Street names
Many of the kids on the streets and in the shelters have nicknames, usually given to them by someone else. It’s one of those things that’s hard to translate, but as I was talking to a friend from the US about it, I thought I’d try to share a few of the ones I’ve heard over the years.
A lot of them are animal names: Cat, Dog, Rat, Seal, Cockroach, Little Rooster, Monkey, Mosquito, Little Gorilla.
Others refer to (often unfortunate) physical characteristics: Shorty, Bug-eyes, Chubby-cheeks, Potato-forehead, Big-nose, Fat Girl, Lame Girl, Dwarf, Little Guy (for an extremely tall kid), Fat Guy, Old Lady (for a kid who had lost a bunch of teeth), Cross-eyes, Big-lips, Frog-belly, Beet-head, Dirty-face, Bangs, Little Potato (for a tiny kid), Midget, Stinky-feet. Snot-face.
Some are names of celebrities or TV characters, often because of a physical resemblance: Salserin (a boy band), Chuck Norris, Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, Smurf, Gremlin, Teletubby, Chucky.
Nationalities are common, too. Argentine, Spaniard, Peruvian, Colombian, Gringo, Chinese…all for Ecuadorian kids.
Some nicknames refer to stuff kids do or have done: Correcional (the name of the juvenile detention center) for a kid who was a frequent visitor. Booger-eater. Thumb-sucker. Cat-killer. Actually, the oldest of three brothers was known as Big Cat-killer. His younger brothers, also on the streets, had never harmed a feline but due to a strong family resemblance were known as Medium Cat-killer and Little Cat-killer. The youngest found his nickname very distressing.
Finally the random names: My Blood. The Martian. Dead Man. Little Blue. Hammer. Bogeyman.
I’ve even been given a few of my own over the years. La Hello…for the way I would enthusiastically greet my English class, and Megamaxi, the name of the local supermarket chain.
Anyhow, that’s today’s peek at the streets of Guayaquil.