Please note that in southern Spain (including Jerez de la Frontera where I'm working), almost NOTHING is open on Sundays. It's part of Spanish culture. In California, few places close down for Sunday. Too much money would be lost.
All of these business hours, even though a bit flexible, can be pretty much counted on. Individual people in southern Spain are, however, another matter.
In California, if you invite someone over to your house for dinner and tell them to arrive at 6:00pm, they are likely to show up at 6:00pm. If they arrive at 6:05pm, they will probably apologize.
In southern Spain, to begin with, dinner itself is more often than not served at 9pm or so. And if you invite someone, it is not likely that they will arrive at the hour specified. They'll probably show up about half an hour later, under the theory that the host or hostess is rushing around doing last minute stuff. (In my case, that's correct and for that reason, whether in California or in southern Spain, I neither expect others nor do I, myself, show up at the hour specified.)
Another couple of notes about dinner: in California, inviting friends over for dinner is very common. Also common is inviting friends out to a restaurant. In southern Spain, not so. For one thing, the mid-day meal is more important than dinner. For another, meals are usually for family. You DO, however, get together with friends for tapas and a beer or some wine. And parties--well, people enjoy parties. You don't need to arrive "on time" nor do you expect any ending time to be specified. In the old days, for example, some weddings and parties celebrating a baby's baptism would last for three days.
 |
| People in Spain also tend to be gregarious. This is a city street, not a fair. |
What about filmmaking? Well, if you schedule a shoot in southern Spain for the film you're working on, sometimes some of your crew and/or actors will show up 30-40 minutes late. Occasionally, you even have to telephone your actor/actress and offer to pick him/her up in a car if it's already 30 minutes past call time and they're not there.
In my opinion, this is most uncool. After all, you have the rest of your people sitting around waiting for the late-comers, although in point of fact, most people here take it in stride. (They might even wander off to have a cup of coffee or a beer while waiting--something to be avoided at all costs. You may never see them again.)
 |
| Part of the crew during a shoot for "Domino." They're actually a great bunch. |
I have been known to get uptight under these circumstances, and to try hard to find a way to start without the latecomers. I also try to send messages to the offenders through a third party, indicating lateness is really not acceptable. These messages have to be delivered with great care, however, or you will have trouble with your actors and crew in the future. SIGH.
OUR NEXT BLOG will be about cultural diversity and the arts.
No comments:
Post a Comment