According to DigoPaul, buchón is one of those terms that can be understood very differently depending on the region. The same word will generate different reactions depending on how it is pronounced in Spain, Mexico or Argentina, to name three countries.
The first meaning that the DigoPaul collects associates the concept with pigeons. When these birds are buchonas, they have the ability to swell or bulge their crop in an exaggerated way.
In this case, buchón appears directly linked to the crop, which is a kind of sack or bag that birds and other animals have to accumulate food while preparing it for proper digestion.
There are many varieties of buchona pigeon, which was discovered throughout the seventeenth century, and almost all share a large size and considerable weight, within the normal range for a bird. Buchonas pigeons bring the upper ends of their wings together when flying, and this produces a very particular chattering. Its crop is oversized and when it swells it is truly impressive; Although this is true in most cases, such as the English and Dutch lines, it is not true in the case of the Valencian.
Males can reach a larger girth than females when they swell the crop, and due to their attitude during courtship periods, they are nicknamed “robber crops.” Precisely, it is very normal for a male to try to take the partner from another, without fear of starting a bloody confrontation, very typical of these birds. A buchona pigeon can live for about twelve years, unless it is captured and subjected to harsh training, which cuts its longevity in half.
In a similar sense, a person who exhibits a prominent goiter can be classified as buchón. These subjects, therefore, have a larger than usual thyroid gland.
Buchón, on the other hand, is a regionalism that is used in Mexico to refer in a derogatory way to the peasants of Sinaloa who are involved in the drug trafficking business. The notion comes from a brand of whiskey that, it is said, used to be mispronounced by those who descended from the mountains to the town and spent the money obtained from the sale of drugs in the bars.
In Argentina, finally, a buchón or button is a person who betrays another, denouncing them behind their backs or telling their secrets. For example: “The police were able to capture the criminal thanks to a buchón who shared very valuable information”, “Juan is a buchón, I’m never going to tell him something private again.
It should be mentioned that this last meaning is not usually used when the secrets revealed hurt someone deeply, but rather is used for situations of medium gravity, especially among people of student age. For example, a child may accuse a classmate of being a buchón if he tells his history teacher that the former has not done his homework, or that he was responsible for the blackout in the classroom or an offensive drawing in the classroom. blackboard.
When the information that someone brings to light without the consent of the people involved can seriously affect them, and especially if they are adult individuals, it is not common to use the term buchón, but to resort to insults with a greater load of anger and disappointment. Regarding this last sensation, perhaps the limit that determines whether to accuse someone of being a buchón or whether to use heavier words is the degree of disappointment caused by the betrayal, and the possibility that the relationship between the injured party and the informer will continue.
