Taky la Penguinita

I happened to pick up a children’s story that was translated into Spanish about Tacky the Penguin, translated as Taky la Penguita.  Taky’s friends were Amable, Correcto, Perfecto (friendly, correct and perfect), while Taky was . . . tacky.  He had on a Hawaiian shirt.  His friends were more demure, and he was flamboyant.  When others politely said “Hola,” his greetings were much louder.  Taky was repeatedly referred to as an odd bird, which in Spanish is pájaro.

Now, having taught teenaged Hispanic and Latino children, I have grown accustomed to another meaning of párajo, and slowly Taky seemed to fit the bill for it: homosexual.  Maybe I was reading into it, but the book was turning into a story about one guy who just didn’t fit in and was different from the others.  As expected, when the other birds (originally named Goodly, Lovely, Angel, Neatly and Perfect in English) got in trouble, Taky (though tacky) was able to save the day and the other penguins rushed up to give him hugs and appreciation, accepting him, not for who he presented himself to be, but for the goodness on the inside.

So I thought, is this a text about accepting others?  Despite their differences? Even if their difference is a sexual orientation?  My friend confirmed that is not.  (No summary of the text has denied it.)

So did I project homosexuality on the tackily dress, flamboyant penguin.  Did I read into the use of a slang word in a translation meant for children for whom pájaro simply means bird?  Did I let my own stereotypes about homosexual and hetereosexual differences cause me to make a value-based assessment of a children’s book? 

Most likely. 

The lesson I’ve learned is twofold.  Be careful of what you put onto the characters and components of literature and choose your words wisely when translating for a population that is more familiar with idiom and expression than you might be.