If you’ve heard something along the lines you will read below, you know what I’m talking about. In Mexico, if a dinner invitation is at 7 p.m., Mexicans will most likely show up around 8 – or even 10 if you’ve invited my aunt. I’m generalizing, but trust me, I’ve been there.
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It’s important to note that not all Mexicans are unpunctual. I am one of those few for whom punctuality is extremely important. I used to get super upset if I were five minutes late, a trait that might have stemmed from childhood experiences of thinking none of my friends would attend my birthday parties. Little did I know, their moms just didn’t want to be the first ones to arrive, partially to avoid having to help glue the last balloon on the entrance door, place the napkins on the tables, and sit by themselves, waiting for everybody else to show up.
What’s even funnier is that it’s almost like everybody agrees to get there 40 minutes after the established time and come all at once. But here’s the kicker: the hosts aren’t ready either! They’re either missing the sodas, the plastic glasses, or some more ice, or they’re still getting their makeup done!
However, as with everything in life, there’s a big lesson to learn behind the little annoyances. I understood that the stress I felt was created by living in my own reality because the people around me were living in a different one, with their own sense of timing.
So, I decided to stop stressing and started living life in a more laid-back way. My best advice is simply to accept the culture as it is and send a special invitation to your Mexican friends. If you want them to arrive at 5 p.m., the invitation should say they should be there at 3 p.m. This way, you’ll have your punctual friends arriving at 5 and your not-so-punctual friends arriving at 5, too (you know who they are). It’s all about finding that perfect balance between our expectations and Mexican time’s wonderful, unique rhythm. After all, embracing these quirks makes our cultural experiences all the more colorful and memorable!
Before I go…Here are three common Mexican phrases around time you will surely hear at some point during your time in Mexico.
- “¡Ya voy para allá!” (I’m on my way)
- “Ahorita llego” (I’ll be there soon, ahorita almost never means soon)
- “Hay un buen de tráfico” (there is a lot of traffic)
Paulina Gerez is a translator-interpreter, content creator, and founder of Crack The Code, a series of online courses focused on languages. Through her social media, she helps people see learning a language from another perspective through her fun experiences. Instagram: paulinagerezm / Tiktok: paugerez3 / YT: paulina gerez
Wow
I have not read a story
Not a good way to get new customers
Happy customer here. Thank you Paulina for all the great content!
Agreed. People just need to purchase a very affordable subscription to read the whole story.
I have not read a story either but you keep sending me emails and when I go to a story it says I have reached my limit. Agree with Randy, not a good way to get new customers.
Dear Cathy,
Thanks for your message. You can read three articles for free every 30 days. To continue reading our content, we invite you to become a paid subscriber for unlimited access.
Same here.
Still recently we invited family for Formula 1 Grand Prix viewing starting at 2. Some arrived at 4:30, two arrived at 7pm. Really? And feeding all these different time arrivals is pretty tricky. Sign me out as “learning patience”.
I agree about getting new customers and constantly receiving emails that we only can read the headlines. I would be interested in a monthly subscription but first would like to test try the content for a month which seems to be the normal practice elsewhere.
You have described my life with my Mexican daughter-in-love and her friends and family to a T. 🤣🤣🤣🤦♀️🤷♀️
After living in Mexico we knew to show up late. We arrived an hour and a half late so we got to help decorate.
You invite your friends to come at 3pm and your punctual friends don’t come until 5pm?
The ones I invite for a dinner at 7:00 arrive at 6:00, expecting the beer is cold, bags of snacks on the table, and the music loud. Dinner is whenever. It ends around midnight.
If your mama screams, “Ahorita!” at you. . . .you know it means RIGHT NOW! Ja ja ja!
Greatly exaggerated and generalized. I am Mexican and lived in Mexico for 30 years, so I really know.
Great observations, Paulina, love your insights. I am Dutch, and in the Netherlands, even the street buses run on a schedule that is precise to the minute. I have lived very happily in Mexico for eight years now, and it is my Mexican wife who gets upset at guests or contractors that show up late. I have also lived in Indonesia for many years (yes, the energy business..), and there you had a very useful distiction between times: you could make an appointment “jam karet” which means “rubber time”, or “jam precis”, exact time. Especially in a business environment, jam precis was usually adhered to within the nearest 5 to 10 minutes. Jam karet, like here in Mexico, could mean people would show up within the nearest couple of hours.
in Nayarit “tomorrow means NOT TODAY!!!
The manananeros never come at all.
Ahorita? Add the prefix, “mag” and you have ‘magahorita’ for which they’ll all arrive at the same time.
Agreed. People just need to purchase a very affordable subscription to read the whole story.
Once you learn the “ system” you adapt with mixing your stated start time based on previous events. Mexicans know when time matters & when it is just a suggestion. Check your next flight. Your Mexican seatmate will be there on time and standing in whatever lane their ticket gives them access to & eager to board quickly . I did, many years ago think when a shopkeeper told me the out of stock product would arrive mañana or dos semanas – I would naively return at the appointed time. Now I call the vendor first. Some of my Mexican friends will give me a time with” a punto or Americano “ attached. Then I know what the expectation is. Just Adapt. Both the US newspapers I subscribe to limited articles until I became a subscriber. Somebody has to pay for content or it can’t survive.
You hooked me with the 3 stories. Got a subscription. It is stories like this that us gringos that spend extended time in Mexico find very interesting. And the breadth of topics you cover Paulina are very cool. Please write more! Thanks!
As a paid subscriber I often can’t access the stories. It’s annoying to say the least.
Also your migrant owner slumming it up in SMA?