Tecato Gusano' , it means "some kind of interior psychic worm that cannot be sated or killed.".. in other words one never kills their addiction, but merely finds a way to keep it asleep... - Tony Tedesco
The Chicano heroin addict or " tecato " belongs to a subculture that profoundly influences addict behavior and personality. Life-
history interviews with a subsample of 18 Southern
California ex- tecatos who were abstinent from
2.3 to 24.5 years revealed that tecatos employ the metaphor of an indestructable junkie worm or " tecato gusano " living in their vicera to explain heroin relapse, and abstinence in a manner essentially consistent with learning theories of opioid addiction. The
study showed that
ex- tecatos use a variety of coping mechanisms for maintaining abstinence and for avoiding "dangerous situations" which could trigger heroin craving and relapse. The research also revealed that being an
ex- tecato does not necessarily imply living a crime free or nondeviant lifestyle, and that the process of working out of addiction involves
two complementary social adjustment processes termed (a) extrication (from the tecato subculture) and (b) accommodation (to
square society). Suggestions for utilizing these findings for treatment intervention purposes are offered. - J S Jorquez