Hispanic cultural practice - I just learned something!

[Anonymous]

I live in a heavily hispanic area, and I've always wondered why parents tend to cover their kids so heavily, even when it's not cold out. Well I learned something today! Aparently it is tradition to hide babies to protect them from evil eye curses. I love it when my random curiosities are answered.

From a WP article today about hispanic teen mothers: "When Angela takes 9-month-old Kimberly out for a stroll, she is careful to conceal her under a blanket to prevent strangers from putting "el ojo," the Central American version of the evil eye curse, on her."

[Anonymous]

evil eye curses??? what's that?

[Anonymous]

lol

[Anonymous]

I learned that, too, from that same article. I always assumed it was because they were extra careful about the babies catching cold.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:lol

Why are you laughing?

[Anonymous]

Is this why I always see blankets over the stroller?

[Anonymous]

Talk about racist. I'm hispanic, I've never heard of this evil eye thing. Give me a break. It's a bunch of BS made up by the ignorant person who wrote the article.

They bundle up their babies because that is what a bunch of parents do, not matter their ethnicity.

[Anonymous]

I meant "no matter their ethnicity".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Talk about racist. I'm hispanic, I've never heard of this evil eye thing. Give me a break. It's a bunch of BS made up by the ignorant person who wrote the article.

They bundle up their babies because that is what a bunch of parents do, not matter their ethnicity.

It's not just bundling up the baby - it is physically covering the entire stroller with a blanket so that nothing of the baby is seen. I have noticed this many times in the area where I work (Tysons) and have wondered about it. And I am an ESOL teacher in a high school and many of my students have told me about "the evil eye" in their countries (mostly from Central America).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Talk about racist. I'm hispanic, I've never heard of this evil eye thing. Give me a break. It's a bunch of BS made up by the ignorant person who wrote the article.

They bundle up their babies because that is what a bunch of parents do, not matter their ethnicity.

Perhaps you aren't from Central America, where the subjects of the story were from, and where many of our DC hispanics are from. To call someone else racist because of your own ignorance is kind of dispicable.

[Anonymous]

Wow! Has anyone read the comments? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/community/groups/index.html?plckForumPage=ForumDiscussion&plckDiscussionId=Cat:a70e3396-6663-4a8d-ba19-e44939d3c44fForum:24dd3e45-d5af-46c4-ab36-fd93fbed59dbDiscussion:20d57f7c-df54-4c7a-809c-592db266fe82&plckCurrentPage=0

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Talk about racist. I'm hispanic, I've never heard of this evil eye thing. Give me a break. It's a bunch of BS made up by the ignorant person who wrote the article.

They bundle up their babies because that is what a bunch of parents do, not matter their ethnicity.

Why is it racist to talk about something that is done by a particular culture?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Talk about racist. I'm hispanic, I've never heard of this evil eye thing. Give me a break. It's a bunch of BS made up by the ignorant person who wrote the article.

They bundle up their babies because that is what a bunch of parents do, not matter their ethnicity.

Why is it racist to talk about something that is done by a particular culture?

I don't think that was racist, but I have to chime in that "covering the stroller so they don't catch the 'evil eye'" is not done by Hispanics, more likely by ignorant Hispanics. Ignorant, uneducated people come from all cultures and races.

[Anonymous]

I'm the OP. My only point was that I often see people in my neighborhood, almost always hispanic, who have their baby totally covered, either in a stroller or a baby-carrier. I wondered why they did it. I learned from the WP today that it's a central American cultural tradition. I never stopped any of the baby-covering parents to ask what their highest level of education completed was, so I can't speak to 14:12's point. I have on occasion tsk-tsk'd to myself, thinking that the poor baby must be sweltering in there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Talk about racist. I'm hispanic, I've never heard of this evil eye thing. Give me a break. It's a bunch of BS made up by the ignorant person who wrote the article.

They bundle up their babies because that is what a bunch of parents do, not matter their ethnicity.

Why is it racist to talk about something that is done by a particular culture?

I don't think that was racist, but I have to chime in that "covering the stroller so they don't catch the 'evil eye'" is not done by Hispanics, more likely by ignorant Hispanics. Ignorant, uneducated people come from all cultures and races.

But they don't all cover the stroller.