DLyons (asker) Feb 17, 2013:

@all. Thanks! "Manteca" seems like a possible source. I'm not entirely convinced it's the only one though, because it's also used very locally in el Estado de Guerrero (but not the rest of Mexico) where there is a lot of Nahuatl influence.

ENEIDA GARCIA VILLANUEVA FHEA MCIL IAPTI Feb 17, 2013:

Have a look at previous discussions in ProZ http://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish_to_english/general_convers...

Lydia De Jorge Feb 17, 2013:

In Puerto Rico From the term 'manteca' which is another street name for heroin.

Taña Dalglish Feb 17, 2013:

Puerto Rican possibly?
http://books.google.com.jm/books?id=09NEuGHh2R8C&pg=PA125&lp...
see page 126 tecato/tecata 1- heroin addict, morphine addict 3. heavy user of marijuana (also spelled tecate)/a junkie.

http://www.bnowhere.com/2013_02_01_archive.html
As always, of course, everything is done the **“Tecato” way (Tecato is a Puerto Rican word for drug addict that is also used to describe things of low quality or low production value, cheap)**, trying to make something beautiful and fun in the cheapest, crappiest way we can, doing everything ourselves.

claudia16 (X) Feb 17, 2013:

tecato heroin addict The following is a list of Chicano slang words and expressions, known as Caló, also spelled "Calo" and "Kalo" by modern Chicano youth. It does not list words and expressions of the language of the Spanish Roma people, which is also called Caló, except where these have been incorporated into Chicano Caló. Nor does it list Mexican slang words and expressions unless they have originated in Pachuco Caló or have been incorporated into it with altered meaning. A few words can be traced to the Nahuatl language of the Mexicas (Aztecs).
These expressions vary by neighborhood. For example, the expression: 'chafa' (low quality) can be heard as 'chafaldrana', 'chafoso', or 'chafarrafa'.

The use of some "classic" pachuco slang words from the 1930s and 40s has survived while others have not.

http://www.translationdirectory.com/dictionaries/dictionary0...

Filippe Vasconcellos de Freitas Guimarães Feb 17, 2013:

One possibility Teca= from the Cuban slang word for heroin, "manteca" (lard)
http://www.thefullwiki.org/Examples_of_typical_Puerto_Rican_...