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I'm enamored with a musical group called Ariel Camacho y Los Plebes del Rancho. My take on the name was that "Los Plebes del Rancho" was literally "the plebians of the ranch" and thus they were ranch-hands (cowboys) or some such.

However, google translate translates "Los Plebes" as "the plebs", translate.com provides "the plebes", and a bilingual friend of mine thinks "los plebes" are "young guys."

So which is it - what persona are they conveying with the name "Los Plebes del Rancho"?

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6 Answers 6

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It is a colloquial way to say niños (i.e. "boys") in Mexico, Colombia, etc.

Curious that the word is officially feminine in gender.

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  • So it is basically "cowboys" then, right (boys of the ranch)? Jul 24, 2015 at 17:41
  • I haven't heard it in Colombia to refer to niños. Jul 24, 2015 at 19:02
  • Are you confusing it with pibe? Apr 21, 2017 at 9:07
  • Agree with @SergioVelásquez this is wrong for Colombia. In Colombia plebe means exactly as the RAE states = "Clase social baja" dle.rae.es/srv/fetch?id=TO5Tg3q but it is an uncommon word.
    – DGaleano
    Apr 21, 2017 at 14:14
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    when you say "los plebes" is for both boys and girls, but when you say "la plebe" is refering to "the people"
    – Mike
    Sep 2, 2019 at 3:01
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It is worth mentioning that "Plebe" is an abbreviation of the word "Plebeyos" referring to a class of ancient Rome, which did not come from large families that founded Rome. It's like saying "the people" (La Plebe), sometimes used in a derogatory manner.

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    Yes, I think it's similar to the English (Latin?) word plebian, which is kind of like one from "the unwashed masses" or a paeon or such. Jul 28, 2015 at 19:10
  • The answer from Alejandra Rivera is absolutely correct, but adding some for these purposes the meaning is not derogatory, in fact it is exactly the opposite, people who are within that social class use these terms as something to be proud of. Apr 24, 2017 at 18:23
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En Sinaloa y Sonora (México) se llama "plebes" a la gente joven, desde niños hasta la adolescencia.

In Sinaloa and Sonora (Mexico), "plebes" is young people, boys, girls, and teenagers.

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I'm Sinaloense. "Los Plebes" can mean a group of kids or also like referring to your friends. "Rancho" is of course a farm or ranch but also in Sinaloa we commonly refer to small towns and communities as "Ranchos" so long story short...

"Los Plebes Del Rancho" means something like "The Small Town Boys"

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Para el diccionario formal español de la RAE, plebe(s) es:

plebe
Del lat. plebs, plebis.
1. f. Clase social más baja.
2. f. En la antigua Roma, clase social que carecía de los privilegios de los patricios.
3. f. En el pasado, clase social común, fuera de los nobles, eclesiásticos y militares.

Los "Plebes del Rancho" se podría decir "Los pobres del Rancho".

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On the border, I have heard it being used sort of "a dude", or like.

Ese es "puro plebe" (not high ranking).

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