For the past couple of months my friends and family have heard quite a bit about the Coqui. Some have even heard it. I also briefly mention it in my pictures of Puerto Rico. But what is the big deal with the Coqui? Well it has become known as the symbol of Puerto Rico. There is even a saying: "Soy de aquí como el coquí." There are a couple translations to this but it literally translates to, "I am of here (Puerto Rico) like the coqui."
We had been living in our house for about a little over a month and a half without ever catching a glimpse of the infamous coqui. We didn't think we ever would. But the night that I got my coqui tattoo, we saw our first glimpse of one in our kitchen window. We then saw the coqui the next two days in our window. It was a sign. It was accepting me into it's country. My friends like to joke that I'm now a Boricua and I guess the coqui wanted to make it official. We still will see her in our window every once in awhile. She tends to go in spurts. We'll see her a few nights in a row, and then she waits a couple weeks to appear again. I know it's a female because only |
the males sing. I've been doing a lot of research on them since I got here. There are about 700 different kinds of coqui, but only 17 are native to Puerto Rico, and of those 17, 15 are only found in Puerto Rico. There are only 2 kinds that make the famous "co-qui" sound: the Common Coqui and the Forest Coqui. They are known for their web-less toes. There is a legend of raining coqui in El Yunque. My family and I are going there once they visit so maybe I'll see some falling coqui.
But now a more in-depth story behind my tattoo. So I wanted a tattoo to symbolize my time here because it had always been my life's goal to come to Puerto Rico. I still have yet to swim in the bio-luminescent bay but that will be coming. So I wanted a tattoo that symbolized Puerto Rico but wasn't too obvious (like the flag or a picture of the island). The first night we were here, our adviser told us about the coqui. I immediately fell in love with their sound! I don't know how I'm going to be able to sleep once I get back to the states and no longer have them to serenade me to sleep at night. And if you don't know what they sound like, this video will show you: |
I think I'm going to have to listen to a longer, more coqui-filled version once I get back to the states. But back to the story. So not only did I fall in love with the sound, but I started to hear about the coqui and see the Taino symbol for it EVERYWHERE! I guess the coqui is kind of the unofficial symbol of the island. But on the second Saturday in February (which just so happened to also be Valentine's Day), our neighbor, who's also the Dean of Administration, took us to a little market near campus. As we were looking around at everything, we came upon a stand that sold jewelry and key chains. I was
drawn to a necklace with the Puerto Rican flag painted on it with a little symbol drawn over the flag. We weren't quite sure what it was, so we asked the lady that was working the stand. She told us that it was the Taino symbol for the coqui, as she showed us her own tattoo of the little frog that sat on her left shoulder. I bought the necklace and went about looking around the market. After we left and got in the car, I turned to Deidre and whispered, "Is it sad that I really want a coqui tattoo now?" And she responded, "Is it bad that I do too?" So later that day, after we got |
home from the market, Deidre and I drew coquis on ourselves. She put hers on her lower ankle, while mine sat cutely on my wrist. From that moment on, I knew that was what was connecting me to Puerto Rico. I was going to wait until I got home to get it, but I called my dad that night and told him about my idea. He was actually the one that suggested that I get it here in Puerto Rico. I was actually kind of glad that he suggested it because I really didn't want to have to wait until June to get it (now August) and there's a tattoo shop right outside of the gates to campus. So I waited a couple weeks until I knew that I wasn't going to be going to the beach or swimming, and I made the appointment. This is my first really visible tattoo when it comes to the work place, but I wouldn't change it. I do sometimes forget that it's there but then it just makes me smile more. This has been such a wild and crazy adventure and I know that it will only get more interesting from here. And now that I'm staying here for the summer, I will be able to connect with the island, its people, and its wildlife, that much more. Who knows, maybe one day I'll actually be living here for awhile and not just to go to school. I can definitely say that I have fallen in love with this island and its coqui <3
XOXO Ericka
XOXO Ericka