To the Band of Brothers: February 23, 2022

Cubans are notorious for doing something oftentimes annoying. I know because I’m Cuban (actually, made in America but with Cuban parts). The phenomenon occurred in my house often enough. I would hear it, especially from my grandmother and mother, but even on some occasions from my father and uncles. For some reason, there is an incessant need to add the “ito” suffix to everything. Just like the need of adding salt to any meal without having even tried the food or the need to prepare oneself for a Dolphin loss the day before a game, there is a need to “ito-ize” every noun.

For those of you who don’t know, the “ito” suffix is used as the diminutive of anything. For Cubans, there is no such thing as a “perro” (dog), only “perrito.” The animal could weigh 300 pounds and resemble a small horse, but he will still be a “perrito.” For Cubans, there is no such thing as a “casa” (house), only “casita.” They can live on a 37-acre plot of land in Gables by the Sea and have more square footage than Monaco and still refer to their home as a “casita.” I don’t know about you, but where I’m from, that's not a “casita,” that’s a “casona.”

Let me give you an example of a typical conversation between two Cubans (more specifically, two Cuban mothers):

“El muchachito se comió un pedacito de pan y un poquito de leche.”
“El pobrecito. ¿Solito con eso en la barriguita se tuvo que ir a la camita?”

 

I want to be sure to include here the translation so you can understand what the problem is:

“The little kid ate a little piece of bread and a little bit of milk.”
“Poor little one. With that little bit in his little stomach he had to go to his little bed.”

I don’t think that anyone speaks like this in English. If they did, anyone hearing the conversation would think that the speakers were from Lilliput and were living in tiny houses, shopping in tiny grocery stores. They would ask if their house (“casona”) had just fallen from the sky and were suddenly surrounded by munchkins. They would swear they were no longer in Kansas. And they wouldn’t be. They would be in Cuba or at least in Miami at a Cuban’s home.

Personally, I have no problem with the diminutive. I’ve heard it my whole life. But there is one word that is oftentimes expressed with the “ito” that I can’t stand. The word is “pobrecito” (little-poor-one). I hear the word spoken occasionally at Belen, mostly by parents who refer to their son as “pobrecito.” The word is often said with the word “pero” (but) before it. Let me give you an example…

Belen: “Mr. and Mrs. So and So, your son was caught cheating on the history test.”
Mr. or Mrs. So and So: “He shouldn’t have cheated, ‘pero el pobrecito’ he had so much homework he probably panicked.”

I don’t like it and I think it’s my father’s fault. While at home my parents used the diminutive of a lot of words, “pobrecito” was not one of them. It is a word used to describe the individual who has no control over a situation or is deprived of things and therefore cannot be expected to give or do much. Expectations for those who are “pobrecito” have to necessarily be lowered because of their bad luck or unfortunate circumstances.

I am convinced my parents didn’t allow the word because it undermined their vocation of forming me to be a responsible, conscientious young man. My siblings and I had parents who loved us, a roof over our heads, and food on our plates. We studied in the best Catholic educational institutions Miami had to offer and were given every opportunity to succeed. There were definitely no “pobrecitos” in my house. And to refer to any one of us as “pobrecito” would have been an insult not to us, but to our parents.

That being said, I would like to officially launch the “No Pobrecito” campaign at Belen. While Breast Cancer Awareness and the Red Ribbon campaign only last one week, this crusade will be year-round. We will raise awareness of the evils of this word and fight tirelessly until it is stricken from the Belen vocabulary. We shall battle until the word is no longer issued from the mouths of parents, faculty, or administration. And we shall triumph… “que los angelitos nos ayuden.”

Auspice Maria