Meaning
Chotis is a slow partnered dance and its music, strongly identified with Madrid and especially with San Isidro and the city's traditional verbenas.
How it is used
The RAE explicitly labels chotis as typical of Madrid. Madrid municipal cultural material describes it as the Madrid dance par excellence and explains the familiar local style in which the couple turns in a very small space to organillo music.
Examples
- “En la plaza estaban bailando un chotis.”
- “Durante San Isidro hay clases abiertas de chotis.”
Pronunciation
/ˈtʃotis/ · CHOH-tees
Tone and register
Celebratory, traditional, and strongly place-linked; it can evoke heritage, neighborhood festivals, zarzuela, and older popular-Madrid imagery without implying that every resident dances it.
Visitor guidance
Visitors can identify chotis as a Madrid cultural form without assuming it is the city's everyday music or that festival dress and dance represent all contemporary Madrileños.
Cultural context
Chotis is one of the clearest words in the Madrid pack where dictionary meaning and civic identity coincide. It remains visible at San Isidro and summer verbenas and is often paired with chulapo/chulapa dress and organillo accompaniment.
Places represented
Open the reviewed place guide for each regional sense carried by this canonical entry.