Latin American Culture

Latin American culture is rich and multi-faceted. Since there are well over 300
million Spanish-speakers in Latin America, spread out over a huge geographic area, it can
be difficult at times to make generalizations about Latin American culture. owever,
there are some lifest!les and wa!s of looking at life that are in common throughout the
ma"orit! of the region. #his article will give !ou an overview of those broad cultural
strokes, noting differences between Latin American and $orth American attitudes and
practices.
#he first point that should be noted is that, as mentioned above, we are talking
about averages. #his means that in an! culture, there will be e%ceptions to the rule. &f we
were to interview a representative sample of two countries'(reen Land and )urple Land
'and ask residents of both countries about their views on some cultural belief, such as
*espect for Authorit!, we would be able to map or graph their views +see ,igure -.. &f the
vertical column represents millions of people, we can see that in )urple Land, the
ma"orit! of the population has Low to /edium *espect for Authorit!. &n (reen Land, on
the other hand, most people have igh to 0%tremel! igh *espect for Authorit!. 1e
would be "ustified, then, in sa!ing that )urple Land is more egalitarian, while (reen Land
is more hierarchical. owever, we would be wise to keep in mind that some )urple
Landers do have noticeabl! more *espect for Authorit!, while a few (reen Landers have
little or none.

#his principle holds true for large regions, countries, and sometimes even for
smaller groups, such as individual cities or neighborhoods, and in a given countr! or area,
there ma! be significant cultural differences from one region to another. ,or e%ample,
$ew 2orkers ma! have a ver! different outlook on life from residents of /emphis. 0ven
in a smaller area like $orth 3arolina, people from 3harlotte ma! think and live ver!
differentl! from people in 1ilmington.
#hese observations are not meant to suggest that it is impossible to understand a
culture, but rather to underscore the point that there is variance in an! cultural group. So
although we can make sound and valid generalizations about Latin American culture, it is
important to keep in mind that individuals ma! well diverge from the cultural paradigms
we are discussing here.
aving said that, let4s look at some areas where Latin American culture differs
from American culture. (eert ofstede4s 53ultural 6imensions7 are a good place to start.
ofstede was working with &8/ as a social ps!chologist when, in the -9:0s, he began
conducting some of the first s!stematic research on cultural beliefs and the workplace.
is anal!sis included more than ;0 countries and resulted in his formulation of four
categories or 53ultural 6imensions,7 which ofstede used to e%plain cultural differences
between countries.
#he first dimension we should consider is what ofstede described as )ower
6istance +)6.. #his is the degree to which people accept and e%pect ine<ualit! in the
distribution of authorit!. &n societies with high )6, decision-making is centralized rather
than consultative, hierarchies are stable and clearl! defined, and respect for leaders is
highl! valued. &n contrast, low-)6 societies place more emphasis on decision b!
consensus, hierarchies are less rigid, and leaders are e%pected to be on more e<ual footing
with subordinates.
Although the =.S. scores below the global average on )6, most Latin American
countries surve!ed b! ofstede had high to ver! high )6 ratings. (enerall!, Latin
American authorit! figures e%pect to be respected and are accustomed to making
decisions without soliciting the input of those under their authorit!. #his does not mean
that leaders are indifferent to those under their charge, however> on the contrar!, the! are
e%pected to demonstrate concern and regard. 8ut involving subordinates in decision-
making is generall! less common, and there is a greater emphasis on showing proper
respect for those in authorit! than in the =.S.
ofstede defined &ndividualism +&$6. as follows? in high &$6 societies, there is
more emphasis on individualit! rather than identif!ing with a group, and high &$6
countries place more value on creativit! and initiative. Although the =.S. earned the
highest &$6 rating in the world, because of our celebration of individualit! and personal
e%pression, most countries in Latin America have a low &$6 rating. #his means that in
Latin America, conformit! and lo!alt! to the group are generall! more highl! valued than
e%pressing one4s individualit!.
/asculinit! +/AS. is a categor! that merits some e%planation, since ofstede4s
definition of this 3ultural 6imension is critical to understanding how he rates the
countries he studies. ofstede defined /AS as the degree to which social and economic
survival re<uires aggression, and the level of monetar! reward attached to success. e
also considered how clearl! gender roles are defined and how much of a distinction there
is in a given societ! between men4s and women4s behavior. #his comple% definition
e%plains wh!, despite the famous Latin 5machismo,7 the =.S. actuall! rates higher than
some Latin American countries in /AS. &n the =.S., survival re<uires a higher degree of
aggression than in most Latin American countries, and monetar! rewards are more highl!
valued. owever, gender roles tend to be more distinct in Latin America than in the =.S.,
and men hold greater authorit!. @ne important caveat to this observation, however, is that
in Latin America, income is a ke! determinant. &n the upper class, Latin American
women often have more educational and professional opportunities than most women in
the =.S., and several Latin American countries have elected women presidents> in the
lower classes, however, Latin America tends to be much more traditional, with clearl!
differentiated gender roles and fewer opportunities for women.
ofstede used the term 5=ncertaint! Avoidance7 +=A. to describe how open
societies are to risk. Societies that rate high on =A prefer clearl!-defined situations and
roles, and favor securit! over risk-taking. Latin America4s e%tremel! high =A rating
reflects the strong preference for clarit! and safet!. As ofstede e%plains it, the high =A
outcome indicates that Latin American societ! 5does not readil! accept change and is
ver! risk adverse.7 @n the other hand, the =.S4s below-average =A rating reflects the
general acceptance of risk, preference for more loosel! defined rules, and greater
tolerance for different andAor unfamiliar ideas. &n the workplace, Latin America4s high
=A means that workers t!picall! prefer specific instructions and close supervision, rather
than management st!les that stress worker initiative or independence.
&f !ou are interested in reading more about ofstede4s anal!sis of culture, !ou can
visit? http?AAwww.geert-hofstede.comAinde%.shtml. A more thorough discussion of his
anal!sis can be found in his books? Culture's Consequences: Comparing Values,
Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations Across Nations +B
nd
ed., Sage, B00-., and
Cultures and Organizations: Sot!are or the "ind +/c(raw ill, B0-0.. 8oth are
available on Amazon, and at the CS* Librar!.
&n addition to the points ofstede describes, there are other facets of Latin
American culture that it will be helpful to highlight, the first of these being the
importance of famil!. /ost people in Latin America place a higher priorit! on famil!
than the ma"orit! of Americans. =.S. citizens are more likel! to sacrifice famil! time for
work or live farther awa! from famil! than what is common in Latin America. #he
famil! is considered b! most Latin Americans to be the most important social group, and
generall! takes precedence over work and other obligations.
#he importance Latin Americans place on famil! and personal relationships helps
e%plain the prevailing attitude toward punctualit!. /ost Americans consider punctualit! a
virtue, and believe that arriving on-time to appointments shows respect for the person
whom !ou are meeting. ,or that reason, if an American runs into a friend on the wa! to
an appointment, it is common to hear himAher sa! something like, 5& wish & could sta!
and catch up, but & have to runD7 &n contrast, Latin Americans are more inclined to place
the relationship above arriving on-time, and a Latin American in the same situation would
be more likel! to chat for a few minutes, even if it meant arriving somewhat late to an
appointment.
Some important cautions need to be heeded, however. ,irst, punctualit! is
definitel! more fle%ible in social settings than in the workplace. Also, schedules tend to
be less rigid in small towns and smaller companies than in larger, more industrialized
cities and bigger firms, particularl! those with an international focus. ,inall!, some Latin
American countries are making a significant public effort to combat tardiness, and in
some places the afternoon siesta is being eliminated. #hese changes are particularl!
noticeable in Argentina, 3hile, 3olombia, and /e%ico. As noted before, there will be
variations from one countr! to another, and even within countries. ,or e%ample, the pace
of life is much faster in /e%ico 3it! than in Eeracruz or 3ozumel, and punctualit! might
be more important there also.
#he relativel! lower importance of punctualit! is also connected to the work ethic
and the cultural definition of success. &f man! Americans4 first impression of Latin
America is that work seems to be a lower priorit! and the pace of societ! slower than
what the! are accustomed to, man! Latin Americans would probabl! perceive that people
in the =.S. are obsessed with work and maintain a frantic, hectic lifest!le. #he reason is
that, for man! Latin Americans, the definition of 5success7 is connected much more to
relationships and time with famil!, whereas man! Americans are willing to sacrifice
those things, for a while at least, in order to attain greater material securit!. &t is more
common in the =.S., for e%ample, for someone to put off getting married andAor starting a
famil! until he or she has attained a level of professional and financial success, or to
work long hours for man! !ears with the goal of retiring earl!. &n contrast, most Latin
Americans measure their happiness b! having have enough income to support a
comfortable lifest!le and spend plent! of time with their famil!, and would not be as
willing to sacrifice famil! time now in order to achieve greater monetar! success later.
Some Latin Americans "oke that the! work to live, whereas man! Americans seem to live
to work.
,inall!, it is also important to stress that religion is ver! important in Latin
America. &n most ispanic countries, 90F or more of the population is 3atholic, and
religion pla!s a central role in man! families. *eligious traditions and holida!s also tend
to be more predominant in public life than in America. &n the =.S., man! public forms of
religious observance have been curtailed or outlawed, but throughout Latin America there
are significant religious holida!s and public ceremonies.