Pinolero
A Nicaraguan — the affectionate self-name, taken from pinol, the toasted maize drink the country runs on.
Related lesson: Nicaraguan Spanish: A Survival Guide.
Hear it in context
Soy puro pinolero, nicaragüense por gracia de Dios.
I'm pure pinolero, Nicaraguan by the grace of God.
Los pinoleros somos así: tranquilos hasta que nos buscan.
That's how we Nicaraguans are: calm until someone comes looking.
En esa fonda cocinan bien pinolero, con nacatamal y todo.
That little place cooks properly Nicaraguan — nacatamal and everything.
What It Actually Means
Pinolero is what a Nicaraguan calls a Nicaraguan when the moment calls for a bit of warmth: the same job nica does, but with the national drink baked into the word. It works as a noun (los pinoleros) and as an adjective (una fiesta bien pinolera), and the feminine pinolera is used exactly as often.
Where It Comes From
From pinol — Nahuat pinolli, “toasted, ground maize” — and its sweeter relative pinolillo, maize toasted with cacao and spices, whisked with water or milk and drunk cold. Pinol is pre-Hispanic and is drunk from Mexico to Honduras, but nowhere else did a country decide it was a description of the population. Nicaraguans drink it at breakfast, at wakes and at fiestas, and the word for the drinker became the word for the nationality.
How Natives Use It
Proudly, and usually in the first person: somos pinoleros, soy pinolera. It is the register of songs, sports commentary, restaurant names and anyone abroad explaining where they come from — a shade more sentimental than nica, which is simply what you are, and several shades warmer than nicaragüense, which is what your documents say. It also stretches to things: música pinolera, sazón pinolera.
Common Pitfall
Don’t mistake it for slang you are entitled to use casually about others. Coming from a Nicaraguan it is affection; coming from a visitor it can read as doing an impression, particularly if you attempt the accompanying line from the song. And keep the drinks straight while you are at it: pinol is the plain toasted maize, pinolillo the one with cacao in it, and neither is a coffee however much the colour suggests otherwise.