Who is Tleintijinco, Chucalala & Chulumbita?
Well... I am tleintijinco, Chucalala and Chulumbita.Tleintijinco literally means 35. It's a strictly Salvadorean way of speaking where the "s" or "c" sounds are pronounced as a "j" in Spanish or "h" in English. The "tlein" part is "trein" as pronounced by a little kid maybe 4 or 5 years old who have not yet learned to roll his "R's" and is simply unable to say "treinticinco".
I grew up in a small village between the Lempa and the Hacelhuate Rivers near the border between Chalatenango and San Salvador, 45 Km. North of San Salvador. As a young child, I used to be taken to the cane and cotton fields to pick cotton and to work with my uncle in the sugar cane harvest. My uncle, who was around 12 years old was paid every two weeks the amount of 25.00 colones (around $12.00). For my 2 weeks of hard labor, he used to give me 35 cents. I had to protest. So, at my 5 years of age, I complained to him that how can it be that he should only pay me 35 cents. People, as a matter of encouraging me to complain and throw my tantrum, would asked me "Chulumbita (my other nickname) how much does your uncle give you for helping him in the fields?" And I would protest firmly "mi tio jolo tleintijinco me da." ("My uncle only pays me 'tleintijinco' thirty five cents"). And so, I was called "tleintijinco" by some of my uncle's friends and some of my own friends.
Because I was unable to roll my "R's", I also had problems pronouncing the word "churumbita" which is a home made water carrying container made out of a "pelota de morro" which is a large balloon-like fruit resembling a round smooth large coconut, which when made hallow, it can hold water... and because of my inability to roll my "r's", I would pronounce it "chulumbita".
My other nickname, Chucalala ("azucarada"). I am told by a lady about 10 years older than myself that when I was around 2 or 3 years old, I used to cry a lot and hang from my grandma's apron so that she could hold me and carry me. I was raised by my Grandmother. My father was dead and my mother, who was his lover or one of his other women, had me and my sister and she had dropped us at my grandma's. To console me, my grandma used to give me sugar water. So, I used to cry and beg for "chucalala" or sugar water.
Now adays, no one ever calls me "tleintijinco, chucalala, or chulumbita" except for chilldhood friends who are in their fifties and sixties and some even in their seventies. They remember. They still joke about it and remind me "how much did your uncle gave you for working in the fields with him every two weeks?"... and I proudly answer "he used to pay me tleintijinco jentavos." Ofcourse, to this day, I can feel a certain urge to cry and even my eyes get a bit watery when someone utters that nickname from a past that seem almost fantasy by any standards of modern life.
I am Tleintijinco, chucalala and chulumbita all wrapped in one.
posted by Arnulfo Carretero @ 10:58 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home