The term chévere has multiple uses that vary according to each region. In some countries, chévere is an adjective used to describe what is excellent, pleasant or pretty.
For example: “Have you really won the first prize? Cool!” , “This place is really cool”, “We had a great time at my uncles’ house”.
Cool can also be someone who is tolerant, accommodating, considerate or pious: “My boss is cool: I’ve worked with him for two years and I’ve never seen him angry”, “Last year’s teacher was cool, but the current one isn’t”, “What happened to you, Joel? Before you were cool ”.
The idea of chévere, in short, is used in different contexts and with different nuances. A person can respond that he is “cool” when another subject asks how he is. If someone wants to emphasize the positive of something or someone, they can use the term cool: “This is a cool gift! Thank you very much for remembering my birthday ”.
The concept, on the other hand, appears in the denomination of various products and works. There are radio stations in Venezuela, Peru and El Salvador are called Chévere. In Argentina, there is the Chévere brewery. El Chévere, on the other hand, is a restaurant in New Jersey (United States).
Chévere Estudio, Chévere Fitness & Eventos, Mérida Chévere, Club Salseando Chévere … As you can see, a large number of businesses carry this word in their name that always has a positive connotation. By evoking pleasant or happy questions, its use multiplies in brands, companies, businesses, etc.
This term falls into the category of those who sneak into many countries through the media and allow some people to access a small portion of another culture, even if they cannot fully understand it. In the parts of Latin America where “cool” is not used, they know this word and can understand its basic meaning, since they have heard it countless times in soap operas and movies, in addition to having read it in many of the great works of the literature of the continent.
In Spain, for example, many people born in the decades before the 1980’s became familiar with this term through a song by Gaby, Fofó and Miliki in whose verses it was repeated as a happy sound that helped accentuate the rhythm. These three artists were the creators of the company known as Los Payasos de la Tele, which continued with the family heritage, dating back to the 19th century. Many of his songs reached children and adults in various parts of the world, and were etched in their memory forever, such as El auto de papa, La gallina turuleca and Hola, don Pepito.
Broadly speaking, if we look for a neutral language, we can say that some of the synonyms for the term “cool” are “great, terrific, perfect, precious and divine”, among others. When we are positively surprised with a news or a gift, when we know a place that we love or after experiencing a very pleasant situation, we usually appeal to these and other qualifications so that others know that we feel very good, very comfortable.
In each language, in each culture, there are meeting points when it comes to expressing ourselves that show us how little importance walls have. This also happens between different species, since we share needs, sensations and feelings with many of our terrestrial companions. When we feel happy or satisfied it is natural to try to share our time with other living beings, to enhance our well-being and spread it. Whether or not we use the word “cool,” the feelings it evokes are common to all people and animals.
