Every now and then, I’ll share something that we Cubans are used to doing because it’s been so ingrained into our culture and lives – see 8 Rules to Getting Your House Cuban Clean®.
Or I’ll casually mention a thing we do that appears superstitious to the untrained observer – see 10 Cuban Superstitions That Helped You Survive. It takes me a beat to realize that I sound like a crazy person. Except when I’m talking to other Cubans. Not only do they nod in recognition, they will share their own stories of the things their abuelas subjected them to.
You know our youngest grandson, Sebastian was born 2 months ago. I’d like to share him with you today. He’s Amy’s firstborn and is already embracing his Inner Cubanazo.
He’s absolutely delicious.
A super mild-tempered baby that sleeps well and smiles and coos a lot.
Our nickname for him is “Bash,” but I still call him Sebastian because isn’t that a beautiful, regal name?
I had this fitted crib sheet custom made from the lovely Woolf With Me site. Isn’t it fabulous? My vision is to photograph him in his crib every month for the first year of his life. Our talented photographer friend, Dan Shalaby has been kind enough to go along with my crazy and I’m super grateful.
But I’d like to point your attention to the little gold identification bracelet the boy is wearing. Jewelry on babies? Yes. It’s a Cuban Thing.
I still have the Virgen de la Caridad medal that I was baptized with and never took off for the first 15 years of my life. Don’t even get me started on wearing the azabache!
That’s the first thing we pinned on this boy before bringing him home, because he’s so beautiful. No evil eye for us, thankyouverymuch.
I was delighted that our friends at Santayana Jewelers sent our grandson his first “manilla.” Loosely translates to ID bracelet. Because Cuban babies, not only need an azabache – read why here – they obviously also need a gold ID bracelet. (And a little wolf to watch over them, but that’s not important right now.)
When Amy was a mere one month old, I had her ears pierced and she wore her first pair of diamond earrings as a sweet baby. I had no idea this was difficult for people to understand. But Cubans? We’ve got no problem with that. “Why did you wait a whole month?”
I feel like we’re just helping our Cuban kids embrace their culture and ROCK that Cuban Baby Bling while they’re doing it. Oh, the Cubanity!
If you’re interested in a ‘manilla’ for a Cuban baby in your life, please contactSantayana Jewelers. Tell them Marta sent you.
Also, this is not a sponsored post. This is me, telling you that Santayana knows Cubans. And that I’m super proud of my little Cubanazo and his bling.
Before you know it, he’ll be wearing white pants and shouting, “Dale!”
Help! I think I’m the only Cubana in Schererville, Indiana.
In either case, I found your site looking over Cuban recipes because I’m having friends over tomorrow and just wanted to refresh my memory on a couple of things. Cuban sandwiches were requested by my friend’s son, but I have to cook lechon today to make them tomorrow. Just not in the mood. The neighborhood kids grew up at my house ( 4 were my own) and we started a tradition of Cuban Sandwiches on Halloween after the trick or treating. These kids are now men, finishing college- they still ask for them, now with Cuba Libres or Mojitos. No one here had ever had a Cuban sandwich before that. Soooo sad! I’m going to make Arroz con Pollo, but now I’m dying for Maduros. Even if I find plantains, I’ll be lucky to get them black by tomorrow! I’ll think of something else. Either way, thank you for your site, I enjoyed it very much. I’ll be looking again.
I had my ears pierced in the OR as I was a C-section baby in el Vedado in 1959. Papi was a surgeon, the OB was a good friend, so he just said, Hey, it’s a girl, want me to pierce her ears? Claro! Bam, diamond studs. We had to leave those studs behind, but somehow we got them back a few years later in a “diplomatic bag” when we were already in Chicago. Go figure.
My first granddaughter is already 10 months old, and my daughter is going to get her ears pierced soon. The Piercing Pagoda (or whatever) wouldn’t do it when she was really small. I have a good mind to take an ice cube and suture (I grew up to be an MD too, of course, and my brother, and my cousin…). I could just do it in the kitchen, like Mami had her’s done in Havana. I’ve graduated to getting botox done in the kitchen by my hermanito, so why not. I also like the Agua de Violeta in your picture- nice touch! I was practically baptized in that stuff.
Any short cuts for Cuban Food that can be made by someone who has little access to actual Cuban Food is very appreciated. I get my bijol on line, and i even have it stocked in our house in Greece. I actually run into more Cubans on that little Greek island of Hydra, where we have our house, than I do here in Indiana. We’re all so damned happy to find each other!
Thank you again, and enjoy that family!
Virginia Albear Thomas
I’m cubana, so yes, of course I literally had my ears pierced in the hospital after being born. I don’t have a time that I remember pre-little gold hoops. I think for a while I literally didn’t know you had to get ur ears pierced, like I thought everyone had earring holes naturally and earrings where invented to decorate that thing that already existed. So it was probably the most stark culture shock of my life when I was in elementary school and all of my white American friends started having hour long conversations about whining that their parent won’t let them pierce their ear, or that their parents said they can do it at 10 or 13, or that their parent was gonna let them do it for their birthday. I would just sit there thinking “what in the fresh hell is this” every time. I clearly remember trying to get them to explain to me why they couldn’t pierce their ears many times. Like it was so so so weird!!! I was like “your parents don’t want ur ear pierced (o_o) ?!?!? Mine did it before I was even self aware?!?” And my friends would always say how lucky I was and how jealous they where but it was always just inate to me.
I’m American, but grew up in Miami, in the 70’s. Accustomed to all things Cuban…..just the way I grew up. Fast forward, I had a baby girl and thought nothing of piercing her ears, to me this was “normal”. I eventually moved to New England, and I have to say, the reaction to her pierced ears here in the North was surprising. Many other parents said, “oh how can you do that?”…..she’s not old enough…..she should have a choice in this……..many would stare with disapproving looks……made me feel like I did something terrible or against the law. I would explain, that I grew up in Miami and most female babies and little girls have pierced ears. It’s amazing how different the points of view are from one section of the country to another.
Also when we first moved here, my daughter was used to kissing the teachers hello as she did in Miami, but when she tried to do that to her American teacher here in MA, the teacher stopped her and said, no no no, we don’t do that here…..we shake hands. I felt kind of sad about that.