Customer Reviews

There's a Word for It in Mexico

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

First, I've got to say that the "NTC's dictionary of Mexican cultural code words" (1996) offer to be sold with this book is exactly the same! I bouth "There's..." right from this site but it has the ISBN of the dictionary (0-8442-7959-5). It has the same cover as shown here. Go there (just skip the NTC's in the search bar) and you'll even find another same commentary. Now, I'll go to the contents. I left this review in there as well, just slightly different though.

These books are terrible. I can well make my commentaries because I am Mexican by all sides and know Mexico. I will mentions chapter 120 mostly since it may be the worse one. The rest of it is just bad.

I am well aware that it's not up to NTC and Boyé to publish one point of view or another. But they must publish quality works. So, wat wuld yu tink if one of iour writers wrote as I do in thys sentense? This dictionary is full of orthography mistakes and bad translations all over. One reader has already said it, but he didn't realize to which extend. That's normal from a non-Mexican. Let's see some examples of words and famous sentences around Mexico:

By the way, Boyé's translation is BT, Actual Meaning is AM and commentaries is CM

"Robar no es verguenza. Robar y que lo agarren es verguenza"
BT: It is not a shame to kill; but to kill and get caught is a shame. (Chapt. 37)
AM: Stealing is not a shame. Stealing and get caught is shame
CM:
1)The meaning is depressing, but far less immoral.
2)The real saying is a bit different

" " (originalsentence not showed)
BT: Respect (for all people) is the foundation of peace.
Pag. 264, chapt 119
AM: Respecting others people's rights is the peace.
CM:
The Original sentence is "El respecto al derecho ajeno es la paz"

Vacile, relajo, relajientos
BT:
-Vacile: to vacillate, to dilly-dally, to never make up one's mind, to avoid responsability.
-Relajo: chaos.
-Relajientos: people who introduce a caotic element into everything they do, ....and to be more interested in human relatios and spiritual things than in hard work and sticking to projects they start.
AM:
-All of these terms are synonyms.
Vacile is "vacileo" and is used especially when poking fun at someone in an easy way, NOT in a mean one. It just means kidding, goophy or maybe teasing. This term is regarded today as childish and you'll hardly hear it.
These terms do imply some chaos, but they simply mean having fun; nothing to do with spiritually at all. We use normal terms for the meanings attached to these ones: irresponsible and disorganized.
-Boyé got this definition from Mexicans, but from anthropologist ones. Most intellectual can't see reality.

Boyé never showed much real contact with Mexicans. It even seems that he was thye typical foreigner in any nation that self-segregates to his/her own community or contact the locals very little. It even seems that his single one friend was someone called "Mike" who as any other rich Mexican worships rich countries (or any foreign nation) I don't exaggerate when I say "worship". One of the readers at Amazon.com made really harsh judgments of Boyé since he didn't mention a single Mexican woman amongst his many commentaries of them. But as I read the book I found she was right, Boyé's bases are extremely weak. I can almost say that whenever he doesn't base his information with Mike's knowledge, he relies in intellectual's opinions that he doesn't even mention often, barely one big name like Octavio Paz, let alone a bibliographical reference. And as I said in the former table, most intellectuals usually can't see reality. The incredibly bad translation of "relajiento" is a very good example; the anthropologist who stated its meaning blew things out of proportion. It was like saying that "having fun" means being promiscuous, taking drugs, etc. Yes, "having fun" can mean that but only in strange exceptions; it has a saner meaning, like when a mom drops her kids in school and tells them "have fun".

Not only Boyé didn't show good knowledge of Mexico, he didn't show it of USA either. He said in chapter 120,
Americans and other Anglos, on the other hand, have been programmed to regard personal responsibility as a positive attribute.

Sorry guys, it turns out that I have also been to your nation and I always strove to get to knows American people unlike the typical foreigner self segregated foreigner. I even married one of you! -that's why I bother to look for a book to explain Mexico to my wife. Not only this, I also lived in Illinois, the tort state where people have sued for things like a hot coffee! So, please don't publish such works from people pushes others to use derogative terms like "egg-heads" And remember, the sentence above is just one example of his very doubtful opinions.

The best indication that he didn't melted with us is that when beginning the book he mentioned that we over agree. I've heard it in two other publications as well. That's wrong, but I think that's the first impression of foreigners in Canada, USA and Mexico (something in common). I also had that impression of Americans when I just arrived USA. As I got to know you more and more I found out that it's almost all the other way around. It's the same with Mexicans. So, you've got a good tip to tell biased writers when they say this.

In short, Boyé's book has the worst of the two current American trends, liberalism and conservative. Like a liberal he pretends to understand foreign things but ends up focusing most in the bad side of people -the best example are feminists- And as conservative he appeals to baseless or even hypocrite righteousness. His is too liberal biased on his views of Mexican history. Why did he disagree with a huge group of Mexicans in USA (Chicanos) for trying to take American culture when most of book is about the worst of Mexican people? Saying that they were rejected is a bad answer. Again, I know it's not up to NTC to check an author's views, but for the same freedom of expression I write this letter. A negative book can be published about any nation.....well except France because they're expert brain-washers (just read "French or Foe?" or Culture Shock: France) There have been people both in here and the dictionary's site who said we shouln't be angry. Most of them would be angry too if a book like this was written about their countries.

Boyé might well be right in his negative views of us (easy job to look at defects) I can tell that since I know it since birth. Yet, you must do things right. This book is a freshmen scratch work, it's dishonest to sell it.

While I'd agree with the previous reviewers that the book contains bits of useful information on Mexican customs, I just couldn't bring myself to finish it. The style is humorless, politically correct, and almost entirely based on generalizations. To give you a taster of what you will encounter once and again, here is a quote:

"Like the peasants of China, whom the late Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic, compared to grass which is repeatedly mowed down only to spring up again, the poor peasant farmers of Mexico have been a permanent part of the rural landscape."

I find it unfortunate that books such as these get any respect in terms of serving as a guide to a culture. This book is loaded with errors and unfounded stereotypes. I will list a few to give you an idea:

1) The author refers to the "Mexicans" and the "North Americans" as two separate groups of people. Mexicans are North Americans as are Canadians and people from the United States! (Did an editor look at this book?)

2)"Overt discrimination by Anglo-Americans is no longer a major concern of Mexicans..." One only needs to watch a news program in Mexico to see that this concern is very alive and real.

3) When the author makes claims about mestizos he writes, "Mexican social scientists now say..." Interestingly enough, he does not reference which social scientists and where they make their claim. But why would he? This book has no footnotes or bibliography! It is primarily based on the author's own impressions of Mexico and a few Mexicans that he happens to come by.

4)"Mistreatment of the Indians and mixed-blood by the Spanish for generation after generation created in them a latent blood-lust which was eventually to engulf Mexico and make it one of the world's most violent countries." "One of the world's most violent countries," this claim is based on what evidence? After all, north of Mexico's border whole populations of native people were decimated.

On this same page, the author goes on to quote numbers of killing in Columbia. Columbia is not Mexico, and the author makes no connection between the two countries other than they are both Latin American countries (he also does not cite where he is getting his numbers about killings in Columbia).

The author keeps returning to this theme of the "violent" nature of Mexicans, and basing its existence on his interpretation of the country's history. Yet he has no statistics to support his claim. For example, what are the numbers of shootings by handguns? (in a country where selling handguns is illegal). These subjective statements do not build a "Complete Guide to Mexican Thought and Culture." What they build is a narrow-minded view of Mexican culture.

5) "...Mexico will not begin to reach its full potential until Mexican women are free of most of the cultural and economic restraints of the past." This statement could be directed towards any country in the world, including the author's own. The author plays the "oppression" of the Mexican woman over and over again. However, there are no opinions from Mexican women and no research from Mexican women about Mexican women included in this book. He speaks for them (and shows his own patriarchal bias).

If you are looking for a book that will give you a patronizing cultural-imperialist view of Mexico, this is your book. If you want to continue the grievous misunderstandings that "Americans" and other foreigners perpetuate when they visit Mexico, then this is highly recommended. But if you want to actually learn about this country and culture, do not bother even opening the cover of this book.

P.S. As another reviewer said, "If Amazon made it possible, I'd give this book a negative star rating."

The content if fine, BUT it is identical to
"NTC's Dictionary of Mexican Cultural Code Words";
they didn't even bother to change the title page,
they just slapped a new paper cover on it. As
interesting as the book may be, I certainly didn't
need two copies!

On a one year assignement in Guadalajara, Mexico, this book was one of the greatest prepatory tools I bought. Great two page descriptions of commonly used words that don't translate directly. I can't count the number of times I heard something during conversation and thought back to this book.

I am headed off to Mexico to be a diplomat in the US embassy. On my bookshelf are some 25 books: language, travel, and culture. I have read them all. This is by far the best of the culture books. One reviewer said it offends. Well, I suppose that could be true in a few cases. I certainly do not want to helo institutionalize stereotypes. But based on a year of study, I think this book will be very valuable to you, particularly if you are headed to Mexico to do business. One of the best features is it's snippet style. You can pick it up, read a few hints, and put it down. Compared to CULTURE SHOCK, MEXICO, this book is fantastic. One of my language instructors is native Mexican. I have tested out several of the nuances from this book on him, and have not been steered wrong yet. Cheap at twice the price.

Brilliantly organized: Spanish(and native)words are listed alphabetically and a chapter explalins their significance in Mexican culture. This is a valuable guide uninhibited by political correctness that includes a variety of topics(such as love, sex and male-female relations)not found in more run- of- the- mill efforts. De Mente's frank approach and inclusion of an array of subjects are a refreshing change from both travel guides(which barely scratch the cultural surface)and more anthropological books(which focus on more traditional topics such as historical context.) This makes for a refreshing change and is sure to provide a rich source of information not readily available to either travelers or other interested parties.

It is a good book - great, in fact.

However, the book shares both title and ISBN# (it's the same book!!!!) as: "NTC's Dictionary of Mexican Cultural Code Words : The Complete Guide to Key Words That Express How the Mexicans Think, Communicate, and Behave". This was especially frustrating when I purchased both books as a special offer through Amazon.

I contacted the publisher and Amazon both, but did not receive a satisfactory answer (ie; they will continue to sell the same book with a different title and cover only). Fortunately, Amazon WILL give you your money back if you return it!

I read this book the way it was not intended to be read - straight through, rather than using it like a dictionary. It can get a bit repetitive as the author tries to fully explain how Mexico's history has caused their culture to react certain ways and to see things as they do. I must have read the sordid history of the Conquest of Mexico and its exlpoitation by both Church and Spain 25 times.

The cultural elements are well-explained, very informative and usually well-written. FREQUENT spelling errors mar the book as do occasional historical errors. His math facts concerning the growth of the Mestizo population in Mexico also conflict with one another, depending on the entry you read.

Was the book valuable? Yes, and not just to the traveller to Mexico. If you live near or work with Hispanics in the United States it will also be of considerable value.

Despite the flaws that I mentioned above, I am still giving this book 4 Stars.

A note for another reviewer of this book (Ktruse from the UK) - the reason that the author refers to Americans as North Americans in the book is that Mexicans call Americans "Norteamericanos". However, you do make a good point about the author not listing his sources for the book.

I am so glad I have this book. I wish I had read it when first working at a Maquiladora in Tijuana from 1974 - 75, and from 1984 - 1994. Now that I am working in Mexico again, I am able to further understand, appreciate and benefit from the information in this book. For all those who work in Mexico, associate with Mexicans in the United States and care about how Norte Americanos are perceived, please do yourselves and our dear Mexicanos a sincere favor by reading this book.