Puerto Vallarta Real Estate Articles

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.