Naykel

epresentation
NAYKEL

Latin America
Latin America is part of the
continent of America.
Latin America includes all
countries where people mainly
speak Romance languages.
People in Latin America mainly
speak Spanish, Portuguese and
French.
The population of Latin America
is made up of indigenous peoples,
formerly enslaved Africans and
European emigrants.
guatemala
HONDURAS
Romance languages
Romance languages descended
from the language Latin.
During the Roman Empire, Latin
was the most important language
on the European continent.
Today Latin is a dead language,
which means Latin is no longer
spoken.
From the 6th to the 9th century,
the Romance languages developed
from Latin. These include Spanish,
Portuguese, French, Romanian,
Italian, Catalan and more.
El salvador
Central America
Central America is the region
between North and South America.
The countries of Central America
are Nicaragua, Belize, Costa
Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Panama and the
southern part of Mexico.
Leon
‘

Nicaragua
Nicaragua is located in Central
America. The country borders the
Pacific Ocean to the west and the
Caribbean Sea to the east.
Nicaragua‘s capital is the city of
Managua. The official language
of Nicaragua is Spanish. But
people speak other languages
like Mískito, English, Creole and
more.
Indigenous people have lived on the
soil of Nicaragua for thousands
of years. Today the population is
made up of indigenous peoples,
Africans, Europeans and Asians.
Nicaragua is famous for its lakes
and volcanoes. It has the second
largest rainforest in America
with a wide variety of plants and
animals.
NICARAGUA
Indigenous people
Indigenous people are people
who have inhabited the land on
which modern-day Nicaragua is
located for around 10,000 years.
They have their own languages,
their own cultures and religions.
MANAGUA
granada
Bluefields
The Caribbean
The Caribbean is part of the
continent of America. It includes
the Caribbean Sea with its coasts
and a group of islands. Caribbean
islands include Haiti, Jamaica,
Dominican Republic, Martinique,
Cayman Islands and many more.
costa rica

About representation
Do you want to
know more?
Would you like to know more
about Naykel’s story?
You can find more detailed
information under the crown.
Would you like to learn more
about models and fashion?
You can find additional information
under the flower.
Would you like to get to know
Naykel’s language?
Below the speech bubble you will
find the meaning of some Creole
and spanish words.
Representation is a series of childrens’ books devoted to portraying a diverse
world for our budding readers. We strive to create books for kids who cannot
find themselves represented in children’s literature. We believe there is a
richness in telling these stories not only for them, but for all kids.
We should work to create books that offer diverse stories with diverse
characters, who are given complex and positive personalities and
circumstances. Diverse, positive and multi-dimensional depictions of
characters not only have the power to make children feel acknowledged
and celebrated, but also help them identify with real and imagined heroes.
Diverse stories and characters give all children the opportunity to engage
with others even if their immediate context does not always offer such
interactions. Diversity in books reminds children that although people are
different, we all share a common humanity, equal value and equal status.
This can inspire children to go into the wider world with positive ideas
and images of themselves and of of all the differences around them. This
will serve them in the encounters they make along their life’s journey.
Michell Sibongiseni Mpike,
founder of INKLUSIVE Books in Oslo, Norway
Under the Guardabarranco bird
you will find quotes. Quotes are
sentences that a person actually
said or wrote.
With love to all the sweet, sentive souls everywhere in this world.
A book by Naykel Alexander Niño
Texts by Philippe Zwick Eby
Illustrations by Marina Martín
Edited by Sarah B. Zwick-Eby and Philippe Zwick Eby
Expert advice: Dr. phil., Doc. Angela Bartens und Kathrin Meckel
Diversity Advisor: Guilherme Biri Francisco
Translation: Trent Kelly
Thank you very much, Georgina Niño and Mama Ru
© editions mālama
www.editionsmalama.com

NAYKEL
a book by Naykel Alexander Niño
Texts: Philippe Zwick Eby I Illustrations: Marina Martín
editions mālama
representation

Helo! My name is Naykel.
Naykel Alexander Niño
Naykel Alexander Niño was born
in 1995 on August 13th in the city
Bluefields in Nicaragua.
This is his true story.
Helo!
Helo! is Mískito Coast Creole and
means “hello”.
Mískito Coast Creole
Mískito Coast Creole is a language
spoken by most residents of the
Mískito Coast.
Mískito Coast Creole is an
English language-based creole
with elements from other
languages such as Spanish and
Mískito. Today about 30,000
people speak Mískito Coast
Creole.
Mískito
The Mískito are Central American
Indians living at the Caribbean
Coast of Nicaragua. They have
their own spoken and written
language, the Mískito.

I am from Bluefields.
Bluefields is a city at the Caribbean coast
in the country of Nicaragua.
Bluefields
Bluefields is a city in the east of
Nicaragua on the Caribbean coast
(also called Mískito Coast).
In the 17th century Bluefields
was a pirate settlement. The city
is named after the Dutch pirate
Abraham Bleeveldt.
Bluefields and the Mískito Coast
were not always part of the
country of Nicaragua. In 1740 the
bay of Bluefields was occupied
by British marines. Since 1894
Bluefields and the Mískito Coast
are part of Nicaragua.
The city‘s population consists
of Mískito Indians, descendants
of pirates, escaped enslaved
Africans, European settlers
and Creole-speaking Caribbean
workers.
Official lenguage in Bluefields is
spanish. But the mother language
of most of the residents is Mískito
Coast Creole or Nicaragua Creole
English.
Bluefields has a big and important
port where many Caribbean
products such as woods, fish,
shrimp, lobsters and bananas are
shipped to.

I like helping my mom.
Nicaraguan food
Naykel and his mum prepare a
typical Nicaraguan dish:
Fish with pico de gallo and fried
plantain.
In Bluefields people eat a lot of
fish and seafood. They know a
lot of different fish. Naykel and
his mother are preparing a red
snapper. It’s a red colored fish
which lives in the Caribbean
Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the
Atlantic coast of Mexico and the
United States.
Plantain
The plantain is very popular in the
tropical and subtropical regions
of America, Africa and Asia. For
the people there it is an important
staple food, just like the potato in
Europe.
The plantain is slightly larger
than a normal banana and is ripe
when its skin has turned almost
black. The plantain is not eaten
raw. It is boiled in water, baked
in the oven, cut into strips and
deep-fried in oil or pan-fried.

My mother smiles:
“I love you, piknini!”
“I love you, too, mada!”, I smile.
Piknini
Piknini is Mískito Coast Creole and
means “my little child”.
Mada
Mada is Mískito Coast Creole and
means “mum”.

Pico de gallo
Pico de gallo is a very tasty sauce.
It is eaten fresh and is very easy to
prepare. Do you want to try?
I like cooking.
My mother teaches me.
Our food is really good.
To make pico de gallo you need the
following ingredients:
3 tomatoes
1 onion
1 sweet pepper
salt
vinegar or lime juice
cilantro leafs
Preparation:
First you have to wash the
tomatoes, the onions and the
sweet peppers.
Then you cut them carefully into
small dices.
Mix all together in a salad bowl
and add some lime juice (or
vinegar) and salt.
If you like cilantro, cut the leaves
in very small dices and add it to
your pico de gallo.
Serve your pico de gallo very fresh.
¡Buen provecho!
¡Buen provecho!
¡Buen provecho! is spanish and
means “Enjoy your meal!”.

My older brother says:
“I prefer to play futbaal with the boys.” Futbaal
Futbaal is Mískito Coast Creole and
means “football”.

President
A President is the head of state
of a country. In democratic
countries, the President is freely
elected and governs the country
for a fixed period of time (usually
4 to 5 years). After that there are
new, free elections.
I like going to school.
One day the teacher asks:
“What do you want to be?”
I answer: “I want to be president.”
The drag queen, supermodel,
singer, actor and producer
RuPaul Charles says:
„You are not born to fit in.
You are born to stand out.“

The other kids laugh.
They say: “People like us don’t get elected
for president.”
The teachers think:
“He’s not like the other students.”

I like wearing beautiful clothes.
Fashion
Fashion is the art of dressing
human beings. Fashion designers
create new fashion every year.
Fashion designer
Fashion designers sketch and
create draw fashion. This includes
clothing, shoes and accessories.
Fashion designers usually have
their own style. They present
their collections with the help of
models at fashion shows.
A distinction is made between
haute couture and prêt-à-porter.
Haute couture is individually
tailored fashion, mostly
handcrafted from luxurious
materials.
Prêt-à-porter is fashion designed
by fashion designers, which is
mass-produced in standard sizes.
The fashion designer
Miuccia Prada says:
„What you wear is how you
present yourself to the world.“
The businesswoman, interior
designer and fashion icon
Iris Apfel says:
„Fashion is a mirror of society.“
The fashion designer
Vivienne Westwood says:
„Buy less, choose well,
make it last.“

The other kids say:
“What’s wrong with him?
Boys don’t care about beautiful clothes.”
Viernes loco
Every last friday of the month the
schools in Bluefields celebrate
Viernes loco. On this crazy Friday
school is very fun. All students
wear different, colorful clothes.
They spend their school day
outside on the schoolyard and
play funny games like sack race,
egg run and many others. They
are dancing and eating ice cream.
Isn‘t that a nice tradition?
Days of the week
Lunes is spanish and means
“Monday”.
Martes means “Tuesday”.
Miercoles means “Wednesday”.
Jueves means “Thursday”.
Viernes means “Friday”.
Sabado means “Saturday”.
Domingo means “Sunday”.

After school I like playing with my cousins
named Jetsy and Markisha.

The neighbours are whispering:
“Boys don’t play with girls.”
Their kids repeat:
“Boys don’t play with girls.”
Cometas
Cometas are small paper kites
that the children from Bluefields
make themselves and then let fly
together.

Beauty Pageant
A beauty pageant is a contest
to find the most beautiful
contestant.
These competitions are for
women, men and youth at
local, regional, national and
international levels. Beauty
pageants are usually held
annually.
Beauty pageants used to be all
about physical beauty. Today,
criteria such as personality,
intelligence, talent, character
and charitable commitment also
count.
I like watching beauty pageants on TV.
“Mada!”, I say, “When I’m older I want to participate
in such a beauty pageant.”
Ligia Cristina Argüello
Ligia Cristina Argüello from
Managua was Miss Nicaragua
2001. This qualified her for the
Miss World beauty pageant. Ligia
Cristina Argüello made the top 5
and became Miss America 2001.
The winner of Miss World 2001
was Agbani Darego. She was the
first Indigenous African woman
to win this title.
Scharllette A. Allen Moses
Scharllette Alexandra Allen
Moses from Bluefields already
successfully participated in
beauty pageants as a teenager.
At 18, she competed in the Miss
Nicaragua 2010 national pageant.
Scharllette A. Allen Moses won,
becoming the first Black Miss
Nicaragua. She represented her
country Nicaragua at the Miss
Universe international beauty
pageant.

My mother smiles:
“I love you, piknini.
But first you’ll finish school!”

Today is Carnival!
Carnival
Carnival is Mískito Coast Creole
and means „Carnival“.
Carnival
Carnival is a happy festival
celebrated at the beginning of
the New Year to say goodbye to
winter and welcome spring.
Carnival has been around for
a long time. The first carnival
celebrations took place in
Mesopotamia 5000 years ago.
In the European Middle Ages, socalled
fool‘s festivals took place in
January. Since then there has also
been the term Fastnacht.
Today, carnival is celebrated in
many different ways in many
parts of the world. There are
particularly impressive carnival
traditions in Venice (Italy), Basel
(Switzerland), Oururo (Bolivia),
Cologne (Germany), Québec
(Canada), Santa Cruz (Tenerife,
Spain), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
and Stavelot (Belgium). In New
Orleans (USA) the carnival is
called Mardi Gras.
Fasnacht in Basel
In Switzerland, the city of Basel
is famous for its Basler Fasnacht,
which starts at 4am with the
famous Morgenstraich. The entire
city is darkened and thousands
of carnival people with colorful
lanterns of all sizes parade
through the streets. During the
day there is the Cortège, a huge
procession with lovingly handmade
costumes and masks
(Larven).
The Basel carnival lasts three
days and is part of the intangible
UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Everybody here loves Carnival.
Everybody dresses up.
Everybody is having
a lot of fun.
Carnival in Bluefields
In Bluefields, the carnival takes
place in the month of May and
lasts throughout the month.
The people come together to
celebrate every evening. They
wear beautiful handcrafted
costumes in different styles.
There is a stage with music and
dances and an election of Miss
Mayo. A highlight of the carnival
is the Maypole Festival.
Palo de Mayo
Palo de mayo is spanish and
means „maypole“. A maypole is a
decorated tree trunk that is set up
in the month of may.
Maypole Festival
The palo de mayo is an old tradition
in Bluefields. It is a festival held
during Carnival.They say that
maypole tradition was brought to
Bluefields from Jamaica.
Every of the 15 neighborhoods of
Bluefiels bring a maypole which is
decorated with fruit, sweets and
color tapes. By dancing around the
maypole the people pay homage
to the goddess of fertility.
Dance into May
There is also a dance into May in
many parts of Germany. There,
too, huge maypoles are erected,
which are colorfully decorated.
And there, too, people dance
around the maypole.

RuPaul Charles says:
„Reading is fundamental.“
I am studying.
I am reading.
I am thinking about my life.
Vivienne Westwood says:
“This business of beauty is
becoming more and more
intolerable. People should strive
to be less stupid because that
would dress them best.
The most recommended
accessory is a book.”

My brother says:
“Naykel! Come to play futbaal with us!”
The other young people whisper:
“He’s so quiet.”

I feel good.
Models
A model is a person who displays
clothes or products by wearing or
presenting them.
The job of being a model is not
easy. Models should have an
outstanding personality. They
should know their strengths and
weaknesses.
There are different kinds of
models:
Fashion models
You can see fashion models in
fashion magazines. They wear
fashionable clothes and work for
fashion designers.
Commercial models
Commercial models do product
ads for products such as
houseware appliances, food
products, travel industry, tech
devices and more.
Catwalk Models
Catwalk models present clothes
that fashion designers have
created for their collections. This
usually happens at a fashion
show.
Fitness Models
Fitness models are working
for fitness companies, fitness
magazines and athletic wear
companies.
Underwear models
Underwear models are presenting
underwear and swimwear.
Parts models
Parts models specialize in
modeling specific body parts such
as hands, feet, legs and eyes.

The other students say:
“Boys can’t be models.”
The teachers think:
“He’s definitely not like the other boys.”
Catwalk
A catwalk is the stage of a
fashion show. It is often a narrow
platform that the fashion models
walk along to display clothes. You
can also say runway.
The most famous catwalks are
on the fashion shows of the cities
of London, Milan, Paris and New
York.
The composer, singer,
actor and director
John Cameron Mitchell
sings:
“I put on some make-up
Turn on the tape deck
And put the wig back on
my head”
(Wig in a box)
The composer and singer
Freddy Mercury sings:
“Don’t stop me now
‘Cause I’m having a good time”
(Don’t stop me now)

The singer
Irene Cara sings:
“Sometimes I wonder
where I’ve been,
Who I am,
Do I fit in.”
(Out here on my own)
Sometimes I feel so different.
Sometimes I feel like
I don’t belong anywhere.
Sometimes I feel alone.

Sometimes I think:
“I am not going to make it.”

Supermodels
A supermodel is a very successful
model. Supermodels usually work
around the world. You will see
them on the covers of magazines,
on billboards and on the runways
of the biggest fashion shows.
Some famous supermodels are
Naomi Campbell, Ashley Graham,
Tyson Beckford, Cindy Crawford,
Baptiste Giabiconi, Kate Moss,
Linda Evangelista, Liu Wen, Jack
Eyers, David Agbodji, Tyra Banks,
Claudia Schiffer, Jon Kortajarena,
Alton Mason, Cara Delevingne,
and Madeline Stuart.
Finally I am old enough.
I want to participate in the Mister Nicaragua
beauty pageant. I’ve been preparing for this
for a long time.
Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell was born in
the year 1970 in London. She
is a model and actress.
Naomi Campbell started her
career as a model when she
was 15 years old. In 1988 she
was the first Black photo
model to be on the cover of
the French fashion magazine
Vogue. Since then she is one
of the most famous models
in the world.
Alton Mason
Alton Mason was born in the
year 1997 in Nebraska, USA.
He is a model, dancer and
actor.
Alton Mason walked for
the most important fashion
labels such as Gucci, Hugo Boss,
Versace, Michael Kors, Tom Ford,
Karl Lagerfeld, Fendi, Valentino
and Louis Vuitton.
He is the first Black male model
to walk for the French fashion
label Chanel.

My mother smiles:
“I love you, piknini!”
My brother says:
“I prefer to go out with my girlfriend.”
The young people say:
“No me digas. Real boys don’t do beauty pageants!”
The neighbours say:
“Black people don’t win this kind of competition.”
Sometimes I think:
“I am not going to make it.”
No me digas!
No me digas! is Spanish and means
“You are kidding me!”
The supermodel
Naomi Campbell says:
“I don’t think I was
born beautiful. I just think
I was born me.”
The supermodel
Tyra Banks says:
“Believe it or not, I don’t wake up
looking like a supermodel.”
RuPaul Charles sings:
„If I fly or if I fall,
least I can say I gave it all.“
(Sissy That Walk)
The singer, composer and actress
Lady Gaga sings:
“Don’t hide yourself in regret,
just love yourself,
and you’re set.”
(Born This Way)

El sueño
El sueño is spanish and means
„the dream“.
RuPaul Charles says:
„Don‘t be afraid to use
all the colors in the crayon box.“
My sueño has become true:
I am walking on the runway.
I am fearless.
I believe in myself.
I am proud.
I am beautiful.
I am unique.

My mother smiles:
“I love you, piknini!”
My brother says:
“I prefer to go out with my girlfriend.”
The young people whisper admiringly:
“He will never ever win this competition.”
The neighbours whisper excitedly:
“A Black man has never won this competition.”
Black people
When it‘s absolutely necessary
to differentiate people based
on their skin color, you can say
people of color or Black people.
Black people chose these terms
for themselves.
Don‘t use the term „colored“.
Black people did not choose
this term. It emerged during
colonialism, when white people
oppressed and exploited Black
people. A lot of Black people don‘t
want to be called that.
„Black“ therefore does not mean
the color of the skin, but that
these people have experienced
racism because of their skin color
and are doing so. That‘s why
„Black“ is capitalized.
Racism
Racism means that people
are differentiated and judged
according to „race“. The color of
the skin or the origin often plays
a role.
Racist people think they are worth
more than other people. However,
there are no different races of
people. All humans belong to the
same species of homo sapiens.

Mister Nicaragua
On November 11, 2017, Naykel
Alexander Niño became the first
Black man in his country to be
crowned Mister Nicaragua.
He represented his country at
the Mister International 2018
competition in Manila
and won in the category
Best National Costume.
I won.
I am Mr. Nicaragua.

My mother hugs me and smiles:
“I love you, piknini!”
My brother says:
“I am proud of you, my little brother.”
The young people shout:
“Naykel, we love you!”
The neighbours proudly boast:
“Our Naykelito...”
Naykelito
Naykelito is spanish and means
„little Naykel“.
The -ito ending is used to make a
name sound sweeter.
Try with your name!

A little boy sent me a letter:
He wrote:
“Sometimes I feel so different.
Sometimes I feel like I don’t belong anywhere.
Sometimes I feel alone.
But if you can, then I can, too.”
RuPaul Charles says:
„When you become the image of
your own imagination, it’s the
most powerful thing you could
ever do.“
The fashion designer
Bob Mackie says:
„Don‘t let anyone or anything
dim your sparkle.“

Amorcito
Amorcito is Spanish and means
“My little love”.
Gloria Gaynor sings:
“I’ve got all my life to live
And I’ve got all my love to give
and I’ll survive
I will survive.”
(I Will Survive)

Amorcito,
If I can, then you can, too.
Love, Naykel

HONDURAS
guatemala
El salvador
Leon
‘

NICARAGUA
Bluefields
MANAGUA
granada
costa rica

Naykel lives in Nicaragua, in the Caribbean town of Bluefields.
He‘s not like the other kids in his neighborhood.
„Sometimes I feel so different,“ he thinks.
„Sometimes I feel like I don‘t belong anywhere.
Sometimes I feel alone.“
The true story of a little outsider
who became a great role model.
#identity #fashion #models #fashiondesigner #beautypageants
#indigenous #nicaragua #carnival #representation
editions mālama
representation