Hispanic Culture: Business and Meeting Etiquette

Hispanic Culture: Business and Meeting Etiquette via Dr. Armelle Fee, FLCC Relationships & Communication: The Spanish prefer to do business with those they know and trust. It is important that you spend sufficient time letting your business colleagues get to know you. Once you develop a relationship, it will prevail even if you switch companies, […]

Hispanic Culture: Social Courtesies and Small Talk

Hispanic Culture: Social Courtesies and Small Talk Spanish and Latin American societies tend to be quite traditional; strict conventions govern social behavior. Although economic, social, and political events have brought about many changes in the makeup of society and in the roles of both men and women, a strong sense of family still prevails and […]

Hispanic Culture: Describing yourself and your family

Hispanic Culture: Describing Yourself and Your Family In Spanish-speaking cultures, the family continues to play an important role in establishing relationships. It is the nucleus of the society and its influence has social, economic, and even political implications. Needless to say, family ties are strong and the traditional extended family persists. By and large, families […]

Hispanic Culture: Meeting and Greeting People

Hispanic Culture: Meeting and Greeting People Knowing how to introduce people will give you added confidence, both professionally and socially, when dealing with host-country nationals. One advantage that Spanish-speaking people enjoy in making introductions is that they do not need to remember the name of the person who is being introduced. They can simply say […]

Hispanic Culture: The Familiar (Informal) Form “Tú”

Hispanic Culture: The Familiar (Informal) Form “Tú” The use of the familiar “tú” form will vary quite a bit from country to country, from region to region within a given country, from family to family, and among individuals. The familiar form is used more readily in some countries than in others; however, in recent years […]

Hispanic Culture: Public Transportation

Hispanic Culture: Public Transportation The question of whether or not to bargain is one that many Americans ask themselves when faced with the prospect of having to buy something or employ the services of someone while traveling or living in a Spanish-speaking country. If you thought of bargaining conjures up the classic scene of the […]

Hispanic Culture: Composition of Hispanic Names

Hispanic Culture: Composition of Hispanic Names Traditional Hispanic names consists of three parts: given name(s) + father’s surname + mother’s surname (or initial) The idea of having a “middle name” is more a part of the Anglo-American culture.  In Spanish, there are names that appear to be made up of a first and a middle […]

Hispanic Culture: Christenings

Hispanic Culture: Christenings If you are invited to a christening (un bautizo) you should consider this an honor, since christenings are famliy affairs and someone thought enough of you to have extended an invitation. Don’t forget to take a gift for the child; it does not have to be expensive. Religious artifacts, by the way […]