by  Mary Helen Espinosa

During one week of commuting up and down the La Concha roadway, I jotted down 16 different names proudly emblazoned on the rear windows of the express vans (inter-urbanos)  running between cities.   From the humble, “Un Regalo de Dios” (a gift from God),  to the arrogant, “El Malo” (the bad one),  the vans often take on personalities of their drivers or of their transportation cooperatives.  Some are obviously statements of identity like “Un Chanchunchito Mas” and “Ojitos Bellos,” while others leave doubt “El Intelectual,” “El Astuto,” “Golden Boy,” and  “El Angelito.”  My favorites express vans, of course, are those from which you should wisely keep at a safe distance: “El Titánico (El Camino al Cielo),””El Fugitivo,” “Tu Peor Pesadillo,” (your worst nightmare) and my all-time favorite “El Ciego”(the blind).