Required Reading for Cultural Understanding

By -
Several years ago, I sat in the court room as my husband took the oath as a new American citizen. Just prior to taking that oath, he had been told that he could change his name to anything he wanted. There was mention of dropping one of his two last names. But, as he told me later, "I just kept thinking of my mom. How could I just eliminate her from my name?" So, the change he decided to make was to place a hyphen between his two surnames.

With this in mind and fresh off yesterday's discussion, I have an assignment of "required reading" for my readers. While I do not intend to change any American tradition, I do think that it offers a valuable perspective for understanding the feeling that many Latinos have about their two last names. I recommend it for anyone wishing to better understand this unique tradition.

The book itself is written by a man from El Salvador -- René Colato Laínez. The name of the book is René Has Two Last Names.


In the book, you learn to understand and appreciate why young René, a new immigrant to the United States from El Salvador, doesn't want to be called just René Colato, but rather René Colato Laínez.

If you can't find it at your local library, it can be purchased here:

*************Rare Personal Moment to Follow*******************

Just a side note, my children do lug around with them TWO LAST NAMES -- thank heaven for hyphens, computers can't handle it otherwise. They don't even seem bothered with it and now even my Kindergartener knows how to write them both. I know it's not right for everyone, but I think even my dad (and I know you are reading this), though he was initially resistant, is secretly thrilled that as a father of all girls he actually has 2 grandsons that carry his last name. (You know you love it DAD!)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Popular Colombian Names

By -
Recently, I was asked to write a post on Colombian names, and popular Colombian names. I had a hard time finding a list, but eventually I did find one. According to I.N.E. - Instituto Nacional de Estadística, -- unfortunately, when I found this it doesn't say the year -- the most common Colombian boys names across all ages are: 1 JUAN CARLOS 2 CARLOS ALBERTO 3 ALEXANDER 4 ANDRES FELIPE 5 LUIS FERNANDO 6 DIEGO FERNANDO 7 JHON JAIRO 8 CARLOS ANDRES 9 ALEJANDRO 10 JUAN DAVID The girls are: 1 SANDRA MILENA 2 LUZ MARINA 3 CAROLINA 4 PAULA ANDREA 5 CLAUDIA PATRICIA 6 MARIA EUGENIA 7 PAOLA ANDREA 8 DANIELA 9 LILIANA 10 MARTHA CECILIA Just as here, names go through ebb and flow. Fourteen years ago when we were married, I attended several baby baptisms and met numerous friends of my husband. At the time, it seemed like everyone was naming their kid Juan CAMILO (boy) or Maria CAMILA (girl). I met dozens of them. Then, about 7 years later, I heard tons of SANTIAGO, JULIAN, SEBASTIAN and FE
Read more

Muisca Indigenous Names, from Hunza (Tunja)

By -
In response to this week’s posts on names, I have received several e-mails asking about the names of famous Colombians and their stories and about Indigenous names. I plan to spend the next three days sharing some of them. Also, I will continue to post more in the future and you will be able to find them all by clicking on the NAMES link the LABELS section to the right of the blog. Name: AQUIMÍN ( pronounced: ah key MEAN) or AQUIMINZAQUE (pronounced: ah key mean ZAH kay) When the Spanish arrived on the plains of Bogotá, 1536, they found a great nation. In fact, it was the third largest group of indigenous inhabitants in America. They called themselves the Muiscas , which meant ‘the people’. Their language was called Chibcha . The Muiscas were not a united group, but rather a collection of city states. The majority of the power was held by two main cities – what today are called Bogotá and Tunja (in Boyacá). These two cities were mortal enemies and each enlisted the loy
Read more

La Madremonte

By -
Image
The myth of the Madremonte (Mother Mountain), and I do say myth though many campesinos in Colombia believe in her today, has it's roots in the indigenous cultures of Colombia and is known throughout much of Colombia including Antioquia, Caldas, Arauca, Caqueta, Amazonas, Guainia, and perhaps more departments. The Madremonte looks like a large woman. She has large, bony hands, large teeth and Betty Davis Eyes -- which on closer examination glow. Her body is covered in leaves and moss. Her hair is a tangled mess of plants and moss which often covers her face. She lives in the mountains and jungles, (in Antioquia and Caldas she lives in swamps where streams are born. People who claim to have seen her, usually report to have done so near thickets and bushes in jungle like areas. Others report having heard her bloodcurdling screams and groans on stormy nights. She rules the winds, the rains, and all the vegetation, and her role is to protect nature. She punishes those who invad
Read more