‘Humble’ Honduran Teen Gives Viral Advice on How to Make Do With Less · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

Paola Mejía in one of the photos that accompanies her advice. Image from Instagram @lachiki504
At only 14 years old, Paola Mejía has shot to celebrity status online in Honduras thanks to her videos on how to be happy without pricey material goods.
With a straightforward style and a touch of humor, her advice has resonated with many people in the Central American country, where two-thirds of the population live in poverty.
She calls herself “La Chiki” (the little one) and has a Facebook page called Catrachiki (which has some imitators already). Her catchphrase “be humble, Chiki” has become a popular hashtag.
In one video, titled “El alucín del celular” (roughly translated as “The hallucination of the cellphone”), she addresses people who spend their limited resources on an expensive cellphone instead of prioritizing basic necessities like food. The humble blogger says, “If you can afford one of those cellphones, it's OK, but there are also those people who are poor like me […] who are not sure about [if they will be able to buy] their beans or eggs.”
She then lists the advantages of Chinese-made cellphones, which she says are much cheaper with all the same capabilities as name-brand phones:
In another video, she demonstrates how to straighten hair using a clothes iron instead of a hair iron:
More videos are available on her new official Facebook page, which has more than 30,000 followers. Her previous Facebook page, which she said was hacked last month, had more than 100,000 followers.
@fervarelahn @NonoElBohemio Hola! A la chiki le robaron la cuenta en Fb, la nueva cuenta es catrachiki en fb :)
— Lilian Hernández (@Ivtt_Herndez) abril 27, 2015
Hello there! The Chiki has her Facebook account hacked, her new account is Catrachiki on Facebook :)
On Twitter, Mejía has a large fan base:
¿Ya conocen a la chica que nos enseña a ser humildes en Facebook? http://t.co/YDnZqxa5bc pic.twitter.com/d9nhcorx10
— Sopitas (@sopitas) abril 28, 2015
Do you know the girl who teaches us how to be humble on Facebook?
Jajaja no maaaa!! #Catrachiki para Presidenta de Honduras!!! Sea humilde chiki, que nada le cuesta! https://t.co/n5AWoFOJVR
— pomish (@lizziemorante) abril 28, 2015
LOL! No way!!! #Catrachiki for president of Honduras!!! Be humble, Chiki, it's an easy thing to do!
“Sea humilde chiqui, que nada le cuesta” // Joven bloguera te enseña a vivir con poco y ser feliz: http://t.co/RmiHjex0KK — Ximena Rodríguez B. (@XimenaRodBel) abril 29, 2015
“Be humble, Chiki, it's an easy thing to do” // Young blogger teaches how to live with not that much and be happy.
“La Chiki 504″, la hondureña que se ha hecho viral por su humildad: http://t.co/DIsPgVLeUw pic.twitter.com/xGdye31tvO
— Soy 502 (@soy_502) abril 29, 2015
“La Chiki 504″, the Honduran girl whose humbleness has made her become viral.
Ver a Chiki y sentir la mera felicidad
— Erika シ (@I_Love_Rasta) abril 29, 2015
To watch Chiki and feel pure happiness.
Mejía's popularity caught the attention of BBC World. In a piece dedicated to her, the reporter wondered if “La Chiki” would remain humble now that she is a celebrity and has given product endorsements for a pizza chain and a cellphone company. It remains to be seen if these are a teen girl's 15 minutes of fame or if she's humbly here to stay.