the behavior and appreciations of man. People who
belong to a certain group acquire qualities from that environment.

The group to which we belong gives us the tools for the fight, determines how we
will be seen by other groups and how we will mobilize on the battlefield that is life.

These groups emerge after wars or social upheavals, such as the Second World
War or the cultural movements and revolutions of the late 1960s.

The sense of belonging when being part of an urban tribe gives us distinction from
others and our own traits that free us from the risk of disappearing. The theory of
subcultures finds indicative criteria of an urban tribe, these are: consistent
distinctive features, identity, commitment, autonomy.

The theory of subculture tribes finds criteria indicative of an urban tribe. To locate
and qualify an urban tribe we must take into account the following indicators:

 Consistent Distinctive Features

 Identity
 Commitment
  Autonomy

The media has influenced human beings for decades. Since we were children, we
are exposed to a constant bombardment of information. The mass media have
become the main forum for discussion about culture and set the pace.

The urban tribe you belong to can determine where you go and vice versa. This
identity is formed both by the people around us and by the places we frequent.
Urban tribes are like words in a dictionary, they have the right to be contemplated.

“Urban tribes are not invented by anyone, they appropriate conversations and
social media”

1.- BUCHONAS : Better known as the girlfriends or wives of drug traffickers or

organized crime bosses in Mexico, identified in the cities of the north of our
country. The buchonas are not discreet, they dress to be seen, with a lot of shine.
To be buchona is to be indiscreet, haughty, proud and conceited.

“ BETTER TO LIVE 5 YEARS AS A QUEEN THAN 20 AS A SLAVE”

2.- CHAIROS : They are a new urban tribe that stands out for their way of dressing
and the language of their fashion. Accessories in wood, bone or rock such as rings
and earrings exemplify your well-being and communion with Mother Earth. The
word that defines them is an onomatopoeia
like shawl, jacket. Being chairo means being
rebellious and subversive, non-aligned, anti-
globalized, consistent with leftist ideology.

“ GLOBALIZATION HAS UNMADE US”

3.- CHAKAS : They are a mixture of few opportunities, a context of easy money
and youth. The word chaca is a derivation of jackal, faithful of San Judas Tadeo,
admire Daddy Yankee, Wisin y Yandel, Calle 13 and Don Omar.

“ IF THEY FUCK YOU, FUCK”

4.- COSPLAYS : They are fans of superheroes, now there are world cosplay
championships, where they become celebrities of this subculture. Here in Mexico
there are very few. Cosplays are a response to media-generated content in
entertainment.

“ REALITY EXCEEDS FICTION, BUT FICTION IS ALWAYS BETTER”

5.- COUGARS : They are women between 40 and 60 years old, who are attracted
to young men. They are rebels, results of a traditional and macho education, they
are leaders, they love parties and authentic people.

" I NEVER GIVE UP"

6.- EMO : Diagonal fringes, tight pants, sad but emotional, they suffer with
themselves. Emo, comes from emotional, is a derivation of punk music. They were
the first to bring urban tribes to the media and public opinion on a massive scale.

" HOW SAD!"

7.- FASHIONISTS : They live in fashion events, to be one of them is to live from
and for fashion. Fashion is what gives meaning to their lives but they never stop
treading water when it comes to relationships. They are always aware of what they
are going to wear and how they are going to look.

" I'M UNIQUE"

8.- FOREVER : Forty-something man who dresses like a young man, creative, fun.
They have no limits, they are dedicated to art, advertising or production. They
continue fantasizing about children's stories and maintain a false idea of
happiness.

“ I FANTASIZE, BABY, LITTLE”

9.- STRAWBERRIES : The climax of strawberries was in the eighties, nowadays,
pretending to be a strawberry is no longer cool, rather it is synonymous with
backwardness. They have chosen to disperse among other tribes looking for an
identity that was lost to them.

“ I mean GÜEY, AND SO, TYPE”

10.- FRESTERS : Union of 2 words: strawberry and hipster. At first glance we can
confuse them with hipsters, but they are still strawberries enclosed in a different
body. They dress in second-hand clothes. They are never satisfied with their work
or their social environment.
“ COURAGE IS OVERCOMING FEAR”

11.- GODINEZ : A full-time worker in an office is a great target market. The word
comes from labeling a salaried person, they know how to receive orders very well
and rarely question them. They are like corporate soldiers fighting for the
company's goals and interests.

“ NO MATTER WHAT HE SAYS, THE BOSS IS ALWAYS RIGHT, HA”

12.- GOTHIC : It refers to a dark time compared to the Renaissance. It is a

subculture that emerged in the seventies and mid-eighties in the United Kingdom.
The Goths are one of the tribes most influenced by the media and the central
issues of today. Suffering is part of human nature and they emphasize it in their
way of living.
“ I CAME HERE TO CAPTURE THE SUFFERING AND COVER MYSELF IN
BLACK”

13.- HAN SOLO : Women between 17 and 30 years old, conservative and classic
character. They never act alone.

“ WE ARE ALL ONE”

14.- HIPSTERS : They emerged in the 40s and have now appeared as cool
intellectuals with a retro touch and even a little arrogant. A hipster doesn't
complicate his life with knowing who he is because he knows it and he likes it.
They are liberal and very selective.

“ I WANT TO TRAVEL TO BROOKLYN, NEW YORK OR LONDON”

15.- LOBUKIS : Women between 17 and 27 years old who seek at all costs to
climb socially and thus become formal girlfriends of a mirrey. It is a derivation of
the word Lobita.

“ YOU CAN ALWAYS ARRIVE”

16.- LOLITA : They are women who like to date men older than them, their
ambition is not purely monetary, but a desire for experience and learning. A lolita is
the most precious treasure of any forever.

“ I EXPERIENCE”
17.- GAMBLERS : They have their sense of belonging and identity in the game.
Gambling disease is the pathological addiction to electronic games or gambling.
They are cold, their ambition and energy is in feeling the emotion of playing or
losing.

“ DO I GAME IT OR DON'T I GAME IT?”

18.- MIRREY : A role model,

he has everything: beauty,
money, charisma and the
power to make his life what he
wants. Public relations are
their main weapon to get what
they want.

“ DAD, I INVITE THE

CUBABIES!, I ORDER THE CHAMPAGNE!”

19.- NEEDYS : They are needy people who make you feel committed to causes
that are not necessarily yours. They catch you in their problems and involve you in
solving them. Perhaps the needy is one of the most contagious tribes.

“ MY PROBLEM IS YOUR PROBLEM”

20.- NEWAGERS : They practice a new spirituality, consume organic and fair trade
products. They don't pollute, they do yoga. They fall into training markets and self-
help courses, they cannot accept that happiness is so organic and natural.

“ OMMM!…”

21.-NEET : They have lost the rhythm of integrating into productive or functional
activities, they are insecure because they do not have work or school practice. Nini
is a human between 16 and 35 years old who does not work, does not study, does
not play sports or is unemployed.

“ I'M GOING TO FIND A JOB OR SOON I WILL START STUDY, I'M ON THAT”
22.- PLAYER : “The relationship between two human beings is summarized in a
fight, where someone always loses and someone has to win.” Players have existed
since humans have existed. A player is a man who enjoys playing and
manipulating women with different
seduction techniques to obtain sexual
experiences. This subculture has been
fed through media, advertising and
history. All men are somewhat gamers,
deep down in every player there is
insecurity and self-destruction. Women
are the ones who decide to strengthen or
weaken them.

“ LIFE IS WHAT HAPPENS BETWEEN A WOMAN AND A WOMAN”

23.- PRINCESS : Mixture of a metrosexual from the nineties, a man with a certain
ambiguity about his sexuality and preferences, adding the postmodern situation
with many inverted and almost schizophrenic gender roles.

“ SMILE PRINCESS YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL”

24.- PUNKS: They have a politicized position, based on anarchist ideas of
solidarity, mutual support, self-management, atheism and freedom. They attract
attention with their outfits to transgress the “normal” course of urban life.

“ TOTAL ANARCHY”

25.- ROCKABIILLY: Its center is music, dance, fashion and everything that
happened in the 50s, being rockabilly is the opposite of being a rebel, they don't
drink or smoke or take drugs, they just dance and listen to music.

“ DANCE KITTY OR KITTY!”

26.- SEÑOREXIA: He always wanted to get married and played house from an
early age. They dress very classically and almost always look older than they
actually are. Always speak in plural on behalf of your partner even if he or she is
not present.

“ WE ARE, WE DO AND WE GO. WE HAVE A WEDDING”

27.- SKATERS OR THRASHERS: They

wear long hair, jeans and a white eighties t-
shirt on the trunk, with red sleeves. They like
to skate and are sponsored by brands.

" WE ARE GOING TO SKATE"

28.- WANNABES : Mexico is a country where the wanna be subculture reigns.
Want to be, which means “want to be” in English. Wanna be's imitate fashions,
behaviors, lifestyles and even educational trajectories.

“ I WANT TO BE BUT I CAN'T”

29.- ZOMBIES : Mental disorder characterized by a loss of the feeling of one's own
identity. He is a living dead who is alienated by video games, the Internet or cell
phones.

“ I TEXT, THEREFORE I EXIST”

30.- “Y” OR MILLENIALS : This generation investigates more what they eat,
reads labels, is more pragmatic and is more cared for by their parents. They are
select, for the most part, better planned, selfish. They know they have it all.

“ WHAT DON'T YOU SEE THAT I AM NOT A BRAND?

31.- SUGAR BABY AND SUGAR DADDYS: A sugar baby is a young woman who
seeks agreements with older men to obtain win-win relationships in exchange for
their company, she needs to travel, maintain her lifestyle, travel and live
unforgettable experiences. On the other hand, the sugar daddy is a man with
economic and material resources, he is influential and seeks to keep this
permanent youth very close to himself.

“ HOW DO I GET TO YOU AND CATCH YOU?”

“LIVE TODAY BECAUSE TOMORROW DOESN'T MATTER, HOW DO I FIND

YOU ON INSTAGRAM?”

32.- LUMBERSEXUALES: Drives millions of dollars in transactions for personal

care products such as shampoos, creams and treatments for beard care and ash.
“ MY BEARD IS ME”

33.- RAVERO: It is defined as a festive gathering of house or techno music fans

that is generally held without authorization in a building or outdoors.

“ TELL ME WHAT FESTIVAL YOU LIKE AND I WILL TELL YOU WHO YOU ARE”