As an advertising writer, my job usually involves saying a lot in just a few words. Short and sweet. But, despite over a decade of practice, there’s still something I cannot answer in a pithy way.
Where am I from?
Once I tried to give an answer in a tweet and I wrote:
”American raised in Peru by a strong and independent Argentinian woman.”
At first I thought it was a good summary, but the more I read it, the more it sounded like a social experiment from the United Nations. I needed a more appealing response, something other people can relate with. Something more “insightful”.
So I began to tell everyone that I was a:
”Citizen of the world.”
Thankfully that didn’t stick. It was way too cheesy to digest and the Instagram bio of every other travel “influencer”. This wasn’t working at all. I couldn’t find the ideal product name for myself. I even fell for the temptation of making my own words by combining demonyms.
So I came up with the following:
”Gaucholo” - A combination of “Gaucho” (Native Argentinian) and “Cholo” (Native Peruvian from the coast).
”Grindio” - A combination of “Gringo” (Hispanic coloquial way of calling an American) and “Indio” (Native pre-Hispanic American).
No and no. How about some poetry?
My flag is white and red.
My passport is blue.
Maradona was better than Pelé, f*** you.
I give up. Real stories have no shortcut. That’s why a cliff note could never replace a book. But, what a witty choice of words can do for sure is lure you to “read more”.