hispanos vs. anglos

So, you´re going to Spain. Who are you going to find there? Are they Hispanics? Latinos?--maybe the first, but definitely NOT the second. How do they self-identify, then? Well, Spaniards are Hispanic because they speak Spanish. However, they identify themselves as Europeans, NOT LATINOS, whom they consider to be Americans. America, btw, is the entire Western Hemisphere--from Canada to Tierra del Fuego. The US is but one country in America.

That being said, one really has to say that Spaniards self-identify as coming from their patria chica, their little fatherland, or region of Spain. Two of my uncles who married two of my father´s sisters, always said that they were Catalán first, then Spanish. That is still true. The different regions of Spain have different cuisines, languages, psychologies. Catalanes, for example, are considered to be serious business people. Andalucía, is reputed to be a land of happy-go-lucky people who love to talk. Other regions have their own characteristics or stereotypes.

Keeping the concept of the stereotype in mind, let´s discuss the difference between Anglos and Hispanics. There are more differences than just linguistic ones. Hispanics are generous, family and people-centered, and cooperative. They view Anglos as stingy or money-hungry, self and thing-centered or individualistic, and competetive. There is no word for babysitter in Spanish, and a group eating out in a restaurant would never embarass themselves by splitting the check. They would simply be the host this time, and the guest the next. The "tab" isn´t kept in stone, however, as Anglos MUST have a complete balance of whose turn it is to pay. When my mother died, for another example, one of my Cuban uncles consoled me this way, "You behaved like a Cuban, not like an Anglo." By that he meant that, since I had been at my mother´s side through more than 40 days in the hospital, he thought that was something an Anglo would not have done. Their concept is that Anglo parents relinquish their children when the children marry. This is not the case among Latinos. Your responsibility toward your parents still remains, and your parents´ expect to be able to play a role in your life. Family always comes first.

There is another aspect of the difference between Anglos and Hispanics that I have observed. Anglos are particularly indirect in their address to others, and Hispanics are direct. Anglos wouldn´t dream of asking what someone´s salary is, while Hispanics would bat an eye over the question. The Anglo penchant for "tact" is seen as disingenuous. Hispanics speak their minds, and value others´ doing the same. In fact, not to do so, is offensive. At the same time, Anglos find Hispanics sometimes abrasive.

These are but a few differences that you will observe when you are in Spain. How are you going to handle them?