| Sumario: | This article studies the link between social class and language in the work of the Uruguayan singer-songwriter Chito de Mello, born in Rivera, on the Uruguayan border with Brazil. The treatment of social class follows David Block’s model of categories and dimensions to discuss the way in which social class differences are represented in De Mello’s lyrics, and how that representation is articulated with the local language repertoire, particularly in reference to the so-called Portuñol. The language ideological work that Chito de Mello builds to link Portuñol with the dominated classes shows this variety as a disputed resource in contemporary Riverense society.
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