The term Chicano has been a symbol as a celebration of the older pre-colonial culture of the Aztec, Mayans etc.
Some Hispanics prefer the term Chicano to Hispanic (Not all Mexicans are of Spanish descent-many are indigenous or of other descents), or Latino (Few Mexicans come from areas associated with the Latin language.
Chicano is a term that was used at one time in the USA as a political activist designation but that has spilled over into broader usage.
Among the artists who defined what is known as the Chicano art movement in L.A. is a painter who goes by the name Gronk.
As a Chicano from the Sonoran Desert, keeping tradition alive is a good thing.
There are more men publishing poetry than women in Chicano/Latino literature.
The tide shifts if you look at books of prose, but only slightly, and this other imbalance (more women than men are publishing prose in Chicano/Latino letters) is only more apparent because of the high visibility of a select few Chicana/Latina prose writers.
At the border, and in Chicano culture, the use of "ruca" to mean "old lady" or "chick" is unescapable.
No matter how you view the word Chicano, it is important to realize the history that goes into the word.
Chato had never heard the word Chicano before that minute, but he knew exactly what Tino meant as soon as he said it.