Most people who use the word have no idea what it means; even those who describe themselves as cholos don’t know what it means.
Years ago, when I was a warhead designer, we went to a local machine shop to get some work done; we were considering buying a Shizuoka milling machine, and they had one, so we went to see how it worked.
The Mexican machinist there described the trousers that our German toolmaker was wearing as “cholo pants”. I asked, “Cholo?”
He replied, “You know: tough guy pants.”
He was surprised to learn that cholo means half-breed: mestizo, as you say.