‘Gringo’ Husband Shares Differences Between Latino and American Family Trees

Latino families can be extensive. The sheer number of cousins, tías and tíos can get overwhelming — and that’s just in the United States. That list can grow exponentially when you open it up to relatives still living in Latin America.

Growing up in a culture where large families aren’t the norm, keeping track of how everyone is related can get challenging. That’s why the couple behind the TikTok account @elgringo_sabe wanted to share a family tree breakdown.

The account is run by a Bolivian Latina and her American husband. All the clips take a humorous approach to everything her husband has learned since they got together. They’ve made TikToks about calming a fussy baby by dancing with them or the “eternal paper towel.”

While all of their videos resonate with users on the app, their breakdown of family dynamics between their two cultures hits differently.

The husband begins with a depiction of his family’s straightforward set-up and then dives into the complexities of the Latino ties

It all started because the couple shared a video where the wife asked her husband what he liked about Latinos for Latino Heritage Month. He explained that he was a big fan of her closeness to her family. Mentioning he also liked that she knew her extended family tree.

In a follow-up video, the Bolivian wife can be heard off-camera noting that they are replying to a comment from another TikTok user. This time, the husband brought out “infographics” and explained how different his family’s setup was from his wife’s.

His family only covered his parents, their siblings, some cousins and his grandparents. He clarified that his cousin’s kids were called his “second cousins.” Latinos don’t follow this rule of thumb.

The “infographic” created was a lot more detailed for his wife’s family. Not only did he highlight her immediate family and close relatives, but he highlighted her grandparent’s siblings and their kids. He described how “cousins” younger than you are considered “nieces and nephews.”

He also mentioned non-relatives who are still considered family. 

“Non-blood relatives are also relatives in the Latino family tree. So, like your mom’s best friend, that’s your tía, that’s my tía,” he explains.

Fellow internet users applauded his depiction of the Latino family tree and its intricacies 

Many Latinos on the app felt seen by the description given by the husband. Some even added how he forgot to include some relatives. Other BIPOC users even noted that their families resemble the Latino family tree.

“[O]n point @elgingo_sabe . [Y]ou can come to the carne asada primo,” one user expressed.

One person said, “[I]n our family reunions, anyone in your age range or younger is your ‘primo’ and anyone older is ‘tia/tio.’ Helps keep the confusion down!”

While another clarified, “[T]he complications start when your ‘tia’ is 3 years old. [A]nd the nephew is 45. [S]o age is not helping for knowing who is who.”

“I was about to say that there were lots of members missing… then I saw the second tree… very latino,” someone expressed.

Of course, one had to joke about the amigos and amantes, “You’re missing the extended family from fathers and uncles love affairs.”

While one user commented, “Arab families have the same as Latino family trees. Can you imagine what our Arab/Hispanic tree looks like? Yep, my husband is 7 of 9. We would need a table cloth to write on.”