RENÉ HAS TWO LAST NAMES



On the first day at my new school, my teacher gave me a sticker that said René Colato. The sticker was missing my second last name. Maybe Miss Soria's pen ran out of ink. I took my pencil and added it. Now it looked right: René Colato Laínez.

My new classmates giggled when I told them my name.

"That's a long dinosaur name."
"Your name is longer than an anaconda."

René Colato looked incomplete. It was like a hamburger without the meat or a pizza without cheese or a hot dog without a wiener.

I did not want to lose my second last name! Losing my second last name meant losing half of my family, my Mamá’s beautiful family.