History Main / MachoLatino

A tendency for overtly masculine, aggressively manly men to hail from and be embraced by UsefulNotes/LatinAmerica and by Latinos and Hispanics in the USA [[note]]Puerto Rico is part of the USA, it, Florida, southern Mississippi and Alabama, and the whole southwestern third of the USA, including all of California, Utah, Arizona, Texas, Nevada, and New Mexico (duh), Oklahoma's panhandle, southern and western Colorado, even the southwestern parts of Kansas and Wyoming, were part of the Spanish Empire (New Spain), and that whole southwestern third was part of Mexico.[[/note]] and Belize [[note]]This is the Anglophone country in Central America that borders Guatemala and the one other than the USA that borders Mexico. Belize also was formerly called British Honduras.[[/note]], this regional variant of the MachoMachoMan has a special place in the hearts of Spanish and Portuguese [[note]]Brazil is a lusophone, or Portuguese-speaking country, so Brazilians would be non-Hispanic Latinos[[/note]] speakers. It should -- they invented the word machismo. Strong, fierce men are culturally revered, from great generals to ''[[MaskedLuchador luchadores]]''. Perhaps not unrelated, per Wiki/TheOtherWiki, the Nahuatl word ''macho'' means "one who is worthy of imitation", despite being etymologically unrelated. The roots of Latin macho and machismo run deep.

* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'' has the Pillar Men, a group of 7 foot tall, extremely muscular and powerful ancient Aztec vampires who enjoy making poses when they aren't busy slaughtering their opponents.

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* The culture of knife-fighting in UsefulNotes/{{Peru}} and elsewhere in South America has a healthy dose of this trope.
* Subverted: As much as Mexico is known for its machismo, Mexico's culture is also highly matriarchal in nature.
** The combination of words "tu" and "madre" (your mother) is cacophonous and taken offensively by spanish-speakers, regardless of age or gender. If you must use it, remember to replace it with "su (senora) madre" at formal situations or the sweeter "tu mama" at informal ones.
** To insult a person's mother (known as "mentarle la madre") is a Latin American cultural BerserkButton.
** It is usually the mothers and grandmothers who wield a ''chancla'' (flip-flop, slipper, or house shoe) as the signature weapon of choice.
* The popularity of [[BeastlyBloodsports bullfighting]] in Spain and other Hispanic countries is related to this trope, since a one-on-one fight with a large and dangerous animal is seen as extremely manly.
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* ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'': Joaquin is obsessed with his manliness, and as a child he hopes he'll grow a BadassMustache. Manolo, meanwhile, is shunned by his father for [[ARealManIsAKiller not being manly enough to slay a bull]].

** The ''Film/{{Machete}}'' films star the titular Federale (whose name [[WhoNamesTheirKidDude really is Machete]]) as an indestructible ActionHero with a BadassMustache and a lot of knives. His actor, Creator/DannyTrejo, is often {{typecast|ing}} in these sorts of roles, and here, he played it to the hilt. He had [[EarlyBirdCameo previously shown up]] in the ''Film/SpyKids'' films, where he wound up in {{Badbutt}} mode due to the PG rating and family audience, but here, he was able to show precisely where he got his reputation from.

** It is usually the mothers and grandmothers who wield a ''chancla' (flip-flop, slipper, or house shoe) as the signature weapon of choice.

** It is usually the mothers and grandmothers who wield a chancla as the signature weapon of choice.

* The Puerto Rican-Jewish J of ''Literature/IAmJ'' is obsessed with masculinity, which is troubling because [[{{Transgender}} most still see him as a teenage girl]]. J [[CulturalRebel mocks himself]] for doing something as "un-Puerto Rican" and "wimpy" seeming as hanging around a Manhattan Starbucks.

** To insult a person's mother is a Mexican cultural BerserkButton.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'': In the campfire scenarios involving Micah Bell, when Javier Escuella (who is from Mexico) kicks Micah Bell, the latter insults him for the way he kicks by saying, "You kick like a girl. He also seems less manly than the other men in Dutch's gang.

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** Columbian drug lord Ricardo Diaz also qualifies, although he has more of a HairTriggerTemper.

** His "Mexico Trilogy" of ''Film/ElMariachi'', ''Film/{{Desperado}}'', and ''Film/OnceUponATimeInMexico'' feature both [[NoNameGiven the titular mariachi]], a musician who gets dragged into the criminal underworld, and the various bad guys he faces off against, including the gangster he is mistaken for. Rodriguez intended ''El Mariachi'' specifically as an AffectionateParody of low-budget Mexican action movies, but since very few of those movies were ever shown in the US, the joke flew over the heads of American audiences and they embraced the mariachi as a straightforward example of this trope.

* The ''Film/{{Machete}}'' films star the titular Federale (whose name really is Machete) as an indestructible ActionHero with a BadassMustache (played by Creator/DannyTrejo) and a lot of knives.

* A villainous example from ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe2''. Gru describes "El Macho", a Latino supervillain, as hypermasculine in every way possible, down to the way he died (though Gru suspects the death was faked, because they never found the body, only a pile of singed chest hair). [[spoiler:He is right about that.]]

This trope is, of course, RatedMForManly, and can result in TestosteronePoisoning if not monitored. Part of NationalStereotypes, and found in LatinLand, {{Spexico}}, and beyond. Despite the name this could just as easily apply to a macho Filipino [[note]]The Philippines, although in Southeastern Asia, has close cultural ties with Mexico, both of which were settled by Spain.[[/note]], a macho Chicano (A native-born citizen of the USA with a Mexican heritage), a macho Puerto Rican, a macho [[{{Mayincatec}} Amerindian]] or other ethnicity (Hispanic or not, be they white, black, or Asian, not just mestizo) from Mexico or other Latin American country, or a native of mother Spain or Portugal. May sport one of the MagnificentMoustachesOfMexico, but is just as likely to go clean-shaven or wear a neatly-trimmed goatee.

''Es macho, es muy macho, es muy más macho!''

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* A villainous example from ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe2''. Gru describes ''El Macho'', a Latino supervillain, as hypermasculine in every way possible, down to the way he died (though Gru suspects the death was faked, because they never found the body, only a pile of singed chest hair). [[spoiler: He is right about that.]]

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[[folder: Literature]]

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--> "Quien es mas macho? Fernando Lamas, o Creator/RicardoMontalban?"
* A common stereotype used in {{Telenovela}}s where usually the male lead is a macho latino, even in the main image of that page appears two men that fit this trope. Some specific examples of this:

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* ''WesternAnimation/FairlyOddparents'': Juandissimo is a macho male Latino fairy who loves showing off his muscles.

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''Es macho, es muy macho, es muy mas macho!''

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'', Archer has to act as TheHoneypot and seduce a Cuban man. When his CampGay twink act completely fails to do the act, his two CampGay coaches inform him that he may have to [[BestHerToBedHer out-macho the Cuban]], as Latinos are all about machismo.