Free Spanish Lesson #28 The Cold Fish and Other Important Handshakes

Como mencioné in previous boletines, when Latin Americans se saludan, they almost always shake hands, hug or kiss each other. Es importante saber about this diferencia cultural so you aren’t thrown off by your first few saludos when visiting Latin America.

Como mencioné, when mujeres who are friends or relatives se saludan, they usually give each other a kiss on the mejilla. Men greeting mujeres, in a casual non-business setting, will also give each other a kiss on the mejilla.

When hombres greet hombres in a similar setting, they will often give each other a handshake and/or un abrazo. The key is to be aware of the diferentes saludos and follow the lead of the Latin person you are greeting. Latin people that have lived in the U.S. for a while usually have adopted U.S. customs cuando se saludan a Americans.

Now the important question of the day is, ¿qué pasa cuando you are in a more formal setting, where you would normally shake hands, pero la mujer you are going to greet is carrying things in her brazos? What should you do? This happens frecuentemente and because of it, an interesting cultural norm ha sido creado.

First see if you can guess la respuesta correcta for this situation:

a. Avoid eye contact because it could be embarrassing if she couldn’t shake your hand.
b. Offer to shake her hand anyway. Handshakes are so important that she will probably put everything down to shake your hand.
c. Shake her forearm.
d. Just wave to her and wink (but only in a politically correct way).

And…la respuesta correcta es…

La respuesta correcta es “c. Shake her forearm”. Forearm handshakes were tan común in Latin America that parecía like I shook a woman’s forearm casi diario.

The first time it happened to me, the mujer put out her forearm and I had no idea what she was doing. It was a little embarrassing for both of us. Más tarde, I realized that you actually shake her forearm when that happens.

Now to the art of forearm shaking: Gently grab the forearm unas pulgadas down from el codo with a few dedos and your thumb. Very gently move your hand por arriba y abajo a few times. CAUTION: Don’t give a “fuerte” forearm shake or make jerking movimientos por arriba y abajo as you could cause the person to drop everything they are cargando!

Changing the subject just a little, la primera vez you shake a Latin woman’s mano, and she isn’t holding anything in her arms, be prepared for una sorpresa. A diferencia de Latin America, when I shake men’s and women’s hands in the U.S., they usually use a very strong grip.

Some U.S. mujeres even have stronger grips than some U.S. hombres. However, no es así in Latin America. Hombres usually use a strong grip, but mujeres generally leave their mano still and sort of limp. When you shake their manos, they don’t grip at all. It reminds me of shaking a “cold fish”. La primera vez I shook one of their manos, I tried to get a better grip, then realized that she was making no effort to grip my mano.

Al principio, I thought this diferencia cultural was maybe just a phenomenon in the país I was living in. Then I went to live in another Latin American país and the same thing happened. Recently, I met una vecina here in the U.S. who is originally from Guatemala, just south of Mexico, when I shook her mano it was the same as every other “cold-fish” handshake I had experienced in Latin America. If alguien sabe the reason behind this cultural phenomenon, please let us know why they shake hands in this intriguing manera.

If you are not prepared for este tipo of handshake, it can be very shocking la primera vez you experience it. It can make you wonder if you have offended la persona whose mano you are shaking or if everything está bien. But if you realize it’s simply parte de la cultura, you’ll be prepared for it.

It is my understanding that Latin businesswomen don’t do this handshake as much as the average ama de casa. If you, our boletín subscribers, have any insights on this as well as how handshakes are done around el mundo, please visit our blog to share your thoughts! Click here! Nos encantaría to hear your feedback.

Moral of the Story: This is a diferencia cultural that can really catch you off guard if you’re not ready for it. Be prepared for it and you’ll do great. Be sure to practice the “forearm handshake” on un amigo.

¡Hasta luego! (“Until later”)

Vocabulario de la semana – Vocabulary of the Week

como mencioné – as I mentioned
se saludan – greet each other
es importante saber – it’s important to know
diferencia cultural – cultural difference
saludos – greetings
mujeres – women
mejilla – cheek
hombres – men
un abrazo – a hug
diferentes saludos – different greetings
cuando se saludan (a) – when they greet
¿qué pasa cuando – what happens when
pero la mujer – but the woman
brazos – arms
frecuentemente – frequently
ha sido creado – has been created
la respuesta correcta – the correct answer
es – is
tan común – so common
parecía – it seemed
casi diario – almost daily
más tarde – later on
unas pulgadas – a few inches
el codo – the elbow
dedos – fingers
por arriba y abajo – up and down
fuerte – strong
movimientos – movements
cargando – carrying
la primera vez – the first time
mano – hand
una sorpresa – a surprise
a diferencia de – unlike
no es así – it is not so
al principio – at first
país – country
un vecino – a neighbor
alguien – anyone
sabe – knows
manera – way
este tipo – this type
la persona – the person
está bien – is okay
parte de la cultura – part of the culture
ama de casa – housewife
el mundo – the world
nos encantaría – we would love
un amigo – a friend

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Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.