Understanding Spanish Speaking South Americans

Skye Stephenson gives an overview of both the cultural and physical landscape of South America in Understanding Spanish Speaking South Americans.  This book was useful to me because I am currently becoming more interested in South America.  I have met many wonderful people from Colombia, Argentina, and Venezuela, but I didn’t know much about their culture.  This book describes Spanish speaking South Americans, so it does not include Central Americans on non-Spanish speakers (Brazil, Suriname, and Guinea). This book has a first part which talks about the characteristics of all countries in this category and a second section which discusses each country individually.

The Spanish speaking countries can be divided into two categories.  The first are the moderate countries in Southern South America which include Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, and Chile.  Second the tropical countries are closer to the equator:  Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, and Peru.

These countries are all inhabited by a mixture of three different groups: Indians, Africans, and Europeans.  While the proportions vary between countries (for instance there are more Africans in the tropical region), these are the main ethnic groups throughout the area.  There are also Mestizos who developed as a results of the intermarrying of Indians and Europeans.  The Europeans are largely descended from the Spanish conquerors, but many of them are descendants of  immigrants from other European countries that arrived much later.  Many of these non-Spanish Europeans live in Argentina and Uruguay.

Geography plays a large role in the culture of each of these countries.  Most countries have a split–or several–in their country along geographic boundaries.  Each geographic region has its own personality and ethnic majority.  Many countries have a coastal zone where people are more outgoing and laid back.  It is also common for there to be a highland or temperate region where the major cities are and where the centers of the Spanish and Indian empires were located.  There are often interior forested regions which are home to non-modernized Indians.  Finally there may be desolate arid or grassy regions which are sparsely populated and used for herding cattle.  The regions present vary by country.

Personal relationships are more important in South America than in the United States.  People’s lives are centered around their family instead of their jobs.  When you meet someone in South America you ask them about their family not what job they have.  In general people have fewer friendships outside of their family but closer relationships with their extended relatives than in the United States.  A person”s extended family will provide more help in finding jobs and solving problems than in the United States.

Possibly because of the closer family ties several “isms” which have largely disappeared in America still play a large factor in how people act.  People will more strongly judge someone based upon their race, gender, class, and dress.

• Race:  The Spanish were the rulers of colonial South America.  They ruled over the Natives and intermarried with them.  They also brought in African slaves as labor.  The social structure today is remains the same with Whites on top, Mestizos (White and Native mix) in the middle, and Indians on the bottom.  However, it doesn’t seem that the people of African descent are discriminated against as much as the Indians.  Racial relations vary between countries with Venezuela having some of the best and Ecuador having some of the worst.
• Gender:  Gender roles are more important and more strictly defined in South America than in the Anglophone North.  Men are stoic protectors while women are chaste nurturers.  Interestingly the “machismo” with which we characterize Latin American men is an invention of the United States; it started because of prejudice against Mexicans.
• Class:  Class is more important in South America than in the United States.  People dress differently and speak to each other differently depending on their class.  In many cases class is linked to race with the high class being of European descent.
• Clothing:  Dressing well is important to South Americans and it is less acceptable to appear in public while slovenly dressed.  Because class is more important, one must look and act in a way to reflect one’s social standing.  The modern United States seems to be an anomaly in that we insist on the right to appear anywhere poorly dressed and not be judged for it.

In closing I will touch on a more sensitive topic.  Citizens of the United States are worried about their country being taken over by people from Latin American countries and becoming a minority in their own land.  People in Latin America are similarly worried about corporations and culture from the United States are taking over their culture and destroying their way of life.  I don’t think either side realizes the others concerns.  Consequently, relations between these two groups promise to be fraught with misunderstanding in the future.