How did the nickname Cebolinha come about?

For just over six decades, the boy who always wears green, says “elado”, has only five hairs and is responsible for the group’s creation of infallible plans, our dear Cebolinha, amuses fans of the most different ages of the Monica’s Gang.

The boy who always eats Monica’s rabbits appeared in 1960 as a supporting character in the comic strips of Franjinha and Bidu, which were published in the newspaper Folha de S.Paulo.

His first solo comic book, however, was only released in 1971, with the title “Cebolinha nº1”, also featuring the debut of the characters Chovinista, Louco and Rosinha.

In the comics, everyone knows the boy only as Cebolinha, however, his real name is Cebolácio Júnior Menezes da Silva. Mauricio de Sousa created Cebola inspired by a childhood friend of his brother, Márcio de Sousawhich was called Luiz, but also had the nickname Cebolinha. But where did that nickname come from?

childhood nickname

Like the character, Luiz he also had spiky hair as a child and had dyslalia, responsible for making him change the letter “R” to “L”.

In an interview with the Veja São Paulo portal in 2011, Luiz answered some questions sent by fans, and finally unraveled the mystery of where the nickname Cebolinha came from.

“The nickname came when I played soccer with Mauricio’s younger brother, in the São João neighborhood, in Mogi das Cruzes”, he revealed. “And the nickname was given by his father, because of my hair that sprouted from the top of my little bald head like strands on top of an onion. The dyslalia, placed in the character, also came from myself. I change the letters R to the real L. But just talking. When I write, I don’t change anything”.

During the interview, which also included the participation of Mauricio de Sousathe creator explained another question often asked by fans: why did Cebolinha always call Mônica shorty if they are the same size?

At the time, the cartoonist said: “Maybe because with his hair stuck up, he is a few centimeters taller”.