Spanish I, Semester I; Saludos
Sections:

Introduction  |   Section 1  |  Section 2  |   Section 3   |  Dictionaries

  Section One:

Part A  |   Part B  |  Part C  |   Part D |   Part E |  Part F  |  Part G

Section One - Part C

La Cultura Read and Learn About Some Cultural Aspect

Now let's learn about how people in other cultures greet each other.

How do you generally greet your friends? Do you shake hands? Do you simply wave? High five them? Do you hug them? Do you just say "hi"? For the most part, in the United States, we say "hi" and sometimes wave when we greet our friends.

Shaking handsIn Spanish speaking countries, greeting friends is an entirely different practice. Hispanics will greet each other by shaking hands and/or exchanging a kiss on the cheek. Boys greet girls this way, girls greet girls this way. Boys greet boys only by shaking hands.

While this seems to be a strange custom for us as it invades our "space" (which is also very cultural), Hispanics tend to feel quite the opposite. They feel that not greeting their friends in this way is cold and not welcoming. Exchange students from countries like Colombia can sometimes feel quite embarrassed when they discover Americans do not react the way they expect when they try to make physical contact with people they are just meeting. It is therefore important to make sure they learn the normal behaviors of the country they are visiting before they go out and greet people.

Adults also greet each other in these ways if they are friends and share a friendship that is more than just professional.

Now let's talk about your relationships with your parents! How many of you hug one of your parents or guardians at least once daily? Once weekly?

ZapataThis is another practice that is very cultural. Hispanics will hug AND kiss their mothers on the cheek every day, often times every time they see her after not having seen her for a period of time. This is something that American teenage boys do not believe! This practice, for Hispanics, has no age barrier.

Culture Focus
Emiliano Zapata (Right - Image by John Hardman) was a prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution of 1910. This revolution started because only a relative handful of people had come to own all the land in the country. Francisco I. Madero led a movement against this. Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa, and others supported him.

Madero eventually became president, but he and Zapata had a falling out because Zapata wanted a more rapid and revolutionary change in land ownership. Zapata assumed control of the country temporarily, but there were several years of chaos, during which time Madero was assassinated. When Venustiano Carranza assumed the presidency, the Constitution of 1917, which is still in effect today, was established. Zapata was assassinated in 1919.

Now go on to Part D.

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