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My name is (insert name here), but everyone calls me . . .

April 16, 2008 By Marta Darby 12 Comments

Another fabulous post brought to you by: Amy (who would like people to start calling her by her new Cuban nickname: Kikita)

During one of my many adventures with Tio Timbiriche and Luza (my abuela), one of them was commenting on the clutter in my room (I think it’s artistic – but that’s not important right now) and they called this clutter a "timbiriche."  I’ve heard them use the word in a few other contexts that did not involve my Tio, so I had to wonder . . .

  • What does "Timbiriche" mean?
  • Why do we call him "Tio Timbiriche?"

According to my Spanish Dictionary, a "timbiriche" is a noun for a "small store."  Not to be confused with a "bodega" which is more of a grocery store.

At this point, I have no idea how ANY of the translations or explanations I’ve heard could be used to describe my Tio.  I was forced to ask for a further explanation on the name.

It seems, it all started with a guy named Pancho Acuña.  Timbiriche’s GRANDMOTHER took Acuña into her home and raised him as a son. (No, I didn’t ask why)  He grew up as a brother to Tio’s father.  So Acuña was like a Tio to my Tio.  (are you following all this?)

Anyway, when each of the 5 children were born, Acuña gave each of them a nickname and Timbiriche was the one that fell to my Tio and it stuck.  (Luza’s nickname was Muluchote, but it didn’t stick and she now uses it for my brother Adam)

There’s more . . . it seems Timbiriche was not the only nickname my Tio had.  For a long, long time people called him "El Chino."  I’m sure that has something to do with his eyes, but I spent a long time thinking Tio Timbiriche’s real name was Chino (it’s really Gerardo – I swear it’s as bad as a hip-hop star like Puff Daddy, I mean P. Diddy, I mean . . . AY CARAMBA).

P4136365_timbi_luza_1

This is not the first time I’ve run into this phenomenon. 

"My name is Jose, but they call me Pepe."

"My name is Fulano, but they call me Hachi."

"My name is Maria, but they call me Cachita."

Luza says that Cubans pick their baby’s nickname before they pick the real name . . .

In blatant defiance of this Cuban law, Mami chose a name she thought was impossible to turn into a nickname and she did well.  Many have tried to give me a nickname, but usually all they come up with is "Aim."  Which is . . . let’s be honest . . . Lame.  🙂

So, as I continue to get in touch with my Cuban self, I have decided I need a "hard-core" Cuban sounding nickname . . .

You know the galletas "Kika"?  Well, I thought that "Kika" was cute . . . and the first person I told my idea to said "Kikita" sounded better. 

And now . . . I’ve taken to introducing myself Cuban-style:

"Me llamo Amy, pero me dicen Kikita."

("My name is Amy, but they call me Kikita.")

Fast forward to this afternoon:  Mami overheard me saying, " . . . and they don’t call me Kikita for nothing!"

and then she muttered (loud enough for me to hear) "They DON’T call you Kikita . . . for Nothing!"

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Filed Under: Cuban-American Life, My Big, Fat, Cuban Family, Silly Things Tagged With: Amy (Kikita)’s Posts, Amy Kikita Hohneker, Amy's Posts

Previous Post: « A Day Without My Cafecito . . .
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Melek says

    April 16, 2008 at 6:23 am

    Kikita,Thanks for another wonderful post!! To bestow “apodos” is for sure a genetic Cuban trait! LOL!!! I have my share … just like, regardless of actual age … we still use the diminutive when referring to others … my aunts are in their 70s and 80s and they remain “las muchachitas” … so when in conversation we talk about Teresita, … she could easily be a 70 yrs. old “chiquitica” … 😉
    I wish you well 🙂 Melek
    “For years, copying other people, I tried to know myself. From within, I couldn’t decide what to do. Unable to see, I heard my name being called. Then I walked outside.”~ Rumi

    Reply
  2. Nathan says

    April 16, 2008 at 9:34 am

    LOL. Thats funny. I really don’t have a nickname well kinda of.My dad has my name and my name “Nathan” and my granmdma (his mother) calles him “Naisy” cuz she cant pronounce Nathan well in english and she hates how it sounds in spanish.
    Then me Im a “junior” (Jr.( and then she say’s “Juñio” to me or simply “Mijito” all the the time LOL. she was the tendency to change words to her liking.
    The funniest thing I’ve ever heard is how she say’s “Window Wipers” in english.
    she calls them, “wincho wipos”
    (pronounced- win-cho why-pos)

    Reply
  3. La Ventanita says

    April 16, 2008 at 10:39 am

    No one really calls me anything :(Papi used to call me various nicknames, but it wasn’t a family thing. The only nickname I’ve ever heard are variations on my name – you know the usual diminutivos.

    Reply
  4. Ody from Miami Lakes says

    April 16, 2008 at 11:31 am

    My mom used to call me Magdalena when I was small because of a little girl in our block in Cuba called Magdalena that was very mischievous.;-) LOL!!!!! My grandmother always had trouble remembering all her grandchildren’s names, so when she wanted tospeak to me, she began by saying, “Maritza, Marcy, Vivian…umm Odalys.” Obviously, I knew she knew who I was, but I liked watching her
    go through the ritual of reciting all our names every time. LOL!!!! 😉 Now I find myself doing the same thing with my girls. LOL!!!! But as the Darby women would say, “That’s not important right now!!!!” 😉 My grandfather however, called me “Venado” (deer). He said I was as hyper as a venado. Everyone always called me Odalys, until we started attending our church ten years ago. Most American folks find it hard to say Odalys, (with the right Spanish pronunciation), they would pronounce it, O’Dallas (as in Texas), so they started calling me Ody, as in Odie, Garfield’s dog. LOL!!!!! Okay….I’m sorry, I digress from Kikita’s main point. 😉 No…I don’t have a nick name. But I know a few Nena’s, Monga’s and Pucha’s. 🙂 LOL!!!!

    Reply
  5. Kikita says

    April 16, 2008 at 1:43 pm

    You have all made me feel so much better about not having an “apodo.” It’s nice to know I’m not alone . . .Melek, I hear you on the diminutive thing . . . I know some older “itas” too!
    Nathan, “Wincho Wipo” has me cracking up! One of my cousins named his son “Quinton” (because he’s the 5th great grandchild), and Luza says his name “Key-toh.”
    Ventanita, because my abuelo (who we all called Papi) had so many daughters and granddaughters, he called us all “China.” Sorry you don’t have an official apodo, but you’ll always be Ventanita to me . . . 🙂
    Ody, that happens to Mami too . . . usually when she’s upset with one of us. She starts running through the names and will even say, “No, who are you?” And, truthfully, Mami has a nickname for all of us, but she only uses them when no-one is around, so they’ve never caught on. Besides, “Mimi” sounds too French for me anyway. 🙂

    Reply
  6. class-factotum says

    April 16, 2008 at 1:44 pm

    It took me a long time to get used to the Chilean custom of giving nicknames based physical attributes: Pancho, El Peladito, El Negrito, La Gordita. Chileans are very straightforward about such things. I was not complimented the day one of my co-workers asked, “You’ve gained some weight, haven’t you?” (I was “La Gringa” or “La Guerita” back then.)

    Reply
  7. Ody from Miami Lakes says

    April 16, 2008 at 3:26 pm

    Kikita,Funny you should mentioned the apodo “Mimi”. All my Anglo friends find it so amusing that we call ANY female, Mimi. They say it’s a Latin thing. I say we are very friendly and right away give apodos to strangers. 😉 You can be in a restaurant and the waitress will come to your table and you’ll say something like, “Mimi, I would like the vaca frita con arroz blanco and maduros.” Then my friends will ask me, do you know her? LOL!!!! 😉
    Our first born is named Carice. You pronounce it Careese. We call her Careesy at times or koo koo. Our younger daughter, her name is Chelsey and we sometimes call her Cheltz. In fact, we did that so much the first month she was born that we had to stop or else she would go around life answering peoples question, “What is Cheltz short for?” 😉 We also spelled it with the (sey) at the end so that the Cuban grandmothers didn’t pronounce it Chelse(ah). Not understanding the French pronunciation of the (ea) sounding like (ee). since I didn’t have an apodo, I guess it skipped a generation in our family. LOL!!!! Thank you for letting me write in again.

    Reply
  8. Cubania in Colorado says

    April 17, 2008 at 1:58 pm

    Kikita, this is a hilarious post; every day you are getting closer and closer to you Cuban side. For me, let me tell you that my name is Mailyn, pero me dicen Miriam Maria, and mami sometimes used to call me Lulú.My son’s name is Nicolás but I call him Papichulo, Pirulete o Pirulo, and his abuela siempre le dice “Venao”.
    When my husband picked up our dog in a truck in a farm in Sterling (really close to the end of the world), he was told her name was Sweet-Eyes. But us, Cubans speakers of Inglés con Barreras, decided we should shorten it to “Sweetie” in order to not embarras ourselves in public. And I don’t even remember when that Sweetie became “Kiki” or, you’ve guess it, “Kika”.
    Oh! and we have a quaker parrot whose name is “Coty”, but, since she is a plucker, we all call her (or him) “Tiñosa Ripiá”.
    I guess it’s in the Cuban genes.

    Reply
  9. Ody from Miami Lakes says

    April 17, 2008 at 3:05 pm

    Cubanita,Glad to hear I’m not the only only one that was
    called “venao” from a grandparent. LOL!!!! Now
    I don’t feel so bad. 😉

    Reply
  10. Billy says

    April 23, 2008 at 3:41 pm

    Kikita. I like it. Yo me llamo Guillermo, pero me dicen Billy (pronounced “Beeely”), or Billy Boy, or Bilito, or Pachico…I could go on.

    Reply
  11. Evie says

    April 8, 2010 at 9:27 pm

    I am una cubanita en Colorado tambien, pero yo soy cubanita por “vacuna”.Anyway,My son’s name is Scott,but my suegra Virginia could never pronounce it, since there is no “sc” in Espanol. Pues, she said,when he was born, “cono, porque le pusiste un nombre que no podemos pronunciar!” So, my son is 38 and the whole family calls him any other name,like: Oscar, Oscarito, Rolandito (his father was Rolando). To me mami says “el nino”, as in, “como esta el nino?” El nino has 4 children now!. My suegra’s sister is Maruca (Maria). We used to call people we didn’t know their name “Fulana/Fulano”. My BFF (Eloisa)can not stand when Americanos pronounce her name EloWeeza instead of Elo-i-sa.

    Reply
  12. Evie says

    April 8, 2010 at 9:49 pm

    When I got married to a Cuban in 1969 Iwas not used to the customs of calling people things like Flacco, Negro, Gorda etc. I was skinny when I got engaged, but had gained weight 6 months later when we saw some relatives who called me Gordita. Boy did I cry a lot. Then they explained to me that it was a compliment because it meant my husband was keeping me happy.

    Reply

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