In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 to October 15 each year, many have taken to social media to shed light on their Latino family backgrounds, cultures, and traditions. One TikToker who is white and married to a Latina recently explained the differences between a "gringo," aka regular family tree, and a Latino family tree — and we couldn't agree with him more!
The TikToker, @elgringo_sabe, provided a Spanish lesson for his followers using infographics on how extensive Latino family trees can be. His wife, who is of Bolivian descent, also chimed in by responding to a comment about non-blood relatives becoming part of the family.
"Idk if it's just our family but we also adopt people who aren't family into our family," one user wrote. "And then the circle just becomes bigger."
Sounds about right!
The user shared how a gringo family tree would look.
Gringo is a term used by Latinos to describe someone or a group of people who are considered foreigners not of Latino or Hispanic descent. At the beginning of the video, the TikTok user held up one of the infographics to explain the simplicity of gringo family trees.
At the top, "you have your grandparents, your parents, your aunts and uncles who have kids who are your cousins, cousins have kids, who is your second cousin," he shared in the clip. He then pointed to the right of the graph to the siblings who have kids who are the nieces and nephews in the family.
The gringo family tree lasted for a bit more than 43 seconds before he got into the Latino family infographic, which became even more hectic. Ay, Dios mío!
Latino family trees are 10 times bigger than an average family tree.
Because I was born into a mixed Latino family, I can say it's a lot of fun yet also very confusing — especially if you have relatives you've never met. Totally understand where he's coming from!
The TikToker's Latino family tree includes relatives extending far beyond the bloodline. "Let's explore this together," he said as his wife laughed in the background.
"Starting up at the top, is the grandparents — grandpa and grandpa. And then shooting across each side, you have the great-aunts and great uncles — which are your grandparents' siblings," he said while pointing to the handmade infographic. And if you know every one of the great-aunts and uncles by name, you are considered the MVP of the family.
When moving to the center of the graph, he pointed out where his wife is on the family tree. "You have your parents here, and then you, your brother, your brother's kids — the nieces and nephews."
He then moved to the left, showing her tías and tíos (aunt and uncles) and their children, the primos y primas (cousins) in the family.
After explaining the basics of the family tree, the TikToker shifted the conversation to those who are not blood relatives but still considered family. "Keep in mind, the question from before — non-blood relatives are also blood relatives in the Latino family tree," he said.
"Your mom's best friend, your tía and my tía. You have the godparents, a friend from church that tells us to call her tía. And we must not forget our neighbors," to which his wife interjected and said, "only the neighbors we like," as they laughed.
TikTok users shared their thoughts about his informative lesson on family trees.
The video has amassed more than 50.4k likes, 2,323 comments and 10.5k shares. TikTok users took to the comment section in droves to share their thoughts on both family trees.
"You’re missing the extended family from fathers and uncles love affairs ," one user wrote. "He’s your cousins, cousin, whos married to tia Julia who’s your grandmas best friends daughter, you don’t remember them? You met them age 10" another user wrote.
"In our family reunions, anyone in your age range or younger is your 'primo' and anyone older is your 'tia/tio.' Helps keep confusion down!" one commenter explained.
"Lol adding to it: if uncle and Tia separated and have kids with other ppl we still consider them as family " another user added.
Other users from Asian, Arab, and Black backgrounds also pointed out that the Latino family tree is very similar to their family trees.
Having a big Latino family tree means continously learning your roots.
As an Afro Latina, I can relate to the TikToker's breakdown on Latino family trees. Even though many Latinos may know almost every relative in their family, others are still discovering their roots.
Learning about your family history is an ongoing journey filled with new information waiting to be discovered. Though many of my relatives have died, I have decided to do my own research and learn more about my Puerto Rican and Dominican roots. Hispanic Heritage Month is a great way for Latinos and non-Latinos to learn about their cultures and other cultures as well. Keep those fun family trees coming.
Vámonos!
