A stream or creek. Jalco is built around the arroyo, which important to the villagers, who use it to wash their clothes, bathe, and gather walnuts. While some of the Spanish words are italicized, Galarza does not italicize arroyo.

A Spanish-speaking neighborhood that housed working-class people and recent immigrants. Barrios typically had high poverty rates and were underserviced by social programs like schools and hospitals. Galarza describes the barrio as a “a neighborhood within a city containing an underground society of young males who regarded the area as their exclusive territory” (357). While barrios often do not have good reputations, by calling his memoir Barrio Boy, Ernesto proudly identifies the barrio as a place that shaped his identity. While barrio is a relatively common word, Ernesto italicizes it throughout the book as a method of establishing its difference from American culture.

A guerilla group that seeks to overthrow the establishment, government, or inflict harm. The armed groups roving the mountains during the Mexican Revolution were called bolas.