Flaite

I used to tell people, in complete jest, that I'd grow up to be a gangsta. To deny the cultural significance of gangstaism in the United States is to ignore an American U.S. reality. In Chile, my experience has been revitalized by my exposure to, and growing interest in, flaite culture. It arrived on my radar, almost providentially, when I needed it most. Urban Dictionary, the most relevant reference source in the modern world, defines the term thusly:

Flaite: a young male from the outskirts of big cities, like Santiago de Chile, dressed provocatively, aggresively and always "a la mode" (only that his fashion is van Diesel, Cromagnon-inspired) and whose language is always pre-cognitive and inherently obscene even when he tries to camouflage it like that of a normal human being.

His trousers are usually in imitation of the addidas - or other well-known brand - tracksuit, and with slippers imitation-nike and every single piece of clothing of highly doubtful legal origin (except perhaps, for the greasy, "elephant's condom" wollen cap,

The haircut is in the "small chamber pot" style and everything about him looks unenviably proto- (or post) delinquent.

Flaites are born-breeders and almost always end up by siring some poor baby that soon would become the substance which the malnutrition units in public hospitals are made of.

Indubitably humorous.

Under the tutelage of a few good men and women (linked picture to come), I've learned some puro flaite. Truthfully, insulting a person in Chile is a far more aesthetic endeavor than in the U.S. Check out my Facebook [nsfw] wall for a few examples of the grosería that are redound to show you the kind of verve you can find in Chilean flaitismo.