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CaboRon
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Not Being On Time Is High Art In Mexico
I found this to be an enjoyable commentary ....
Not being on time a high art in Mexico
Punctuality isn't dear to many Mexicans. 'It's not personal,' one commentator says, speaking of the phenomenon of perpetual lateness. She herself came
late to an interview -- in her own living room.
Reporting from Mexico City - We attacked the start of first grade with military precision. Up at 6:15, with pretty purple dress at the ready. Pancake
served, teeth brushed, sandals cinched -- with time to spare. We were a Swiss watch.
But this isn't Switzerland. The school bus didn't arrive at 7:20, as scheduled. Or at 7:30. Or 7:45. The van finally pulled up at 7:54. But the driver
gave no sign anything was wrong. She was all grins and big waves, as pleased as if she'd nailed an especially difficult dismount.
The punctual suffer in Mexico City, where lateness often seems as natural as gravity. Host a kids' birthday party and expect guests two or three hours
late. Get to the wedding 45 minutes after the time on the invitation and you're right on the money. I've waited an hour and a half for a scheduled
interview with a top Mexico City official, only to find out he wasn't going to make it at all.
So much tardiness, so little time. There are many reasons. The city is enormous, with 20 million people colliding like atoms trying to get to the
other side. Traffic is a monster. And, like just about everywhere else, 21st century life is full of time-eating distractions.
But the main reason for the chronic lateness has to do with Mexico, which as a rule couldn't give two centavosabout U.S.-style time expectations.
Mexicans have many traits to admire -- their enterprise, their ability to make do, to endure and to enjoy life. Punctuality, though, is nowhere on the
list for most of them. The Aztecs may have cared enough about time to carve their famous stone calendar, but you wonder sometimes if people here are
still relying on it to get through the day.
"It's not personal. They're always late with everybody: with the judge, with the priest, with their wedding, with their mother, with their father,"
said Guadalupe Loaeza, an author and columnist (who arrived late for an interview in her own living room). "It's something we cannot help."
Loaeza and others offer theories to explain tardiness in Mexico: a certain lack of responsibility, exaggerated focus on the present, generous social
tolerance and plain habit.
But there is something else. Time in Mexico doesn't work the same way it does in the U.S., which, you'll recall, was founded by parsons and scolds who
equated being on time with being good. (Time is money!)
"Here, the concept of time is very flexible," Loaeza said.
Translation: It's OK to tell someone you'll be there in a few minutes when you know there's no way this cab is getting through that traffic in under
half an hour. (But you don't have to make that call until you're at least 15 minutes late, seeing as the other person is probably running late too.)
The stretchiness is embedded in words whose job is to fudge, create wriggle room, dampen expectations.
Take ahorita, a diminutive of the word for "now." Ahorita can mean "right now." But it's frequently used to mean five minutes from now, 15 minutes
from now, half an hour from now -- anything but now now. Al ratito is another diminutive (see how it works?) that means "in a little while," but don't
start checking your watch.
Appointments and numerical time estimates can be as squishy. You may be asked to show up for an office appointment at "9 to 9:30," rather than on the
dot. A "five-minute" delay often means 15, a half-hour is starting to sound like bad news, and an hour pretty much means you're safe to cue up "Doctor
Zhivago."
But there are plenty of people in Mexico who are sticklers for punctuality. Monterrey, the business center in northern Mexico, is known to mind its
clock. In Ciudad Juarez, people manage to keep appointments despite the runaway violence.
"Mexicans know when they should be punctual and which things start punctually," said Victor Gordoa, a prominent image consultant who advises clients
to be on time. "For example, the bullfight is one of the few events in Mexico that starts exactly at 4 in the afternoon, and that's the tradition."
And the more Mexico folds itself into the global economy through NAFTA and other trade ties, the more it acts like the clock-obsessed people beyond
its borders. In the business world, the two-hour-plus lunch is giving way to a hurried bite.
"You can't say, 'I'll call you at 5,' and then call at 7," said Jorge Smeke, director of business studies at Iberoamerican University here. "You're
beginning to see changes."
So you never know. Just when you've figured out how late you can be in Mexico, the other person is on time. An expatriate friend played it too cool
the other day and missed half of a school meeting that started on schedule.
There's a happy flip side to this elasticity about time. It's easy to see your dentist on short notice, even if someone with an appointment ends up
waiting. And no one is likely to give you a hard time when Mexico City traffic takes you hostage.
One adapts. The other day, I scheduled a phone interview for the same time I was supposed to meet someone else -- a scheduling stunt I would never
have tried in the States.
But like so many things here, it worked out fine. One of the people was late by 20 minutes. The other -- well, let's just say a Russian war epic could
have come in handy.
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David K
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That is a good article Ron... We always hear it refered to as 'Mexican Time'.
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SDRonni
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I have learned that manana (don't know how to do the tilde) doesn't mean "tomorrow," it only means "not today." I have to admit that the tardiness is
a bitter pill for me to swallow. But I'd better get darned used to it now that we're getting ready to take possession of our second home there or
I'll drive myself bonkers...
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grace59
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This has been a difficult thing for us in building our home. Our contractor is always late for meetings...he'll call to say he will be "20" minutes
late and than be at least 20 minutes later than that. I try to tell my husband to be calm....we like Mexico for the slower pace of life and always
remember....
"Manana is the busiest day of the week".
Whenever I hear that rainy, chill wind blow. I think it may be time to head for Mexico. Tengo que obedecer mi corazon!
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Packoderm
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You're not supposed to be late for a chartered fishing trip. Here in the states, I've observed that Mexicans are very rarely late for work.
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David K
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| Quote: | Originally posted by SDRonni
I have learned that manana (don't know how to do the tilde) ... |
hold down the Alt key and at the same time push the numbers 164 on the right side number pad of your key board for ñ and push 165 for Ñ.
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Bajaboy
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I don't find this the case in Asuncion. The crew that works on our house is even early for jobs.
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shari
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Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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The Mexican Time thing is so intriguing...and very tricky to figure out for sure. One needs years to learn the nuances and which functions DO start on
time...like the school meeting referred to....and just when you think you have it figured out and you show up an hour after the stated time for a
function...you miss half of it! Just dont expect people to be on time...simple.
The point in the article that is important is that things just dont go as they should and there are so many factors involved with "time"...like other
people being late...late bus, late babysitter, water didnt come on to finisht the laundry so you could wear that nice blouse you wanted to, distant
cousin arrives just as you are out the door and you cant be rude...you have to chat and feed them first...a thousand unforseen things can interfere
with the "schedule".
Being patient, understanding and accepting IS criticle to enjoying life here...and pretty soon you find yourself not rushing around to get somewhere
at the appointed time...dont worry if you are a bit late...they will understand.
bajaboy...that is why I LOVE those guys...always punctual and work hard...the name of their crew is Manos Frios....cold hands...named such because
they never stand around with their hands in their pockets...meaning they work hard..jejejjejejeje
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gnukid
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We have a "Manos Frios" crew in my neighborhood too, that's what we say when we greet each other in the morning, usually before 8am, for my street
'mano frio' means 'holding a cold beer!'
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shari
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Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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bien dicho gnu...as you know here in mexico....everything has double meanings!!!
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Bajahowodd
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Much of the original article dealt with lack of punctuality in Mexico City, where the author is based. Mexico City is doubtless the most European City
in Mexico. Anyone who has spent much time in Meditteranean Europe would recognize a similar phenomenon.
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Osprey
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Not many clocks or watches in Baja Sur
Quizás
Yesterday the beach was a war zone. Well, maybe a miniature war zone. Squadrons of dragonflies, wave after wave of tiny helicopters, strafed the
beach. The mission: find and eat every small bug on the beach. A million sorties following some unseen leader with orders to move west but stay
between the shore and the palms.
While I was pretending to be an heroic war correspondent risking my neck to give the world the real-time sights and sounds of the action along the
beachhead, two Mexican fishing boats roared through the surf, up onto the beach. Pepe and his brothers said their hellos. Pepe said the sigarones,
the dragonflies, signaled rain. When I asked him when we could expect the rain he answered with his grinning-pirate look, it said it pleased him to
be vague.
His brother, Juan, said they come out after a rain. Juan has the look and demeanor of a Mexican Archie Bunker. Who should I believe? If we throw
out the niggardly constraints of time, they are both right.
This is how I spend my time in Mexico -- having to choose between two (or more) answers to every question. The land may be mostly implacable granite
and prickly cactus but it is pure quicksand for anyone looking for a hard-and-fast answer to anything. In order to better communicate I have forced
myself to be a better listener. I have not learned enough. I use the words siempre and nunca, always and never, as and when the conversation
dictates. These words are rarely spoken in this pueblo -- perhaps used little in all of Mexico. In a land where nothing is what it appears to be I
should expect to hear probables and posibles, a vezes, quisás manana. (probably, possibly, at times, perhaps tomorrow) The language demonstrates
the basic fatalistic view of the Mexican people. Fatalism defines the culture, pervades every sector of society.
The bending, warping of time is not culturally unique but it stands out like a c-ckroach on a wedding cake when compared to the U.S. cultural
imperative, the atomic clock exactitudes we are so proud of, the "seventeen jewels that dictate the rules".
The western world misinterprets the Mexican time view and world view, sees the people as non-productive, lazy. Time, taken in the abstract, the
Mexican way, offsets the Judeo/Christian stigma of guilt. The time-bending thing allows Mexicans to enjoy the leisure and forgiveness of a mas o menos
attitude about how they run their daily lives. Being a day early or three days late does not call for a trip to the confessional, a single mea culpa.
When two compadres joke with one another, the word lazy, flojo, is often used but it evokes laughter not scorn.
Only now, after spending a few years in Mexico, am I beginning to understand and appreciate the subtlety of these quirks of culture. One day I may
reap some of the benefits myself. I won't bore you with a long list of wonderful side effects but we can both feel the obvious orgullo de patria,
country pride, a Mexican worker must feel, arriving a week late for work, upon learning that his whole crew was laid off several days ago.
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by shari
The Mexican Time thing is so intriguing...and very tricky to figure out for sure. |
It's easy to figure out. Just take all your clocks and watches, egg timers, hour glasses and sun dials out into the street and run back and forth
over them with your truck. Then....you're on Mexican time.
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CaboRon
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
| Quote: | Originally posted by shari
The Mexican Time thing is so intriguing...and very tricky to figure out for sure. |
It's easy to figure out. Just take all your clocks and watches, egg timers, hour glasses and sun dials out into the street and run back and forth
over them with your truck. Then....you're on Mexican time. |
It may actually involve higher powers or more earthly phenomenon ...
Perhaps it is magnetic 
During the month before moving to Mexico the batteries in all three of my watches expired 
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arrowhead
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Mexico is what it is. I still don't understand why some Americans find the attributes that keep Mexico as a third world country so noble. Why is it
so great to have a population that is unmotivated, disengaged and so lacking in the altruism that drives more developed countries to greatness? Does
anybody here ever question the obvious contradictions in comments posted here? Like when Mexicans are praised as an intelligent, hard-working people,
but who show up a week late for the job?
Instead of rejoicing in the Mexican's lack of concern for time, you should ask why you never heard of a computer designed and produced in Mexico, or a
car, or an airplane, or a modern medicine. Or wonder how the Mexican space program is coming along, or its war on cancer, or any of thousands of other
leading edge technologies that drive the world forward, none of which are developed in Mexico.
I think the people who find glory in the slow pace of Mexico are really just burned-out North Americans who spent the 45 years waiting for their
Social Security to kick in by staring out the window daydreaming about childish things, like running away with the circus, or living on a desert
island. For sure, taking it easy in your retirement is relaxing. But you forget that if you were born and raised in Mexico, instead of the US or
Canada, you wouldn't have a retirement. You can only enjoy the pace of Mexico after spending all your productive years elsewhere. Mexicans are not so
lucky.
No soy por ni contra apatía.
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by arrowhead
I still don't understand why some Americans find the attributes that keep Mexico as a third world country so noble. |
They arn't completely unaccomplished. Name another of the worlds people who can sit and lean back against a cactus and take a nap. This skill is
immortalized in a million statuettes throughout the trash stores on Lopez Mateos in Ensenada. I've seen them.
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Fred
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Who carries a watch in Mexico anyway............
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Fred
Who carries a watch in Mexico anyway............ |
Fred....I told you what you're supposed to do with your watches. In the street....zoom zoom zoom.
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CaboRon
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Mexico In A Nutshell
| Quote: | Originally posted by arrowhead
Mexico is what it is. I still don't understand why some Americans find the attributes that keep Mexico as a third world country so noble. Why is it
so great to have a population that is unmotivated, disengaged and so lacking in the altruism that drives more developed countries to greatness? Does
anybody here ever question the obvious contradictions in comments posted here? Like when Mexicans are praised as an intelligent, hard-working people,
but who show up a week late for the job?
Instead of rejoicing in the Mexican's lack of concern for time, you should ask why you never heard of a computer designed and produced in Mexico, or a
car, or an airplane, or a modern medicine. Or wonder how the Mexican space program is coming along, or its war on cancer, or any of thousands of other
leading edge technologies that drive the world forward, none of which are developed in Mexico.
I think the people who find glory in the slow pace of Mexico are really just burned-out North Americans who spent the 45 years waiting for their
Social Security to kick in by staring out the window daydreaming about childish things, like running away with the circus, or living on a desert
island. For sure, taking it easy in your retirement is relaxing. But you forget that if you were born and raised in Mexico, instead of the US or
Canada, you wouldn't have a retirement. You can only enjoy the pace of Mexico after spending all your productive years elsewhere. Mexicans are not so
lucky. |
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David K
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From www.PeoplesGuide.com
¡Viva Mexico!
Mexican Time
by P.G. Meier
I live in Gringolandia and when I am here time is time. One of the things that I cherish of my Mexican experiences is losing that sense of time.
Once I got up early to be first in line at a Laundromat in Oaxaca. I hurried past the Juarez market as vendors set up their shops, sanitation workers
swept, swept, swept, and bicycle messengers delivered magazines, ice, bundles of sisal.
I ignored the glorious lush cool air and arrived two minutes before the scheduled opening of the Laundromat. I was first in line!
The only thing was, there was no sign of the owner at opening time. Nor was there 10 minutes later, nor 20. The line behind me grew.
When the owner arrived 40 minutes late there was a push to get in the door. A man wanted to know why the owner had not arrived at the scheduled
opening hour. The owner replied "That's not important. The important thing is that I'm here now."
That statement encapsulates Mexican time for me.
By the way, our clothes weren't ready when they were promised. While our clothes were being folded we got to talk with two young Norteamericanos who
were sitting on the floor of the Laundromat writing postcards. They were off on an ADO bus for Chiapas that night: by traveling at night they saved on
hotel money. We left the Laundromat with clean clothes and an expanded sense of time.
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