El Diablito - The Little Devil

Angel Baby
A Special Report on Good Boys Gone Bad.

Benicio was a good boy. By all rational accounts, he was known to display behavior modeling respect, obedience, and all around good-natured-ness. Born on a warm morning in June of 2011, he found his birth and the bright new world around him to be rather agreeable. Benicio's parents, a loving and nurturing couple who enforced peace and harmony in the home (it should be noted) often found him entertaining himself with toys and books. Not likely to throw unnecessary tantrums, he comfortably drifted from boisterous family gatherings to quiet alone time without much fuss. He knew without a doubt that Mami and Papi would be ready at any moment to adore his evolving charm or comfort his sorrows. Even at his most rambunctious moments, he remained sweet and, well, irresistible. It is not an exaggeration to point out that those closest to Benicio believed they had been truly blessed with an angel.

The change didn't occur overnight. A defining moment, however, can be pin-pointed to yet another warm morning in July of 2013 - the day he met his younger brother. Santiago, was no more than 9 or 10 hours old, helpless in his mother's arms, but a threat nonetheless to Benicio's peaceful and harmonious world. He knew it the evening before when he was left alone with his grandparents for the night with neither an explanation or apology. Aware of the potential issues of jealousy, Benicio's parents (it should be noted) made every attempt to express equal affection and show equal attention to both boys without exception. But, as you may well know, the immediate needs of an infant often outweigh those of a two-year-old, even when you have the purest of intentions. This made Benicio angry. So angry he cried. He screamed. He kicked. Or sometimes he went limp like a protester being dragged out of a government building - it just depended on the situation.


Then, one seemingly ordinary day, during an evening like any other, Benicio discovered something extraordinary. When he laughed, clapped his hands, or showed any signs of encouragement toward Santiago's shenanigans, by golly, he would do it again! Even if it was naughty. Even if his parents didn't like it. Holy smokes! The kid would do anything for his big brother. Now, a nice boy, an angel if you will, would take this new found knowledge and encourage his little brother to do good, helpful things - like, oh I don't know, gently place the metal toy truck in the toy box instead of flinging it at the 50 inch flat screen. Or grab a coloring book from the bottom shelf and not doodle a crayola trail from one end of the hallway to the other. Better yet, simply eat the bowl of spaghetti rather than scatter tomato sauce and sticky angel hair across the kitchen floor...Do you know how tricky that is to clean up?  But Benicio, with the sweet smile, was no angel.

Oh, a whole new world had opened up for Benicio. Like the little red, horned figure on the shoulder of Santiago, he had the power to make him do unspeakable things. With a twinkle in his eye and the slightest grin, he got his little brother to spit orange juice on the kitchen floor which, despite the cleaning efforts of their parents, still attracted a parade of presumptuous ants the next morning. While playing outside Santiago was quite content with kicking around the multitude of rocks, but Benicio wasn't.  In a fit of giggles, he suggested that his little brother throw them in the pool - who cared that it had just painstakingly been cleaned? You bet your bottom dollar they all ended up in the pool! And then there was the time Benicio encouraged his little brother to sprinkle handfuls of sand onto his head, "It's fun, Santi, go ahead, do it." When Mami called them to get inside the house they ran directly to Mami and Papi's bed, and left a sandy surprise for Mami and Papi when they got into bed that night. Mami and Papi emptied the sandbox the next day.

In a recent interview with the boys' parents they admit they are at a loss for any concrete explanation as to Benicio's change in behavior, but suspect it could have something to do with the water.  And, for those of you interested in where they stand currently, well, they had these words to share:

"The boys have teamed up. They equally influence each other. It is our cross to bear."