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I listened to the podcast Hoy Hablamos. The episode was called "Los chonis y las Chanis". They used a word for North African descendants living or born in Spain.

I think it comes from French but I couldn't get the French version of the word either. It seems to be an acronym, initials that can be pronounced as a word.

I couldn't find anything in any dictionary only Magrebi and Beurs. The latter seems to be pejorative.

I know "moros" is an old word also but that is not it either. I can't find the word as I don't know what it is to begin with. I I believe it is new. "Niños de la calle" was also mentioned in the podcast but I'm not sure that was related to North African descent or to the wider subject matter

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  • @RubioRic Y aqui, ningún enlace y no dices nada? Y Daniello no dice nada tampoco?
    – Lambie
    Commented Apr 2 at 15:11
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    @Lambie Spanish nationality does not work that way. Being born in Spain does not automatically make you Spanish. A person is Spanish by birth if they are born to a Spanish parent, or if they are born in Spain to a parent who was also born in Spain. Other cases of people born in Spain must live in Spain for a year and apply for nationality.
    – wimi
    Commented Apr 2 at 20:49
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    Insisto, creo que estás totalmente confundid@. Esto no es una red social, es un sitio de preguntas y respuestas. El problema de tu pregunta ya ha sido por demás aclarado en el sitio correspondiente. No tiene ningún sentido que traigas ese tema frente a los comentarios de la pregunta de otro usuario, esto no hace más que ensuciar la buena convivencia del sitio. Te recomiendo encarecidamente que por favor pases página o en todo caso, resuelvas tus inquietudes donde corresponda.
    – Danielillo
    Commented Apr 3 at 17:38
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    @Lambie.Sorry to hear you got such criticisms online. We are all hear to learn. I feel our questions are languge questions,exactly that! i mean,I couldn't pick the word up in the podcast .It is vocabulary or a new term. There is nothing wrong in knowing what something means,that is why I listen to Spanish podcasts.
    – Bluelion7
    Commented Apr 3 at 19:52
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    The comment is to @Lambie, not you
    – Danielillo
    Commented Apr 3 at 20:00

4 Answers 4

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MDLR

The podcast title is "Los canis y chonis."

In it, you can hear the acronym MDLR (in French mec de la rue) that means "street guy". That phrase was made famous in Spain by the rapper Morad.

El titulo del podcast es "Los canis y chonis".

Dentro de el, se escucha la sigla MDLR (en francès mec de la rue) que significa “chico de la calle”. La expresion fue popularizada en España por el rapero Morad.

enter image description here

Mundo deportivo:

Sea como sea, parece que el postureo ha vuelto a poner de moda 'ser de calle' y es por ello que los MDLR se han convertido prácticamente en una nueva tribu urbana. El prototipo de lo que antes era un 'cani' o 'quillo' es ahora el de 'Mec de la rue'.

Las redes se han llenado en los últimos tiempos de vídeos y memes sobre cayetanos y MDLR, noche y día en cuanto a las apariencias. Mientras el cayetano es el tópico del pijo que viste jersey de cachemir y náuticos, el MDLR es lo opuesto: sudadera y pantalones de chándal. El postureo dice que cuanto más callejero, mejor.

Note #1: MDLR isn't restricted to North-African descendants, it applies to any "street boy" following that new "urban tribe" trend.

Note #2: mec de la rue is not an idiom in French, just a regular phrase. Its acronym MDLR is mostly unknown there while, according to the above article and many other, it is known and used by many young Spanish native speakers in social media. Morad MDLR YouTube clip had 20 millions views. Two years ago, his concert in Barcelona attracted 100k spectators. There is a #mdlr hashtag on twitter. Consequently, your question is absolutely not off-topic, it definitely belongs to the Spanish Language Stack Exchange site, not to mention you heard that acronym in a podcast from a site aimed specifically at Spanish language learners.

[...] diccionario para entender a los jóvenes en 25 expresiones clave
Términos como ‘mdlr’, ‘piquete’, ‘pov’ o ‘red flag’ abundan en redes sociales como TikTok, Instagram o Twitter.
El País, 4 feb. 2023.

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    @jilliagre.Yes,thank you .that is it. Can you tell me if that term is non-offensive? there seems to be controversy. I think it may be safer to just say ,los norte-africanos .
    – Bluelion7
    Commented Apr 3 at 7:58
  • I'm not fluent enough in Spanish to assert its perceived offensiveness there however the fact there is a lot of apparel branded MDLR like the one on the picture above suggests the name might on the opposite have gained a positive image. It would be equivalent to the French pieds-noirs which started to be offensive when it was coined but ceased to be it when it was adopted by the the people named that way.
    – Gavatx
    Commented Apr 3 at 8:39
  • @jilliagre. yes, these terms have a funny way of evolving,being offensive or not.Sometimes it can even depend on individuals. I suppose just using plain nationalities is safer.
    – Bluelion7
    Commented Apr 3 at 9:13
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    I would say jóvenes de origen magrebí or jóvenes de origen norteafricano.
    – Gavatx
    Commented Apr 3 at 9:23
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Maybe what you heard was the acronym MENA that stands for "Menores Extranjeros No Acompañados" - Foreign Non-Accompanied Minors - . It's not used for any North-African immigrant but for the under-aged ones that arrive to the country without their parents. Theoretically it applies to any foreigner but most of them are from Africa.

More info about the term here and here

Note: As Lambie noticed, I missed the part about being born in Spain. MENA does not apply to those, it's not applicable to a second generation.

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  • [email protected] is useful. I don't think it was the term though .I will have to relisten to it but it is difficult to pick up. I think there maybe be an "r" or 2 at the end of it.
    – Bluelion7
    Commented Apr 1 at 11:37
  • @Bluelion7 It's the only acronym that I can think of. By the way, where did you find "beurs"? I haven't heard that one, it doesn't seem Spanish.
    – RubioRic
    Commented Apr 1 at 12:07
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    @Lambie No, I didn't check the podcast. That's why I used "maybe". You can downvote if you think that my answer is not useful or lacks quality. "Magrebí" was already mentioned in the question, it was discarded by OP.
    – RubioRic
    Commented Apr 2 at 15:27
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    @Lambie. Yes, I did scroll down the podcast commentary. It was I who asked him the question after I asked here first. Also, people born in America of Irish parentage often identify themselves as Irish Americans btw. There often are different terms for this. People can identify with different heritage even if they are born in another country.That is why I asked the question. Although,it is clear those they refer to in the podcast are born in North Africa.
    – Bluelion7
    Commented Apr 3 at 7:55
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    MDLR is the right answer as jilliagre says. Thanks to all.
    – Bluelion7
    Commented Apr 3 at 8:04
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MENA

Referidos en el argot técnico como ‘MENA’ (menores extranjeros no acompañados), estamos hablando de chicos y chicas menores de 18 años, migrantes, que se encuentran separados/as de sus padres y que tampoco están bajo el cuidado de ningún otro adulto.

Actualmente, y después de que la generalización del uso de este término (‘MENA’) en la esfera pública haya derivado en la deshumanización primero y la criminalización después de un colectivo en situación de extrema vulnerabilidad, debemos hablar de ellos y ellas como lo que son: niños, niñas y adolescentes que están solos/as y expuestos/as a un grave riesgo de exclusión y de desamparo.

En España, la realidad de los niños y niñas migrantes que se encuentran sin acompañamiento adulto está mayoritariamente asociada a los países del Magreb y, en particular, de Marruecos y Argelia. Sin embargo, también están presentes en nuestro país menores no acompañados que han llegado procedentes del África Subsahariana, Europa del Este y Oriente Medio.

Fuente accem.es

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Please note: There is no such thing as a North African born in Spain. Once born in Spain, you are Spanish.There is only a term for ones living in Spain. Podcast: Los canis y los chonis

Comentarios Siobhán dice

1 abril, 2024 a las 9:51 pm

Hola Paco y Roy,

Cuál es la palabra para los norte-africanos que viven en Espana? Gracias

Respuesta de Roy:

Roi - Hoy Hablamos dice

2 abril, 2024 a las 11:00 am

Hola, a veces se usa la palabra «magrebí», «magrebíes» en plural.

Saludos, Roi

moro has a host of meanings, it's in the RAE, and includes a racist one in certain contexts.

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  • Esta merece por lejos ser la respuesta correcta. Una vez se nace en un país, se es de ese país (ius soli). La mentalidad europea es más atrasada y castista: tu nacionalidad la determina tu sangre (ius sanguinis). Aguante América, guacho
    – tac
    Commented Jun 16 at 15:26
  • @tac Daniellilo dice que estoy totalmente confundida. Y sigue con una lección de moral. Como dicen en México: ¡Ay caray! :)
    – Lambie
    Commented Jun 16 at 15:36
  • El problema que tengo con el OP es que está confundiendo el hecho de nacer en un lugar con el hecho de ser inmigrante; tampoco se aclara nada en ninguna de las respuestas. Son cosas distintas, de ahí a que nada de lo que dijeron tiene sentido para mí.
    – tac
    Commented Jun 16 at 15:41
  • Además, en ningún lugar dice que ese supuesto término (mec de la rue) se aplica exclusivamente a los inmigrantes africanos. Todo mal.
    – tac
    Commented Jun 16 at 15:57
  • Claro. mec de la rue es un callejero. :) No se aplica por nada en si a los inmigrantes, africanos u otros. Buen domingo. :)
    – Lambie
    Commented Jun 16 at 17:19

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