My brother Dave is heading to Rosario, Argentina in a few weeks to serve a mission for our church. I've been sharing what stereotypical insights I have on the country. Here's what I can say with relative certainty based on my personal exposure to Latin American culture:
1. The mullet is alive and well (as exemplified above by the Michael Jordan of Argentina, Diego Maradona).
2. The most popular music is cumbia. Never heard it? Well here's a sample (bleeding from the ears while listening to this sort of music is normal, so don't be alarmed. No, you're not mistaken - that is, in fact, an accordion being played):
2. The most popular music is cumbia. Never heard it? Well here's a sample (bleeding from the ears while listening to this sort of music is normal, so don't be alarmed. No, you're not mistaken - that is, in fact, an accordion being played):
3. The men have a different take on the tradition of "cheek kissing." Per Wikipedia:
"In Latin America, cheek kissing is a universal form of greeting between a man and a woman or two women. It is not necessary to know a person well or be intimate with them to kiss them on the cheek.
A cheek kiss can be accompanied by a handshake or a hug, although hugs are usually a sign of deeper trust. As with other regions, cheek kissing may be lips-to-cheek or cheek-to-cheek with a kiss in the air, the latter being more common. Cheek-kissing between two men is usually seen as a sign of homosexuality or femininity in most conservative countries, except father-son cases and very rarely, close friend kissing. Other exceptions occur in Argentina and Uruguay where it's common between male friends to kiss "a la italiana", i.e. football players kiss each other to congratulate or to greet. This kind of greeting can be awkward to, say, a Colombian trying to shake hands with a new Argentinian friend who is trying to kiss him."
A cheek kiss can be accompanied by a handshake or a hug, although hugs are usually a sign of deeper trust. As with other regions, cheek kissing may be lips-to-cheek or cheek-to-cheek with a kiss in the air, the latter being more common. Cheek-kissing between two men is usually seen as a sign of homosexuality or femininity in most conservative countries, except father-son cases and very rarely, close friend kissing. Other exceptions occur in Argentina and Uruguay where it's common between male friends to kiss "a la italiana", i.e. football players kiss each other to congratulate or to greet. This kind of greeting can be awkward to, say, a Colombian trying to shake hands with a new Argentinian friend who is trying to kiss him."
French president Charles de Gaulle kisses Argentinian president Arturo Illia in 1964.4. Everyone drinks yerba mate out of calabash gourds (hollowed out pumpkin-like plants fashioned in to leathery cups).
5. Manu Ginobli is the only guy that knows how to play basketball. Everyone else plays soccer or fulbito (also called baby futbol, depending on where you're from).
Yeah you're awesome Manu... but no one in your country cares
Golazo!!Enjoy Dave!
1 comment:
I wish I could post a video of Mike dancing to the Cumbia music. Pretty funny.
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