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  • Los Angeles Times

    For many Latinos, memories of Vicks VapoRub are as strong as the scent of eucalyptus

    by Esmeralda Bermudez, Los Angeles Times Apr 01, 2019 5 minutes

    They call it Bibaporru, Beep Vaporu, El Bic, El Bix, El Vickisito.

    And many think of the sticky, stinky menthol goop as their own, even though it's used around the world.

    In the Latino community, Vicks VapoRub inspires a curious, nostalgic devotion - for its many nicknames and uses far more creative than relief for the common cold and muscle pain.

    "If I say to someone, 'Hey, bring me El Vah-po-ru!' they'll know exactly what I'm talking about," said Luciano Roldan, 78, of Los Angeles, who has been rubbing VapoRub all over, including up his nose, since he was a kid in the El Salvador countryside.

    Since the ointment was invented as a croup and pneumonia cure by a North Carolina pharmacist more than a century ago, many have relied on the little blue jar to solve all sorts

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