Context:

M, 56 was born and grew up in Tijuana, Mexico. His father is from Baja California Sur, Mexico. The capital of this state is La Paz. The people that live in this region are known as ‘Choyeros’ and they have a very niche folklore.

Text:

“Esta es una historia real. ‘EL CONONO’ era un señor que tenía labio leporino (hablaba gangoso), y era muy conocido en La Paz en los años 50’s, 60’s,70’s. Vivía con sus padres aun siendo adulto; todos lo conocían, hacía favores, barría las calles, iba por mandado, etc.

Un día fue a la iglesia con su mamá y el padre de la iglesia le dijo por el micrófono de la iglesia: 

‘Hijo, Conono, hinqué a su mamá’ y Conono voltio a ver al padrecito y le contesta en voz alta, donde todos oyeron: ‘hinque a la suya padrecito…’!”

Translation:

This is a real story. ‘Conono’ was a man who had a cleft lip (he spoke nasally), he was very well known in La Paz in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. He lived with his parents well into adulthood; everyone in town knew him, he would do favors, sweep the street, run errands, etc. One day he went to church with his mom and the Church Father said through the microphone: “My son, Conono, ‘hinque’ your mom”; Conono loudly responded: “’hinque’ your own mom, Father!”.

Analysis:

This story is somewhat of a legend because it is known that Conono was a real person from La Paz (you can google him); however, it is also a joke. In Spanish, the word hinque has multiple meanings: one, to kneel or bow, the way the father was trying to use it; or another, to thrust or bend over. The joke here is basically that Conono misunderstood the Father’s instructions and thought that he was telling him to perform a sexual act with his mom, to which he told the Father to do it himself. It’s only funny in Spanish because those listening to the joke should be able to know what version of ‘hincar’ is being used in a certain setting. Naturally, a church would not be the appropriate place to make it sexual.