Chisme: An Ancestral Language

Latino USA | Apr 22, 2022

When Elisa Baena and Monica Morales-García first met on their first day as Latino USA fellows, they realized they were speaking a shared language — an ancestral tongue. They were chismeando!

Chisme is the Spanish word for gossip. It happens when you speak about someone in their absence, sharing information that’s supposed to be private and not necessarily factual.

In this episode of Latino USA, Elisa and Monica travel deep into a chismosa’s universe. They talk to professional chismosas from reality TV, entertainment news and academia to understand why chisme is so central in the lives of Latinas and Latinos.

WNYC Homepage - Top Stories

Why single domestic violence survivors can't get shelter in NYC despite empty beds

The History Wars and America at 250, with the Historian Jill Lepore

What Péter Magyar's Election in Hungary Says About 'Strongmen' Today

Mayor Mamdani says he's balanced NYC's budget

How they handle crises in Brownsville, often without police

YOU ARE ONLINE