How to Say "Hillbilly" in Spanish

paleto

/paˈleto/

The English phrase "hillbilly" is translated into Spanish as paleto.

Meaning: white person from the rural southern United States (noun)

Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?

The term paleto is colloquial and can be used pejoratively to describe someone as unsophisticated or from a remote area.

The noun paleto changes its ending to paleta to refer to a female hillbilly.

/paˈleto/

The term paleto is derived from paleta, which refers to a small spade or paddle.
If you use the term paleto in Latin America, the meaning shifts away from geography and toward personality. Instead of meaning someone from the mountains, it often describes a person who is 'naive' or 'clueless' about how the world works.
Unlike 'hillbilly', which refers to a specific US subculture, paleto is used for anyone from a village regardless of whether there are mountains nearby.

El pueblo es tranquilo, pero a veces pareciera que solo viven pueblerinos.
The town is peaceful, but sometimes it seems like only hicks live there.
Ese hombre es un paleto de los Apalaches.
That man is a hillbilly from the Appalachians.
En las películas, el paleto siempre vive en el bosque.
In movies, the hillbilly always lives in the forest.
No me gusta cómo retratan al paleto en esa serie.
I don't like how they portray the hillbilly in that series.

Alejandro and Lucía are discussing a movie they just watched.

Alejandro

¿Viste cómo trataban al paleto en la película?
Did you see how they treated the hillbilly in the movie?
Lucía

Sí, fue un personaje muy gracioso, Alejandro.
Yes, he was a very funny character, Alejandro.
Alejandro

Creo que el paleto era un poco rudo.
I think the hillbilly was a bit rough.
Lucía

Tal vez, pero le encantaba su vida en la montaña.
Maybe, but he loved his life in the mountains.

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