EDITOR’S LETTER Welcome to Apapacha Welcome to Apapacha. A bilingual platform that I call my life-changer. This is because, up until now, I never felt the urge to hug and have physical touch with my loved ones. Living abroad, away from my family and the pandemic, certainly taught me that I shouldn’t suppress my emotions and feelings because you never know when you can see and squeeze those people again. So here it is, my life-changer, birthed from my sudden eagerness to want to become more affectionate and give apapachos more often (where the platform’s name stems from). I could have done it and called it differently, but I wanted to embrace my Spanglish side or, in other words, pretty much how my brain works when I speak in Spanish to family and friends back home. So, after hours of research and debating with myself whether to go for a Spanish or an English title, I went for a word I often say around my loved ones, Apapacha. It wasn’t until this point that, I realized Apapacha has a deeper meaning and origin than what we learn in our Latin American society. It is a word of Nahuatl origin (a language spoken by the people living in central Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest), and it is said to be the most beautiful word in the Spanish language. Whenever I hear the word, Apapacha, not only does hugging cross my mind but something that goes beyond physical touch. For me, papachar is also consolation, pampering, tenderness, and when I get an apapacho from someone special, I subconsciously feel all of this and lose track of time (I’m sure we all have had experienced this kind of hug; if not, I hope you get to have one of these when you finish reading this publication) So after realizing that physical touch is super IMPORTANT and that many people, like myself, struggle to show their feelings, I came up with this solution. What you are holding in your hands right now. This that, hopefully, you have paid for or that someone gifted to you. Either way, my ideas and inspiration have been compiled into this publication so that you, querid@ reader, can explore why hugging and physical touch is essential and hopefully awakens that eagerness in you of apapachar like me. This is for men and women that want to stop suppressing their emotions and celebrate the beauty of squeezing and physical touch. So, grab your cup of coffee, tea and a glass of chela and enjoy the wonders of Apapacha. Con mucho cariño, Hey! So this QR Code has all the creative written pieces whether in Spanish or English translated individually
Alison Cando
Founder & Editor-in-Chief
G N I H T NO
S T A E B VE RY FIRS TS QU EE
R U O
ZE ,O
R U
MU M’ S
guess there will never be enough mum and baby bonding time in this world, and as we grow our mums will always see us as their little babies who can be squeezed and cuddled anytime anywhere Photos provided by Michelle Penafiel
AN
AT OM Y
F O
A
HUG
WHEN
E I M T
STOPS
THE BEST PLACE IS IN ONE OF HER HUGS
El love language de Danilo son las caricias y sobre todo los ABRAZOS! Cualquier persona que lo sigue en sus redes sociales, se puede dar cuenta inmediatamente que estos son parte de su día a día.
Que significa para tí abarazar?
“... Why am I going to be angry, if thanks to God I’m breathing and I’m alive, I’m happy...” All the photos have been provided by Danilo
DANILO
Danilo es un Ecuatoriano de la ciudad de Riobamba, conocido por familiares y amigos más allegados como una persona extremadamente cariñosa, carismática y bastante expresiva.
Para mí, abrazar es un sentimiento de espontaneidad, de demostrar cariño, un afecto, algo espontáneo, algo que te nace. Esto les demuestra a las personas mi cariño hacia ellas y les da la oportunidad de también open-up.
Tu manera de ser cariñoso, consideras que proviene de tu crianza o esto se fue desarrollando con el tiempo? Yo pienso que de la casa nació un poquito, pero diria que se fue agrandando con el tiempo, con muchas personas que compartido muchas vivencias, anécdotas. Entonces, poco a poco me he ido cargando de esa buena vibra. Yo digo porque voy a estar enojado si gracias a Dios estoy respirando, estoy vivo, estoy alegre, tengo problemas, como todo ser humano, todos tenemos muchas cosas pendientes y cada día tenemos que ir resolviendolos, pero yo trato de estar alegre para que esa energía fluya ahí y poder hacer las cosas de la mejor manera.
Practicas el abrazarte a tí mismo? No lo practico mucho, lo hago más cuando, juego football. Cuando meto un gol me abrazo hasta grito y hablo malas palabras de la alegría que me sale de adentro, como que fuera el último gol de mi vida. Por otra parte, lo que si hago es orar por las mañanas y cuando me siento bajoneado por cosas del trabajo más que por familiares. Una tía me dejó unas oraciones que son para el día cuando estás mal, cuando estás triste, cuando te pasa algo, prácticamente para cualquier problema que estes atravezando.
Has escuchado que el abrazarse a uno mismo tiene beneficios para la salud? Sí, claro cuando te coges de la partecita de la espalda es como que te das ánimo y psicológicamente te tranquilizas porque ya no es como que alguien me está tocando, soy yo mismo. A veces vos sabes lo que te pasa, vos mismo te preguntas, vos mismo te respondes y estás ahí como si estubieras hablando con otra persona, pero estás hablando contigo mismo y te estás dando ya las respuestas. Esa es una de las partes de orar, hablar con Dios.
Eres conciente de todo el contacto físico que tienes con tus personas de tu entorno en una semana? La verdad es que nunca he llevado la contabilidad de cuántos abrazos o caricias doy porque es algo espontáneo que me nace. Pero, eso sí, siempre trato de estar activo dando un abrazo o extendiendo la mano.
“When you grab the small part of the back it’s as if you are giving yourself encouragement and psychologically you calm yourself down because it’s no longer like someone else is comforting me, it’s me”
hugging his parents on his 44th Birthday in 2022 siempre trato de estar activo dando un abrazo o extendiendo laDanilo mano.
Family phototrato on a trip Bañosactivo a few years ago siempre detoestar dando
un abrazo o extendiendo la mano.
When a long time has passed by without seen our loved ones
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are always super special and make us value their love and company even more than we tend to do
’S T E L , S YE KE THIS ANY WISHE I L Y S? STA REVER FO
I ! S YE TLY N E E G UR D ON NEE
GROUP HUG?
GO ON
A
G FROM M Y S E HU L F
IS T HE ONL
I
E ON
Y
ED NE
Give yourself some
LOVE LOVE LOVE
When can we face time?
When can I come visit you?
I am about to have a chorizo sandwich with avocado. Yum! Have you eaten already? xo
When are you coming?
Wanna do it around 8?
What time are you arriving? Pick you up at 8 p.m.?
What are you doing? x
I should be there by 6 p.m. Can’t wait to see you!!
QUESTIONS AND REPLIES THAT FEEL LIKE HUGS...
If you could
G U H someone rigth now
who would it be? and
? Y H W
DAD
MIS TIAS
MIS SOBRINOS
HERMANO MIS HIJOS MI AMIGA MY WIFE
PRIMOS
MI AMIGA
CABALLITO ABUELITOS DOG MAMA
MIS TIAS
CAT
MIS HIJOS MY HUSBAND
CABALLO DOG MAMA SIBLINGS
MY TWIN
PAPA
MY MUM
MI MELLIZA
BOYFRIEND MEJORES AMIGOS PAPA
TIO MY GRANDAD HERMANOS ENAMORADA MY WIFE CAT
TIO
Besa hoy, llama hoy y abraza hoy porque a veces la vida nos sorprende con ausencias que son para siempre, en un instante. Necesito un abrazo de mí abuelita, mi Tita, mi ángel. Quiero darle un abrazo todos los días, porque siento que mis 21 años no fueron suficientes. Un abrazo, como decía ella, es capaz de reiniciarte la vida en menos de un segundo y en estos momentos todos necesitamos un poco de luz en nuestra vida.
I M
T
T A I
A kiss today, a call today, and HUG today because sometimes life surprises us with absences that are forever, in just an instant. I need a hug from my granny, my Tita, my angel. I want to hug her every day because I feel that my 21 years were not enough. A hug, as she used to say, is capable of restarting your life in less than a second and right now, we all need a little light in our lives.
RO XY Hugging Roxy always makes me go into such a sudden and profound state of relaxation, so purr-fect after a tough day at school, or to get away from the chaos of the city. Cuddling him is a way for me to show him affection and to show him he can trust me. I do think snuggling with your purring pal is amazing for mental health, I know that first-hand having an anxious and restless mind myself. More than that, cats have been shown to improve heart health and act as effective natural antidepressants, how amazing! These are some things I started taking into account whenever I pet my favorite furry friend. I used to hug him so much already when I was living with him in Paris, but now that I live far away from him, it is even more so the case whenever I go back home. As I need to make up for all those days when I’m not going to be able to hug him, and I know full well I’d regret it very much if we don’t have enough cuddle time together before I go back across the Channel. In short, hugging Roxy has made our bond even more special. Writing this from the UK, I’m not able to hug him right now. But at least, WhatsApp makes it possible for me to give him virtual hugs, while awaiting my next trip back home!
La persona a la que mas me gustaría abrazar en este instante es a mi mamá. Recientemente perdi a mi mama de imprevisto. El último contacto fisico que tuvimos fue un apapacho de despedida. Sabiendo que este sería nuestro último, me gustaría volver a ese instante y abrazarla un rato más.
ME M A M The person I would most like to hug right now is my mother. I recently unexpectedly lost my mam. The last physical touch we had together was a cuddle goodbye. Now knowing that this would be the last we shared together, I would like to go back to that moment and hold on a little while longer.