Órale is a common

interjection An interjection is a word or expression that occurs as an utterance on its own and expresses a spontaneous feeling, situation or reaction. It is a diverse category, with many different types, such as exclamations ''(ouch!'', ''wow!''), curses (''da ...

Mexican Spanish Mexican Spanish () is the variety of dialects and sociolects of the Spanish language spoken in Mexico and its bordering regions. Mexico has the largest number of Spanish speakers, more than double any other country in the world. Spanish is spo ...

slang. It is also commonly used in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as an exclamation expressing approval or encouragement. The term has varying connotations, including an affirmation that something is impressive, an agreement with a statement (akin to "okay"), or to signify distress. The word's origin is from the adverb "ahora", shortened to "ora", with the added suffix ''“-le”'',Academia.org
e.g. ''“ ándale”'' and ''“épale”''.

In media and pop culture

*As a greeting, the word is used by

Cheech Marin Richard Anthony "Cheech" Marin (born July 13, 1946) is an American comedian and actor. He gained recognition as part of the comedy act Cheech & Chong during the 1970s and early 1980s with Tommy Chong, and as Don Johnson's partner, Insp. Joe Dom ...

in his 1987 film'' Born in East L.A.'' in the phrase ''"Órale vato, ¡wassápenin!"'', meaning "All right, man! What's happening?", a popular phrase used by

Mexican Americans Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

who have taken the gitano word '' vato'' from northern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

slang A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...

to mean "

man A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...

". *Used as a slang term by

Edward James Olmos Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Detective List of Blade Runner (franchise) characters#Gaff, Gaff in ''Blade Runner'' (1982) and its sequel ''Blade Runner 2049'' (2017), Lieuten ...

in the 1988 American drama film, '' Stand and Deliver''. *The phrase was popularized in

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

(as a de facto catch-phrase) by

Konnan Charles Ashenoff (born Carlos Santiago Espada Moises; January 6, 1964),''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'', Dave Meltzer, ed., May 10, 2010, issue.Sims, Steve"Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame/Founded by Dave Meltzer - Konnan". Accessed August 1, 2016. On ...

and later

Eddie Guerrero Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures in WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and World Championship Wrestling ...

. *''Óoorale!'' is the name of a popular Mexican gossip magazine, known for its pornographic content and forged photographs. *

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

's 1996 album ''

Odelay ''Odelay'' is the fifth studio album by American musician Beck, released on June 18, 1996, by DGC Records. The album featured several successful singles, including " Where It's At", " Devils Haircut", and " The New Pollution", and peaked at num ...

'' uses a phonetic English rendering of ''"órale"'' as its title. *Stand-up comedian

Gabriel Iglesias Gabriel Jesús Iglesias (born July 15, 1976) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He has produced a number of stand-up specials for television outlets such as Comedy Central and Netflix, including ''I'm Not Fat… I'm Fluffy'', and ''Ho ...

uses the term frequently, referring to his Mexican heritage. *The term is used often in the 1992 film '' American Me''. *The term is used in the 1993 film ''

Blood In Blood Out ''Blood In Blood Out'' (also known as ''Bound by Honor'' and ''Blood In Blood Out: Bound By Honor'') is a 1993 American epic crime drama film directed by Taylor Hackford, from a screenplay co-written by Jimmy Santiago Baca and Floyd Mutrux. ...

''. *The term is used frequently in the Broadway musical

Zoot Suit A zoot suit (occasionally spelled zuit suit) is a men's Suit (clothing), suit with high-waisted, wide-legged, tight-cuffed, wikt:pegged pants, pegged trousers, and a long coat with wide lapels and wide padded shoulders. It is most notable for its ...

, and its 1981

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

. *The term is used in the 1998 video game ''

Grim Fandango ''Grim Fandango'' is a 1998 adventure game directed by Tim Schafer and developed and published by LucasArts for Microsoft Windows. It is the first adventure game by LucasArts to use 3D computer graphics overlaid on pre-rendered static backgro ...

''. *The term is used in the 2013 video game ''

Guacamelee! ''Guacamelee!'' is a Metroidvania action platforming video game developed and published by DrinkBox Studios, initially launched in April 2013 for platforms PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita and was later ported to Windows in August and to OS ...

''. *''Órale'' is the name of the

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

-nominated 7th album by

Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea The Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea is an all-female mariachi band based in Los Angeles, California. The band was founded in 1999 by Cindy Shea. In 2009, they became the first all-female mariachi band ever to be nominated for a Grammy Award, and the ...

. *In

George Lopez George Edward Lopez (born April 23, 1961) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is most known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom '' George Lopez''. His stand-up comedy examines race and ethnic relations, including Mexican ...

's eponymous ABC sitcom which originally aired from 2002 to 2007, his titular character shouts ''"Órale!"'' in many situations. *In the FX original series ''

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'', ''"órale"'' is frequently said by the Byz Lats during conversation. *In the AMC original series ''

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'', ''"órale"'' is frequently said by Tuco Salamanca. *In the FX series ''

Snowfall Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

'', the term “órale” is used repeatedly by Mexican drug trafficker Gustavo Zapata. *In the Netflix series '' Queen of the South'', the term “órale” is frequently used by Pote Galvez, a Mexican cartel soldier and trusted friend of Teresa Mendoza. *In the 2022 video game '' Modern Warfare II'', Alejandro Vargas, the leader of a group with the Fuerzas Especiales (Mexican Special Forces) uses the term "órale" often when talking to and commanding his team. *Title of a song by El Vez, the Mexican Elvis *Used by the character Bob the Mexican in

The Hateful Eight ''The Hateful Eight'' is a 2015 American western thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demián Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, and Bruce De ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orale Culture of Mexico Mexican Spanish Spanish words and phrases Mexican-American culture