Graciela Iturbide Mexican, b. 1942

The term Cholo, originating from Spanish Colonial-era Mexico, was used to describe people of mixed race, Indigenous people, or those of low social status within the caste system. The term was adopted in California by youth following the pachuco traditions of the 1930s and 1940s as an identity label. The cholo style is often characterized by a flannel shirt buttoned at the top, a white T-shirt, pleated trousers, and sometimes a hairnet. Although it originated in California, different cholo subcultures have emerged throughout Mexico. Iturbide documents cholo culture and migrants at the San Diego/Tijuana border, highlighting her subjects’ search for the American Dream and the connections of Mexicans in both Mexico and the United States.