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| “For words,
like Nature, half reveal and half conceal the
Soul within.”
Alfred Lord Tennyson 1809-1892
by Harriet
Murray
March 30, 2003 |
LAST NAMES
It is important to understand how Mexico and other Spanish
speaking countries use the two last names of an individual.
The paternal surname is placed first, appearing as a
“middle name”, for those who are unfamiliar
with the Latin system.
 The
person’s mother’ s maiden name or maternal
surname becomes their last name. For example the, the
name Maria Carrera Lopez denotes that Maria is called
Sra. Carrera. Lopez is her mother’s maiden name,
which is part of Maria’s full formal and legal
name.
When a woman marries, she takes her
husband’s name in the form of “de”.
When Maria Carrera Lopez marries Juan Garcia Alvarez,
she becomes Maria Carrera de Garcia, which translates
as “Maria Carrera, the wife of Garcia.”
The official last name for a child
of this marriage becomes the father’s surname,
as in Pablo or Paula Garcia Carrera. The official “apellido”
is Garcia.
Visitors in Mexico should not address
people who are older or senior to them by using the
nicknames that their friends use without asking permission
or being invited to do so.
The majority of first names are usually
taken from names of saints from the Bible. It has long
been the custom to name children after the name of their
birthday saint. For this reason, the first name of a
person has a very special meaning to them and to their
family.
Another common practice is to give
the first son the father’s name and the first
daughter the mother’s name. This makes for a lot
of juniors in the family.
Being aware of the practices of how
names are used, will help you address the person correctly
and they will appreciate your effort to understand.
COMPRENCION
The Japanese culture has the concept of “rikai”
or “understanding.” This term means a lot
more than intellectually grasping something. In Mexico,
the same concept of understanding is “COMPRENCION.”
COMPRENCION incorporates an understanding
of the facts of a proposition, and at the same time,
accepting an intellectual and sympathetic perspective.
This acceptance goes well beyond just passive believing,
approving or agreeing to something. It calls for a positive
response. This response may involve taking some action
or stopping some action that is in process.
In Mexico and Japan, this “understanding”
means that you become an advocate of the other’s
viewpoint and goals and do whatever is possible to help
the other side achieve those goals.
It is important to understand that
when a person says that they “understand”,
the implication is that he/she also approves of it.
If you say you “understand”
something, be aware that you may also be making a commitment
to take an action, as well.
MANANA OR “Que Será
Será”
It has been said that North Americans
live for the future without much though of the past,
while Mexicans live for the present and their past is
always with them.
When Europe became mechanized after
the industrial revolution, the concept of time changed
when people had to learn how to keep up with machines.
Before that event, Europe, including Spain came from
a society whose lifestyle was based on the slow passage
of time and a variety of rituals that required a sedate
pace. Until mechanization occurred in a country, the
people were not on “European time.”
In highly industrial countries, time
is a straight line and work, play, and other activities
occur in sequence. Time is not to be wasted.
There can be an opposite view of
time followed in other countries. “Idle”
time can be thought of not as wasted time, but as time
to be enjoyed. “Idle” time has its own place
in life and its own reward. Doing nothing is something.
It nurtures the spirit and soul.
Therefore, in this kind of environment,
activities or events are not separate in their own precise
time slots. Exact schedules are not part of the lifestyle.
There are time frames, but these can be flexible.
Because time in this case is not
measured in tiny increments and the length of time it
takes to do things is not qualified, there is no sense
of being late or of time being wasted.
Therefore, “on time”
can be half an hour after the time is set, or up to
one hour being acceptable, unless “American”
time is agreed to in advance. Knowing this difference
can affect your understanding in business or social
situations.
Saying that things are going to be
done by a specific time or date can be more of a polite
reply than a commitment. If the time is important to
you, you need to probe a little further to try to understand
if or when the appointment may be kept.
Spanish language dictionaries say
that MANANA means “tomorrow” and this is
the meaning taught to foreign students of the language.
“Tomorrow” is a literal translation, not
the true cultural meaning of the word.
Within its normal cultural context,
MANANA means “sometime in the near future, or
maybe. The unspoken meaning can be “If I feel
like it”, or “If I have the time”,
or “If nothing unexpected happens.”
LA VERDAD “The Truth”
The concept of “the truth” is based on a
value system that comes from cultural attitudes and
behavior of a people.
When people operate on a different
value system, what appears as illogical and untruthful
to an outsider makes perfect sense to the insider.
“La Verdad” is an Oriental
concept that prevails through much of Asia, including
Japan, Korean, and China. The “truth”, in
this context, has never been based on absolute, objective
facts or principles, but on circumstances.
The basis for this concept of truth
is “personal reality” as opposed to “objective
reality.” What is truth for one person may not
be truth for another, what is true at one time, may
not be true at another time.
One of the ways that this “principle
of truth” is used is when answers to questions
are given in such a way as not to upset or disappoint
the other party. The rational for this personal truth
is to maintain harmony and stay out of trouble, to please
the other person.
In this situation, it is considered
rude not to give a positive answer to a question. Using
this perspective, if the answer is not known, it is
still better to give an answer of what you would like
to happen.
This difference in personal and objective
“truth” affects other circumstances. Things
do not have to be qualified in absolute terms or according
to absolute rules. This lack of qualification comes
from believing that part of the joy of life is to adapt
to circumstances.
Being able to discern the real truth
from personal truth becomes the challenge in understanding
what information you are receiving.
Another factor that impacts directly
on “la verdad” can be the importance of
saving face. If the answer is not known, but the person
will feel belittled or unworthy for not knowing, “la
verdad” may be used to save the situation for
them.
This article is based upon legal opinions, current practices
and my personal experiences in the PuertoVallarta-Bahia
de Banderas areas. I recommend that each potential buyer
conduct his own due diligence and review. Information
has additionally been supplied by Boyce Lafayette de
Mente.
Harriet
Murray, Broker
For additional information on properties for sale or
lease within the bay, please call or e-mail me at: harriet@pvmirror.com
Thanks and until next week.
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