I have two names
By Juan Bautista, written at LEI with Jovenes en Accion, Cleveland Council on World Affairs
I have two names which I’m very happy to possess. My two names are Juan Bautista. The first name is very, very (and when I say very, I mean VERY) common in my country. Although it is not a Spanish name, many people think that it is. My second name Bautista makes a great pair with my first name. It is a biblical name. I’m religious, although it doesn’t mean I have to be…Something funny is that some people think that. I don’t have any religiousness, and I think about that. That would be a funny irony. I don’t have much knowledge about why my parents gave me this name. They only told me that it means “the chosen one.” So, I’ve been waiting for someone to tell me that I must save the world or something like that. Really, I like my name. If I only say the first one, it’s common, but if I say both, it’s not something you hear every day, unless you go to church every day, but I like it a lot.
Juan Bautista
Preparatoria Hermanos Flores Magon
Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico