Slang dictionary
Rico Suave
or rico suave
What does Rico Suave mean?
Rico Suave is a generic name and stereotype for a smooth, flashy Latino lover.
Where does Rico Suave come from?
Rico Suave, which could roughly translate from Spanish as 鈥渞ich and smooth,鈥� first gained widespread popularity in the US in 1991 with the release of Gerardo Mej铆a鈥檚 wildly popular Spanish-English rap song, 鈥�Rico Suave.鈥� The lyrics describe a smooth-talking Latino womanizer, which is possibly the source of the character archetype it spawned. Because the song was on his debut album and told a story in the first person, Rico Suave also became a nickname for Mej铆a himself.
鈥�Rico Suave鈥� peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, and Mej铆a has confirmed in subsequent interviews that he did live the lifestyle described in the song as he toured all over the world. While it鈥檚 difficult to say whether the Rico Suave archetype predated the song or if it was wholly invented by the singer, Mej铆a definitely popularized the term.
Though the song is now considered a one-hit wonder, the character of Rico Suave persists in the public consciousness. Rico Suave first appeared on Urban Dictionary in 2002, and spiked in 2014 when Gerardo Mej铆a鈥檚 reality TV show, 鈥淪uave Says,鈥� was released on VH1.
Examples of Rico Suave
@ Moorea Beach Club At Mandalay Bay鈥�
Who uses Rico Suave?
Rico Suave tends to be used as the name of a stereotypical Latino ladies鈥� man who is very charming but cocky, often depicted as wearing gold jewelry, with flowing or greased hair, and long, unbuttoned shirts over a muscular torso.
People tend to use the term as a way to refer to Latin men they think fit that profile (e.g. 鈥淐heck out Rico Suave over there鈥�). It鈥檚 important to stress here that Rico Suave is a stereotype, and is considered offensive by many, including the Latino community, who widely criticized Gerardo Mej铆a for perpetuating such a caricature.
Less commonly, Rico Suave is still used as an alternate name to refer to Gerardo, himself.
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of Rico Suave like most terms we define on 亚洲网紅露点, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of Rico Suave that will help our users expand their word mastery.