Pandora's Other Box

There are times, usually after a posting featuring my friend from Hialeah, when I get emails and I am asked point blank … “Where did you meet Cheíto?” … “Why do you make fun of his accent?” … “He seems such a nice guy.” So, I thought it was time to present my friend Cheíto to you.  ( By the way, Cheo is a nickname which goes with the proper name “José” (Joseph) a fairly common name in Latin America and Cheíto is an affectionate diminutive ) The first of those questions is one I have asked myself many a time, and the one I will try to answer somewhere in this posting. As for his accent? Well, that is the way Cheíto speaks. Anything else would simply not be him. It’s not making fun; it’s his reality. I also have a deep respect for Cheíto and many others like him ( and her, for he is both ), who always manage to fight adversity while being a good provider and family man.   And, yes … he is a very nice guy indeed. So, when did I meet Cheíto? I would have to go back so...

It has been a long while since my friend Cheito showed his smiling face. I have to say he was missed but, with all that has been going on, the call to him ( knowing this call would be a long one…) kept being put away to later … I guess he guessed this much, for the first thing he said when I picked up the phone ( yes, I saw the ID, but couldn’t bring myself to ignore him ) was: -“Yo man, juat’s goin’on?”… “Yu don’t like me no more, or juat?” If you don’t know Cheíto, he’s a simple, solid guy. Raised in the streets of Cuba and then in their counterparts of Hialeah, where he, Cachita ( his wife ) and Felicita ( his now 17 year old princess ) live. When they first came to the US via a small boat, they managed to get into an “effishens” ( efficiency apartment ) built into the garage of a relative’s house. These “apartments” are usually built without the blessing of the city’s building authority or its codes, and outside the vigilance of any of its inspectors. Their quality wa...